Ateneo de Manila University Confers the Parangal Lingkod Sambayanan on NVC Foundation

Below is the transcription of NVC Foundation President Milagros “Millie” L. Kilayko’s response after receiving the award:

When Negrense Volunteers for Change Foundation was just a few years old, Typhoon Yolanda struck. One of our responses was to provide replacement boats to fishermen who lost theirs to this disaster. And one of our recipients was Rolando Pamplona from Palo, Leyte.

While the raging flood waters swept through his house, Rolando clung to his five children so they wouldn’t break loose and be carried away. His wife, who had delivered their sixth child just the day before, brought the infant close to her chest. The force of water, however, was too strong for her weak body and when the horror was over the following day, Rolando found that his wife and baby were gone. He walked and walked through typhoon debris in search of his wife until he finally found her, several days later, in the form of a lifeless body falling from a payloader along with a lot of trash. He never found his baby.

After we turned over Rolando’s boat, I remember that he set out to sea along with the other fishermen and their new boats, while the women and children were ushered to a truck that would take them back home. However, when I looked towards the shoreline, I saw one little girl standing so close to the water, her eyes set toward a boat in the distance, until it disappeared into the horizon. It was Rolando’s two-year-old daughter, Maria Luisa. What must have been going on her mind that gave her such a worried look, I wondered. I am sure she feared that the same waters which swallowed her mother, may swallow her father –the only parent she had known for four months since the typhoon broke her family apart.

That was March 2014. Two and a half months later, classes resumed. Then I remembered Maria Luisa. I wondered who would be taking care of her when her father would be out at sea, while her older siblings would be in school. I called our Field Officer in Leyte and asked her to visit Rolando and family. “I’m scheduled to see them in the coming weekend,” she said. But no, “Do it NOW,” I said. Something in me pushed me to just tell her to do it immediately.

And so, she did. And when she got to the Pamplona home, a new one given to him by another NGO, she saw Rolando on his knees, crying like it was the end of the world, cupping little Maria Luisa’s bewildered little face with his shaking hands. It turned out that Rolando’s mother-in-law had come to take away his two youngest children to far away Butuan in Mindanao because she found it more practical to take care of them there.

I now have a new home, “Rolando wept. “I now have a new boat. But I lost my wife. I lost my baby. Now I am losing two more children.’ Rolando was broken.

A year later, the devastating earthquake in Nepal happened. One of our Trustees suggested that we share the Nepal story with the fishermen beneficiaries so they would know that they were not alone in misery in the face of a natural disaster. One day, Rolando was among the listeners when our staff related the story of the Nepalese disaster to a group of fishermen. As the story ended, Rolando got up, a little hesitant, a bit timid, trying to muster the courage to speak. He pulled out P20 from his pocket, placed the bill in an empty bottle, and said, “This is my contribution to the people of Nepal.”

After that, the other fishermen went forward with their own contributions. Rolando’s example was followed by several thousand other fishermen beneficiaries until we finally received more than P100,000 in coins, folded and crumpled bills with little notes from the fishermen which said, “Hindi kayo nag-iisa” and the like.

I share Rolando’s story this afternoon because Rolando is both a reflection of ourselves as NVC Foundation, as well as an inspiration to us who work for it.

How timid Rolando was when he got up to hand over his P20 bill – that was exactly how insecure and timid we would feel whenever we had to attend meetings with other foundations in our early days, when we had so little to give and had likewise given so little yet.

And Rolando’s amazement at how his little act of care and courage blossomed into more money than he had ever seen in his life, is exactly how amazed we would always feel whenever we total the number of Mingo Meals we have served, the boats we have delivered, and the mountains we have climbed.

But no matter how much we have done, no matter how many citations we will hear about ourselves, we will always be a Rolando in our hearts. And to the Rolandos like ourselves out there – the small groups of friends who band together to help make this world a better place, the ordinary men and women who dare to stand for causes and advocacies they believe in, the little children who break piggy banks so other children may be fed, the thousands of unnamed and unknown volunteers who do little acts of kindness in their homes, their villages and communities near and far….hindi kayo nag-iisa. Hindi TAYO nag-iisa. This award is yours as well.

And now, let me make a little confession. Just like any woman, one of the first things I thought of after receiving the letter of Fr. Bobby Yap informing us about the award, was to think of what I would be wearing for this afternoon’s program. I pored through Instagram for ideas and made so many sketches of an outfit that would make me look good on stage.

However, I ended up choosing this handmade traditional attire of a tribe of Indigenous Peoples in my region. Even if this is loose and formless and makes me look fat, it helps me to remember that this is never about me, but about the laylayan whom we need to prioritize.

And then I was told to find one or two people who would assist Fr Bobby as the award is given. Of course, I began to shortlist who, amongst our organization’s team, would be best to tap. But I ended up not naming an officer or staff but instead choosing Fr Noli Blancaflor, a priest who constantly blesses the work we do. Because again, this helps us to remember, that this recognition, as well as ALL the work we have done, is never because of us, but because of the God who makes all things possible.

Fr. Bobby Yap and the Ateneo Board of Trustees, the Search Committee and the panel of judges, in recognizing NVC Foundation’s power to make a difference despite our littleness, our ordinariness and our powerlessness, you are recognizing the power of the human spirit, the generosity of an enlightened community, and the love of God who upholds all things good.

NVC Foundation has delivered, because God never fails.

Thank you. We can only repay you with the smiles of the children whom we serve.