This is not a battle launched on Facebook because I believe that this is not the proper venue for it. But I am making this post because I HAVE TO DEFEND KWADERNO LOVE CAN INC., MY FRIENDS AND MYSELF. It was only five days ago that I had known that false accusations are being thrown to us through social media. There was no chance for me to defend myself because although I’ve been tagged in the comment box, I could not see the post. I am a victim of cyber bullying. I was called “wala huya nga kama-kama,” “abno,” “lagtok,” “monster,” and “piece of shit,” “organization stealer” and a “lost cause.” I wanted to be silent and I convinced myself many times to just pray for this but the extent of moral and emotional damages they have done to me and to the organization continue to get worst and it created much confusion to others and heart aches to the new core group and set of officers and volunteers of Kwaderno Love Can Inc. Our values, principles, transparency and direction have been put into question by those who are not actively involved anymore in our noble initiatives in the past months and for others, for almost a year or more. They have no idea of our sacrifices and the stories behind them. How can they suggest malice without them knowing our real struggles to make every activity successful and of more impact?
In the series of comments in that particular post which me and my close friends could not see, my friends were labeled as my “Minions” and they were dared. There were even those who commented that they are wishing bad things or bad luck to come to me. One even asked for our pictures to be sent for witchcraft/"hiwit."
As to the “founder issue,” it was never my intention for people to think that I am the sole founder of Kwaderno. Their admiration and recognition are beyond my control and are never my motivation. I never thought that I would be persecuted just because I passionately pursued what I believed to be our common vision. I never even thought that there would be a “founder issue” because for me that doesn’t really matter. When Anabelle and Nick invited me to join them in their trip to Barangay Sanke, Hinobaan last May 1, 2014 in which they planned to distribute notebooks to children, I was so excited to be of help. I shared the idea to the one who helped me finish my master’s degree and he sent help from abroad. We were touched by the experience and so we promised to come back and do what we can to raise more notebooks. The people of Sanke were asking who we were as they were used that if not politicians, it’s only organizations that do things like that. The three of us felt that there should be a name and Anabelle thought of “Kwaderno” and we agreed. When we returned in Bacolod City, we are more than excited to start our notebook drive. Anabelle made a blogsite that launched Kwaderno’s name in public and we all campaigned for more notebooks online and offline. That was a month of huge success, perhaps one of the best summers that we will never forget.
I was amazed by the overwhelming support that we have received and so I suggested for a long term project so that every peso will have a more lasting impact. As a Registered Social Worker, I have embraced its perspective to think of empowerment in the process of helping others, and not just a dole-out, one-time thing. Thus, I conceptualized the “A Child Worker No More and Sponsor a Child” project and work hard for it. I asked that it will be placed as one of Kwaderno’s programs and Bessie helped me in determining our first three scholars. My personal sponsor sent money for their school things and he suggested that monthly allowances and rice subsidies and tutorials should also be considered. It would require much support and manpower so I invited my friends to volunteer and pledge their 30 pesos a month to support the education of our scholars. I received the first ever pledge from my friend Zul and she invited her friends to pledge as well. One of the first who responded was Melbert and he invited his friend Charles. Charles invited his family to join and he also created a group in facebook to encourage more of his friends to pledge too like Isko and most of their seafarer classmates. From what he did, I got the idea of asking my other friends to replicate the project by inviting the people in their circles to pledge and support a scholar. Hence, chapters were formed. One of the first chapter leaders is Drein who was able to invite 27 of her officemates in Taguig. Because of dedicated leaders who helped in promoting our project, we now have 13 scholars.
It was Jessan who suggested that we join in the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) and I presented the “A Child Worker No More and Sponsor a Child” project that was recognized in Malacanang Palace as one of the national finalists.
Kwaderno has no clear structure at first but as we went along, I saw the need to formalize the organization. Irene helped in the SEC registration and I processed for Kwaderno’s corporate bank account. I formulated the By-Laws and the Articles of Incorporation. The incorporators and directors were me, Bessie, Maribel, Anabelle, Renato, Charles, Ma. Rizza, Ma. Gabriella and Josefina, with Nick and Jessan as witnesses. Our foundation day was on October 17, 2014.
In 2015, we campaigned again for notebooks and we exceeded our ten thousand notebooks target. Kwaderno has been widely featured online, in print and even in television. Anybody of us can speak for Kwaderno and is free to promote it in all means possible. We are very flexible and I even encourage for leaders to replicate and be chapter founders in their respective areas, schools or cities and experience how it is being done in actual. I am so happy to see committed leaders and supporters like Raquel, Jade, Carmelie, Rollin, Valyn, Angelina, and more named and unnamed volunteers who, I must say, are more excited and enthusiastic than I am in terms of making the organization bigger and more sustainable. How can we ever stop despite difficulties and issues? With burning passion, we turned nights into days and more leaders and networks come in and initiated various projects and fund raising activities. There are many physical, financial and emotional challenges and even broken friendships in the process. But we become refined, discovered authentic relationships, and see better opportunities and are pushed to be more creative and stronger. We learned many things. The commitment to our scholars became deeper. We are growing. We are soaring. But sad to say, not everyone is happy about it. After all the humiliation and false judgment and harassment to me and to our officers (Jade, Valyn, Rollin, Neil, Ferlita, Daniel, Maria Anna and Irene Shield), and some volunteers and core group, we are saying goodbye to the name “Kwaderno Love Can Inc.” But let it be known that only the name has ended, not our spirit and not the essence of what we do and definitely not our love to our scholars and partner communities.
