SOS Christmas Cantata on December 6 and 15, 2008...See You There!!!

Aboout the Millenium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world’s main development challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 191 member countries of the United Nations,during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

This unprecedented global framework for development is a crucial step towards ending poverty and inequality.

However, at the halfway point to the 2015 deadline for the achievement of the Goals, we have seen some progress, but much more needs to be done. Urgent action must be taken by nations if they are to fulfill their promise to achieve the MDGs. Since agreeing to make the MDGs a key framework for international action and cooperation to reduce poverty, much progress has been made.

But despite the gains, no region in the world is on-track to achieve all of the Goals, and some regions are off-track on many of them. Uurgent action is needed to implement sound policies to achieve the Goals set in 2000, and deliver on the promise made to the world’s poor in the Millennium Declaration:

“We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected”

The eight MDGs break down into 21 quantifiable targets that are measured by 60 indicators. The eight MDGs are:

1. eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. achieve universal primary education
3. promote gender equality and empower women
4. reduce child mortality
5. improve maternal health
6. combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases
7. ensure environmental sustainability
8. develop a global partnership for development

The MDGs:

• synthesise, in a single package, many of the most important commitments made separately at the international conferences and summits of the 1990s;
• recognise explicitly the interdependence between growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development
• acknowledge that development rests on the foundations of democratic governance, the rule of law, respect for human rights and peace and security
• are based on time-bound and measurable targets accompanied by indicators for monitoring progress;
• bring together, in the eighth Goal, the responsibilities of developing countries with those of developed countries

Ang Lingkod Ng Panginoon Alabang in fellowship with SOS Kids

From Lestie Deveza:

The concept of SOS is so beautiful. I felt that these kids were truly at home with each other and with their foster mom. It's great knowing that there are people who work for the good of others who really need help. A happy home is such an important environment that will build a child's character. These children are so blessed to have a second chance to have such happy characters.

stardustcarla wrote on Oct 8
thank you so much Les for sharing this.... such happy pictures!!!...di naman masyadong halata that we all enjoyed the experience. :-) truly, I thank God for allowing each of us to be vessels of love for these children because, as you all felt it, they were all fighting for your attention ....yearning and hungry for your company. I'm so happy to see them happy and to see all of you happy too. It is such a blessing when two of the most important things in my life intertwine into one joyful moment of letting our hearts burn for the love that we can unselfishly share for the children.love you!!!

reply
cfemocha wrote on Oct 9

kuyang kuya ang arrive..:)

From bugobugo85 (http://bugobugo85.wordpress.com): Gang Bang at Ayala Alabang

Posted in Uncategorized on October 5, 2008 by bugobugo

(21) 05 October 2008 - Hope in Motion 3 @ AAV- this was a 10k no frills run for the benefit of S.O.S. Starting at the back of the pack,behind bunches and bunches of funwalkers,i did not have clear estimate of how many 10k runners were there.i met bald runner, sir jovie for the first time and jay,the pc,junc(first introduction as well) before the race as we were doing warmups.i also saw patrick(aka running shield), ben chan the fotog, atty. felipe dumpit of s.o.s/la union,the happy feet posse plus jaymie the bull runner(you seem to be on a winning streak lately,congratulations!) after the finish and her buddy annie whom i have yet to meet personally.met for the first time manokan express himself,jinoe.funny but we get introduced by our “road” names ,have you noticed? plus of course a few other familiar running faces.

the race started late at around past 6:30am that while chatting at the back with br,we got left behind by the pack and by then the sun was up.i was contented to run at a leisurely pace making targets out of the slower runners as an incentive to go a little faster.being a first-time runner of the aav area, the route seemed endless but the trees ,wide roads, light vehicular traffic and largely unpolluted atmosphere made up for a good sunday run.i was consciously preserving my energy because this was just a prelude to another round.

finally,it was the finish line in sight and as agreed before the 10k start,sir jovie,pc,lester and gigi(the fitmommy) and myself went out again to do a comfortable 10k run by doing the same exact loop.gigi begged off after a few minutes and so it was sir jovie and jay and myself together(incidentally,we are confirmed participants of the bataan death march 102k) with lester and his buddy charging ahead. knowing how seasoned these two companions of mine were, i tried my best to stay abreast and they were gracious enough to stay at pace with me till the end.it was my 1st time to run relatively late and under a sun that was beginning to really heat up everything.altogether,we had a good gang bang of the streets of ayala alabang.

another 20/20 weekend for me. i am starting to feel good about my training. still building on that endurance for the coming ultra.rest day for the running bones and rubbers today and tomorrow.

tuesday onwards is another running story waiting to be told.

8 Comments »

From Prometheus (http://prometheuscometh.wordpress.com): Even the best laid plans: Hope in Motion 3 Recap

October 5, 2008 in running, training | Tags: Ayala Alabang Village, Hope in Motion 3, running, SOS Children's Village | 10 comments

I thought I had it all figured out.

