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| SJA Batch 90 and 94 with the 6.5 residents and parishioners of Santo Nino |
Mike Alvan Pacalda, 6
of the 6.5 Relocation Site, barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City wants to be a
policeman. He seemed to be inspired by what he sees on television but he
bluntly said, there are a lot of “tokhangonon” in the area where he lived.
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| 6 year old Mike Alvin Pacalda wants to be a cop. Interviewed by Jane Nelia |
“Tokhang”
or Oplan Toktok Hangyo is the Philippine National Police’s strategy in
convincing suspected drug personality to return to the folds of the law.
“Daghan
badlongon sa amoa, ganahan nako sila dakpon (there are plenty of troublemakers
in our place, I want to arrest them),” were the words of Dodong Mike.
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| Awaiting the fun..and the treats. |
Mike
and his sister Julie Mae, 8 are both taken cared by their grandmother Leticia
Dela Peña.
Their parents were separated and the mother had to work in Manila to support
them.
Lola Leonida
Prendol, 84 also from the same address on the other hand, also
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| 84 year old Leonida Prendol had consultation. |
tagged along her
two grandchildren that Saturday to Santo
Nino Parisg grounds.
“Ganahan
ko malipay sila samtang nagpa check-up sab ko (I want them to enjoy while I have myself checked),”
according to Lola Leonida.
She
said she dearly love her grandchildren as these two were the only remembrance
of her only son who died just this October.
And
then here is this three year old girl
Baby Scarlet, who was checked for asthma that day. She was observed to be
smiling and pretty though, according to her grandmother, she has some defects
being born out of parents who were minors themselves.
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| Baby Scarlet |
Scarlet’s
mama and papa were yet 16 and 17, went on their separate ways, leaving Scarlet
to the Lola.
But
Scarlet was among the almost 200 children from 6.5 relocation site who were
given early Christmas treats that Saturday.
These
and many more were the stories learned by the Saint Joseph Academy Batches 90
and 94 as they conducted a “Give Back Mission” that day in Paknaan.
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| Pharmacy section with Warren Judilla |
Mostly
Mandauehanons, the batch choose the residents that need the helped most,
identified by Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Charles Louise Jayme, who is also a member
of the batch.
Fr. Charles in his homily during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist before the start of the event said the recipients should be delighted that the batch chose them to
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| Fr. Charles Louise Jayme |
avail of the treats and services, an early Christmas blessing.
"Ang katuyuan sa kalihokan nga gipahigayon ron sa Batch 90 ug 94 sa SJA, mahatagan ta og kahupayan sa gipamati sa panglawas. Nagpahigayon ta sa misa aron mahimong kompleto ang atong buhaton, aron mahatagan pod og kahupayan ang espirituhanong bahin (The objective of the batch is to give relief to the ills of the body. We are celebrating the Mass to complete, to give relief to our spiritual needs)," Fr. Charles said.
More
than 60 residents availed of the check up with free medicines and 56 availed of
the free dental services.
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| More than 50 tooth extractions after and still smiling--Dr. Lorraine Manatad, SJA Batch 9094, |
The
batch also sought the assistance of Mandaue City Social Welfare Services (SWS)
which lent utensils and gave food ingredients for the feeding.
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| Mandaue City's Mobile Kitchen |
The
batch gave out loot bags with candies and school supplies and some prizes and
ice creams after the conduct of games.
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| Machos in Action -- Jose Noel Quimera and Hitliff Ruelo |
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| Tattoed with a heart --Hitliff Ruelo |
Anna
Rose Espiritu-Solis, elected batch president said, it wasn’t long time ago when
she and her batch mates were children too and would greatly enjoy any activity
such as this.
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| With his photographer's eye, Bryan Conejos |
 |
Atty Mae Elaine Bathan a nd Faith Noval
|
As
students of SJA at that time, Solis said they haven’t got a chance to
participate in feeding and medical missions.
“Now
that we had grown and are already in our respective professions, we find it
proper to partner with agencies and to giveback little that we have to fellow
Mandauehanons that are until now on their way to make their lives better,”
Solis said.
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| LR Amabelle Enriquez, Anna Rose Espirity, Nerizza Borbajo Riza Tolato, Jane Nelia and Jhoanne Remedio, Warren Judilla |
The batch is next year’s sponsor and initiator of the grand alumni homecoming of SJA
in January.
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| The smiles and the giggles are all music to the ears. |
Josephians
grow up with a sole mission and vision to be in solidarity with the poor. At
the end of the day, the recipients and the batch mates were all smiles,
experiencing the fulfillment of being of help the simplest ways.
Hail
St. Joseph! --(fcc with reports from Jane Nelia, Photos by Bryan Conejos and Anna Marie Suico)
