Original story at: http://www.visayandailystar.com/2014/November/22/tightrope.htm
Last November 8, I wrote briefly on the Negrense Volunteers for Change as part of my belief that under the leadership of Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. change for the better is inevitable. I included in that column the NVC as an example of how a group of people from this province can lend their hands and hearts to make a difference in this movement to change the social, economic and moral landscape of our province.
During the presentation of awards on the occasion of the 116th Cinco de Noviembre anniversary, NVC president Millie Kilayko told stories of their work to reach out to the needy not only of Negros but in other provinces. Time did not give her the chance to tell all the stories of their work and my own space could not accommodate the few that she told the audience.
Fortunately she wrote a letter (Nov 10) which answered a concern I had expressed in that column – the sources of their funds that will insure the continuity of their work. It is worth citing them. They deserve our thanks.
She said that among the major donors are “Metro Bank that provided 80 boats, Magsaysay Maritime Corporation through their Homer Foundation which provided 122 boats, LBC Foundation 80 boats, Ayala Foundation 60 boats and another 66 coming. Our fiberglass production plant also manufactured 1,000 boats for Sagip Kapamilya Foundation of ABS-CBN.”
NVC’s Peter Project 2 turned over 1,000 boats last March in Palo, Leyte which was hit by Typhoon Yolanda last year.
Although they expected that donations would taper off, instead assistance increased. She said that this flow of assistance was due to the fact that “major donors were looking at the playing field and checking who was delivering and it looked like NVC was doing that.”
Ms. Kilayko cited the case of a Dutch couple, Willy and Linda Winkels who came to Bacolod after they had seen in the internet the work of NVC. Their donation went to a fisherman in Leyte that the couple also visited.
There was also a couple, Basti Artadi and his wife Rissa who organized a fund-raising concert and raised enough money for 9,000 Mingo meals, a high protein mixed vegetable and beans food.
The names and number of donors are indeed many, ranging from ordinary folks and kids to the high society women and professional and financial organizations that felt they had also to share their resources and talents to help the victims of last year’s tragedy in the Visayas. Truly, the reservoir of generosity is also there waiting to be tapped for a worthy cause.
The most important element in tapping this pool generous hearts is an organization that people can trust and this is where NVC comes in.
For all the criticisms against the Negros economic and social elite, the fact is that Negros has always responded quickly to natural calamities elsewhere. There was, for instance the Negros Cares caravan that brought tons of food and clothing to Luzon some years back when that island was inundated in a great deluge.
That relief operation was a joint effort of the province of Occidental Negros under the late Governor Alfredo Montelibano Jr. and the Diocese of Bacolod under the late Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich. Both were trusted leaders and the people of Negros responded. Negros Navigation carried the cargo to Manila for free.
I recalled the hundreds of volunteers segregating and packing relief goods on many occasions when calamities struck other provinces. The Bishop’s House was filled to the brim with donations of goods aside from cash. It is heartwarming to see children and adults working with smiles and welcoming hearts as more donors came.
Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. is right. We had been blessed by God Who spared us from the devastation of Yolanda last year. Although towns of Northern Negros were also hit by the storm surge, the damage was not as great as those of Leyte and Samar. It is a great feeling that our people looked to help the most affected first and then their own. Nothing can be as Christian as this.
When Oriental Negros was rocked by an earthquake, we were quick also to respond as we did in the earthquake that struck Bohol.
The spirit that impelled the Negrosanons in the NVC is another affirmation, another phenomenon of the Negrosanon inclination to help. We always draw from this huge pool of kindness that our own wrangling at times is set aside when others needed help.