I would join the 10K fun run of Hope in Motion 3. The race route would be one 10K loop inside Ayala Alabang Village, the stomping grounds of the Bullrunner and Runningshield. I would be able to do almost 3 loops to complete my 18 mile long run for the day, try out running in AAV for the first time, and help out a good cause! Jonel who was also running in AAV for the first time would also be running an additional 10k or more after the 10K run. Jun C who had completed a long run after Gabriel’s Symphony last weekend mentioned that he needed to do a long run as well and would be joining me before and after the 10K run depending on the time he arrived. Thanks to him, I was able to register for this run.

I woke up at almost 4 a.m. which was later than I wanted since I wanted to start running at 4:30 a.m.. While there was no traffic on the road, getting to AAV was a little confusing since they changed the exit from the tollway. I arrived at the SOS Village at 5 a.m. and while I was parking Jun C called up to ask where I was. He probably thought I was somewhere in the village doing my workout already cause when i told him i was parking he said that I was already late.

I got my bib from the organizers, attached my heart rate monitor, and slathered on petroleum jelly. I was trying to figure out whether to bring the hydration pack but I figured I could just refuel after the first loop. As Jun and I started our run I had a difficult time inserting the key into my shorts’ inner pocket. The key was too long and it would not fit into the pocket properly. Finally, I managed to get it in but it would be a sign of things to come. While running on Madrigal Avenue, we saw Jaymie who waved to us. Ahh…the advantages of living right where the race is being held.

There was some confusion about what time the run would start. Earlier I bumped into Ben Chan and he told me that someone said 6:00 then 6:15. I thought it would start at 6:30. Jun C wanted to make it back for the start so after 5K he decided to stop and do some stretching. By this time, there were quite a number of people at the start already. I saw the fitmommy and Baldrunner among the crowd. I ran another 3K before stopping thinking that the run would start soon. Big mistake. It must have been another 10 minutes before it did. I could hear the stretching routing being led by Annie inside the compound while I chatted with some of the runners who were there while waiting. I also managed to meet Patrick C aka Runningshield.

I was actually planning on running a this run at long run pace but because of that 10 minute lag I decided to run faster. How fast? No idea. I had never run a race after an 8km run. When I saw Annie zoom past me, I thought what the heck! We went up Madrigal Avenue and I had latched on to one of the foreigners running the race. As we turned left into Country Club Drive, we hit a series of hills. During this part of the race, George came up to me and introduced himself as a reader of this blog. He had joined this run after a long lay off following the Makiling run. Despite that, I thought he was doing quite well as he could still tell his story in the middle of our run. A little later on, Baldrunner and Lester pass me and I would just be behind them for the second half of the run. Unofficially, I finished at 52:28 over a 10.2KM. I changed my shirt, finished a bottle of Pocari, and ate some GU while waiting for the other guys to come in. At this time, the sun was high up in the sky already. A group with Baldrunner, fitmommy, Jonel, Lester, Nico and George started out first to do another 10K. Jun C, Jaymie, Annie and I followed soon after. Everyone in my group was planning do run 5K only, so upon reaching Country Club Drive they turned around and I ran after the first group.

The heat and the hills made this last loop punishing. When I reached BR and jonel, Lester and George were further down the road from them. At the start we were talking to each other but as the run progressed, all conversation ceased. I don’t know about the others but I was fully concentrated on finishing the run. Sometimes I would be at the lead then the 2 would move on ahead. We managed to catch up with the last 10K fun runners just as we reached SOS Village.

People were slowly packing up to go by then but I still caught some of the Happy Feet runners as they were about to go. I finally met Jinoe (of Manokan Express) and Quenie (the dinosuar killing Supergirl). I did some stretching, changed into dry clothes and started the long drive home while eating another peanut butter sandwich.

It certainly did not turn out the way I planned it would but I had a lot of fun and I think even if I did not do my long run the way I should have I think I still tested myself harder than I normally would have if it had been just a pure long run. Hope in Motion 3’s 10K Fun Run was a blast and I was happy to have been to have been there.

Total Distance : 18 miles Total Time : 2:49:45 Ave. Pace : 9:28/mi Ave. HR : 152

From the Baldrunner (http://baldrunner.com): HIM3 @ Ayala Alabang

6:30 AM 05 October 2008 @ “Hope In Motion 3″/Ayala Alabang

I woke up at 4:20 AM, took my pre-race ritual, shaved my head, made sure to wear a red-colored running shirt as instructed for the 10K runners, ate oatmeal with ripe banana, and wore my new NIKE Lunarlite Racer. I really wanted to use this new NIKE racer shoes for this particular 10K race, my first 10K race since I arrived from the USA. I had a hard time looking for this kind of shoes when I was in Los Angeles. I only found this shoes being sold at the NIKE Store at The Grove-Farmers Market Shopping Mall at 3rd Street in Fairfax District.

I arrived at the SOS Children’s Village inside Ayala Alabang at 5:30 AM and immediately went to the registration area. I was able to get my race bib without any problems. While my race bib was being pinned by my staff, I saw Bugobugo & Miko having their warm-up and had a brief chat with them. This was my first time to see Bugobugo after months of being a constant visitor and “commentor” to this blog. I also started to have my stretching and warm-up jog until I started to sweat. I saw JunC, Totoy and Prometheus having their warm-up jog along the streets near the starting area. Later, I saw Patrick, Bull Runner, Ben Chan, Annie and the rest of the Happy Feet Runners. We had more conversations among the bloggers at the back of the rest of the runners at the starting area. It was only when one of my staff shouted at me that the race had started. We did not know that the race had started already!!!We had to catch up with the people/runners lined up at the front as we came from the farthest part of the starting area. We had to run through the group of fun walkers before we reached the starting line.

