For many decades of her life, Mary An Kilayko-Gonzalez was wheelchair bound. When God took her away on December 13, 2015, her classmates knew that a life as beautiful as hers needed to somehow be made to continue living in others. They embarked on a project in partnership with NVC Foundation and began to receive donations in her memory.
On February 27, 2016, Mary An’s classmates planted the seeds of their love for Mary An: more than 100 infants and toddlers were given a daily serving of Mingo Meals for 180 days to give them a brighter start in life.
And while Mary An is now liberated from her wheelchair, the friends’ project also sponsored a different set of wheels through NVC’s Project Joseph: one man can now earn better with a pedicab of his own!
“There are no accidents in life. There are only coincidental events that are a blessing.” This is what Reggie Barrientos-Jacinto said when she met Igo Gonzalez in early December 2017, a year after Igo’s mom Mary An passed away.
Mary An, who touched many people’s lives, turned out to have a connection with Reggie, whose sister Trish was Mary An’s student in St. Scholastica’s Academy-Bacolod many years ago. “All my life, my peg as a leader and a giving person is my sister,” Reggie shared with Igo. “Her peg was your mom. My sister’s description of your mom is ‘Mary An was a living saint.'”
Last summer, Reggie’s son volunteered for NVC in Bacolod and serendipitously found himself at Mary An’s Mingo feeding program in Talisay without knowing how his mom was influenced by Mary An. How people’s worlds collide!
