Ooh la la! Laughter and water at San Gabriel
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
On the occasion of Laughter Yoga Club, Phl.’s 4th anniversary, it adopted two public schools San Gabriel Elementary School (SGES) and Holy Spirit Elementary School (HSES), both in Quezon City. The main criterion used in selecting the public schools we adopt is the number of the student population. For instance, SGES has 6,000 students, while HSES has 7,000 students. Providing water and sanitation to these schools enables us to help and uplift the lives of several thousand students in one stroke!
On February 24, I turned over to San Gabriel Elem. School’s principal Estela Lingan a complete water supply system that now provides clean running water for the school’s four buildings and more faucets for the students to wash their hands. As I have always advocated, healthy bodies, healthy minds. And that “cleanliness is next to Godliness.” Extending help where it is most needed is a form of love, which in itself is education.
About 1,200 students witnessed the turnover ceremony, headed by the school principal, teachers, and some parents, with Pastor Sinfocoso Catubig leading the thanksgiving prayers, and blessing all those present. I admonished the students to properly use what were given to them to ensure they would last for those coming after them. Though young, I reminded them that we all have responsibilities, not only to ourselves and our families but to others as well, and to God. Above all else, to be patriotic and responsible citizens of our beloved Motherland. To give their BEST to everything they do, so they can reap the BEST in life, too. What you sow is what you reap!
As in the past turnover ceremonies, I taught the attendees the LYoga clap and positive chants they can do to perk them up during the flag-raising ceremony, in between classes, when the students feel tired, weak, sleepy, and sluggish. To motivate them, I narrated reports of schools in India that have incorporated LYoga exercises in their daily activities. Accordingly, LYoga exercises have stimulated interests, improved students’ mental and physical performances, fostered better behavior and happy attitude, and enhanced their alert level. Above all, these schools reported zero absenteeism!
The fees I receive for conducting Laughter Yoga sessions are solely dedicated to this advocacy. It is with gratitude that I honor the companies and organizations for making me a channel between them and the student beneficiaries. It is worth mentioning that Estela Lingan was also the principal of Payatas A Elementary School, where we provided a complete water supply system designed to provide water for five days even if electricity conks out, and six toilets two years ago. It was, therefore, a big surprise to meet her again at San Gabriel Elementary School during my inspection and selection of schools to adopt. Roger Cuaton, former head of all Parents-Teachers Associations in Quezon City, refers the schools we adopt and accompanies me to visit them. Cuaton is heaven-sent, and helps me accomplish my water and sanitation advocacy with relative ease. He oversees the construction of toilets, laying down of pipes, installation of the submersible pump, water tanks, etc. With heart and soul, he does his job.
My heart felt thanks to the following companies for whom I conducted Lyoga last year: Maritime Lawyers of the Philippines, Peggy of Manila Doctors Hospital, Philippine College of Chest Physicians, Kidney Transplant Association of the Philippines, Lopez Group of Companies, Cocolife Healthcare, St. Luke’s Hospital, Daughters of Mary Immaculate, DOJ-Probation and Parole, Association of CPAs in Public Practice, St. James School, SC Johnson, Johnson & Johnson, Philippine Institute of Interior Designers, Bankers Institute of the Philippines, and National Statistics Office.
As I will go for my annual sabbatical leave, there will be no LYoga sessions this April and May. Hopefully, I can conduct one in Bohol this coming June. Meantime, let’s keep laughing for a healthy, happy, positive us! To laugh and de-sress, visit: www.youtube.com/lycphohohaha. For more info, visit our website: www.laughteryogaphils.com and e-mail us at laughteryogaclub.phils@gmail.com.