There are many sources and forms of pain, there are many ways of revealing courage too. Indeed, for different values, priorities and intentions, there will be different battles. The sentiments of unique souls will therefore, should be respected and be tried to understand but the expression of our heartaches is not in any way giving us freedom to disrespect others, to judge them, to accuse them falsely and to wish and plan evil things for them. When after all the ridicule, betrayal, lies and bad words have been thrown to the world, and you are somehow too late to defend yourself and you opted not to fight the same way they did but you still choose to be human despite your pain, then the true meaning of courage is now revealed. Be brave. Fill the world with love after everything, after all. When all the letters and reasons and name have been taken, you can stand and crawl with love because you have souls who are willing to love and choose to love and enjoy the process of loving, in all its glory and darkness. Together with the loving souls, changes are welcomed and will be embraced. Possibilities will triple. No hate. Just love. Just refined intentions, just us sowing legacies…
Let us pass on the legacy by continuing what we have started, by taking care of the vision, by preserving the spirit of authentic volunteerism, by helping more scholars, by inviting more pledgers, by reaching more communities, by developing more servant leaders, by touching more lives. Let us replicate and be blessed because we have shared experiences to more souls and because we have turned our wounds into wisdom. Support our projects in various areas: education, environment, culture and arts, sports, gender equality, youth empowerment, livelihood, technology, justice, peace and integrity of creation and total human development. We can do so much together. The key is collaboration. The drive is love. The means is change. We are the sowers. We are the legacy… #SowingLegacyMovement
© Richelle H. Verdeprado, RSW, MSW. 2016. All rights reserved
What does love look like?
By Bro. Romel Lagata, Seminarian, Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol
UCDO and Sowing Legacy Movement Volunteer
UCDO and Sowing Legacy Movement Volunteer
Love is the most important word in the world. It cannot be describe easily because usually it is identified with emotional feeling. Though it cannot be described as easy as a tangible object, it can be expressed and concretized in many forms. Human beings gifted with the ability to use symbols usually choose heart to symbolize love. But looking at a heart shape drawing colored with red cannot fully satisfy someone who is asking if what love looks like.
The picture of the two boys (probably siblings) in the cover of this newsletter truly projects what love looks like. The presence of suffering can be depicted in this picture but what is more attractive in this picture is the image of love being shown through their body position. The placidity of the facial expression of the older boy while embracing the younger one captures what love looks like.
Love cannot be expressed only during times of happy celebrations such as birthdays, wedding feasts, etc. Love is like a candle light in the midst of darkness. It is more attractive and more felt when it is expressed in times of trouble and sufferings coming from someone doing a sacrifice.
By: Dustin Ryan Veridiano, Sowing Legacy Movement Scholar
The word Kwaderno was insignificant to me before. It was just a word that denotes a book of blank,often ruled,pages for recording notes. It's just a binder or a writing tablet that everyone uses especially one used by students like me in class. It was just a simple notebook.
But everything changed, when I joined the 1st Leadership Camp of Kwaderno. I was first hesitant because the dates of the camp was held on a vacation . That year I was just elected as the Supreme Student Government President of our school. I was taking all the R and R days, the holidays, and the layoffs as my breathing space in preparation of my term. I knew that I would be twice busy than I was before. But that was the first invitation that I had received right after I was elected. I thought "Why refuse such invitation, this would probably be my stepping stone, this would be my training grounds."
Never did I know that the word Kwaderno, will not just be a notebook to me. Hence, never did I thought that after that "Leadership Camp" I will plunged into life changing events. I was once a volunteer of this organization, I participated in many of their activities including "The Notebook Distribution in Sanke, Hinobaan" and the immersions, and the outreach programs. Indeed, I had found a family. The people behind Kwaderno were already my brothers and sisters. I remember the time when I shared my story to Miss Richelle How-Minnie Verdeprado while we were hurdling and eating with our bare hands. That was one of the conversations were a heart talks to another, a soul to another soul. It was one of those talks where a child confesses all his hidden resentments to his mother. I did not ask for it nor it wasn't my intention to but Miss Richelle H. Verdeprado offered me a seat in their scholarship program. She did not have doubts of welcoming me and opening a space from her heart to a broken person like me. From being a volunteer to a scholar real quick. I can actually say that I was one of the few who had the so called "transition" in the organization that it was and what had it become today.
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| Me together with other SLM volunteers |
To people who seem to be putting down the woman behind all the success of the said organization, let me say this to you and hear our resentments. Honestly I don't feel sorry for the things I don't know. But as I see the tear ran down from her face and as it touches her food. I know that I'm in the right track of standing with her. She is like a mother to me, and I will be taking this battle. I would carry all the baggage and arrearage that comes alongside with it. This is what a son can do to his mother.
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| Me, together with Ms. Richelle H. Verdeprado, chairperson in the Board of Directors and Jade Miraflores, Executive Director of SLM |
I saw and witness how she worked hard to put up Kwaderno, to gather donations,pledges, and even how she hardly formulated fund-raising event just to give life to this organization. I saw the blistering passion I never witnessed to anyone. The love for kwaderno was rooted in her soul. And to give that all away is like killing herself slowly. Kwaderno was not just her first-born but it was her life, it was her everything.Now as we changed the name Kwaderno to Sowing Legacy Movement. We are branding ourselves to all new horizons,to higher heights, and to infinite possibilities. To scopes who will touch more lives. These I believe the struggles that we need to face in order to survive. We have already moved on from the horrors of the abhorrent past. We're already sowing,moving forward,and creating legacies. To people who still hold onto the past, you can never obtain something if you acreage on something that's already done. We have learned so much from it that God has given us today, it is a gift, it is the present.
To people who cannot seem to move on, reflect and contemplate on your own up-bringing and remember,when someone is hating on you, it’s not about you at all. It’s about them. It’s their fear, their jealously, their boredom, and their insecurity.A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.Remember insecurities are not that contagious but it kills.This is my testament. I had deliver my stand and I shall rest this case forever.
