Father Rocky: This Salesian priest rocks!

I am a big fan of Father Rocky. In more formal terms, he is Fr. Marciano “Rocky” Evangelista — the Salesian priest behind the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Streetchildren’s Village and the Tuloy Foundation.

Founded in 1993, Tuloy has grown from a single room in Don Bosco, Makati to a 4.5-hectare compound in Muntinlupa. Thousands of streetchildren have since found new hope and a new start in life after going through the foundation’s program which aims to reintegrate streetchildren into mainstream society by providing them with free housing, basic education and vocational skills and training. Fr. Rocky has received several prestigious awards, including the Presidential Service Award for Service to Children given by the Rotary International and first place honors for Most Outstanding Literacy Worker-national level conducted by the Department of Education. He was also conferred the Manuel L. Quezon Award for Exemplary Governance by the Federation of Catholic Schools Alumni Association.

A wide range of courses is available for the kids at Tuloy which covers everything from dressmaking to automotive mechanics to culinary and baking. The latest addition to this program is a Performing Arts Center, which will train children in Ballet, Music and Theater, both as performers and for behind-the-scenes jobs such as stage management, lighting and costume design. The foundation has already established a Dance program with a Theater program planned for school year 2014-15.

For more information about the Tuloy Foundation and Father Rocky, visit the Tuloy website at www.tuloyfoundation.org.

Here, Fr. Rocky shares with us his favorite books:

1. Chronicles of the Christ-God Came Near by Max Lucado.

“Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing but seeing and imitating God.”

2. Everyone Needs a Miracle - He Still Can Move Stones by Max Lucado.

“This book made me witness the tenderness of Christ, that God doing for people what people cannot do themselves.”

3. Make a Life, Not Just a Living by Dr. Ron Jenson.  

“This book made me learn again how to live, and help people make a life in developing the craftmanship of living.”

4. My American Journey by Colin Powell with Joseph E. Persico.

“This book is an inspiring one, a journey of a black kid who conquered all the trials in America with faith and love.”

5. The Community of the Future, The Drucker Foundation, edited by Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Golsmith.

“This book taught me on how you live your community today is how it will be tomorrow.”

6. The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John C. Maxwell.  

“This inspires me to become the person others will want to follow.”

7. Leading Beyond the Walls, The Drucker Foundation, edited by Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Golsmith.

“This book helped and taught me innovative ways of building relationships, new approaches to strategy and marketing, new models of employee relations.”

8. The Incomparable Christ by John Stott.  

“This book reflects more about Christ as the center of our human history and Christianity.”

9. Teach Your Team to Fish by Laurie Beth Jones.  

“This book made me realize that no matter how clever or spiritually gifted you are, nothing in this world happens without teamwork.”

10. Change or Die by Alan Deutschman.  

   “This book inspired me to make important positive changes in our lives — necessary transformations in any aspect of life.”

11. The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo.  

“This book reflects to me the susceptibility of human to the lure of evil. Making monsters out of decent men and women.”

12. How the Best Leaders Lead by Brian Tracy.  

“This book taught me the fundamentals of leadership as essential for success in any organization and every leadership position.”

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Your comments and suggestions are welcome at gr.rodis@gmail.com. You can follow me on twitter and Instagram @showbizmanila.