No problem, I said to myself and pressed the start button of my GF 305 once I passed the starting line of the race. As I passed the slower runners on the first kilometer of the race, I made sure that I should maintain an even pace of 5:00 minutes per kilometer. Some of the runners I passed shouted my name “Bald Runner” and I had to acknowledge by just trying to look/glance at them and wave my hand and kept going with my pace.

As I reached the wide Country Club Drive, the runners thinned out and I could see from a distance “runner-bloggers” and slowly reached and passed them one by one. Little did I know that Lester, a faster runner from previous 10K runs and a donor of my Project Donate A Shoe, was at my tail and was trying to pace with me with another runner in front of me. The three of us consistently ran as a group until we reached the finish line. My running pace was below 5:00-min pace per kilometer for the whole 10K run. My GF 305 registered a time of 50:24 minutes for a distance of 10.24 kilometers. The following were the data I got from my GF 305:

Distance—10.24 kms Time—50:24 mins

Average Pace—4:55 mins/km Average Speed—12.2 kms/hr

Maximum Speed—14.9 kms/hr Total Calories—759 cal

Average HR—166 bpm Maximum HR—172 bpm

Total Ascent—212 meters Total Descent—232 meters

I was impressed on the wide, shaded with big acacia trees, and the rolling paved streets of Ayala Alabang. There were not much vehicles along the roads and the streets are “pedestrian/cyclist friendly”. There were lots of cyclists with nice kits and bikes.

As planned, after a brief rest, water break, and photo-ops with Happy Feet members and bloggers, I made another run along the 10K route with Bugobugo, Lester, Prometheus, and another runner whom I forgot his name who ran side by side with me during the 10K run. The Fit Mommy, whom I met at the Finish Line for the first time, joined us for the 1st kilometer but later decided to peel-off due to an appointment. The second loop run was a slow run with an average pace of 6:30 mins/km. The other runners with me were still strong as we finished the slow run in 1:07 hours.

Before leaving the place, I was able to meet and had conversation with Jinoe aka Manokan Express and Atty Felipe Dumpit, a fellow Ilocano from La Union, who organized the said race.

I had fun and memorable experience running along the roads of Ayala Alabang, finishing a nice 10K race and a 20K long run for the week.

---

From the Bullrunner: Hope In Motion 3 (http://thebullrunner.com)

In the October issue of Runner’s World, it says that a cup or two of coffee an hour before a race may cut your time by 30 seconds. Although I wasn’t aiming to break my PR (I don’t think I ever will beat my 46.57 10k PR), I opted for coffee instead of my usual pre-race drink of Rush together with, as always, 3 sheets of graham crackers. Big mistake.

By the time I stood on Mindanao Ave. in Ayala Alabang awaiting the start of the race along with other runners (the larger group of 6k walkers were behind us), I had paid the toilet a visit 4 times already! Good thing the race started just a little after 6:30 a.m. giving me enough time to give my bladder a little scolding.

When the gun went off, my bladder was empty (thank God!), I was feeling strong, and I felt completely race ready. I ran out of Mindanao Ave. towards Visayas Ave. going a wee bit faster than I thought I should. I hate to admit it but I had no strategy for this race. My only plan was to conserve energy for the gradual ascent along Country Club Drive and, after that, I felt I could go as fast as I wanted knowing the route would be mostly flat until the finish line.

I ran at around 5:15-5:30 enjoying the familiar route I was running. Annie passed me early in the race and I watched her outpace runners one by one. On Madrigal Ave., Bald Runner and I were able to exchange a few words before he ran ahead of me. Just like in Gabriel Symphony last weekend, JunC was a few meters in front of me so he pretty much became my involuntary pacer. Surprisingly, I was pretty well-behaved at this race feeling no need nor compulsion to chase any runner down; this bull was good and tame that morning.

By the time we hit the dreaded ascent of Country Club Drive, a foreign lady runner swept by me and it was fine by me. She seemed awfully strong and I didn’t want to bust my lungs climbing up that hill. Before I knew it, the short climb was over and we made our way towards the flat roads of University Ave. Woohoo, there was nothing to be afraid of anymore!

My experience on these roads proved to be helpful as I watched other runners climbing up sidewalks along Country Club Drive, while I confidently stayed on the paved roads knowing it would be easier to just stay where I was. On University Ave., as other runners crossed to the right side of the road, I stayed on the left because the trees would provide shade from the intense heat. Yup, Patrick was right about having a home court advantage!

As we neared the finish, I felt I still had enough energy to sprint to the finish. Nearing Anahaw, I started to increase my pace and enjoyed the rhythm of each step. I crossed the finish line back at Mindanao Ave. with a time of 55.38 min for 10.27km according to my Garmin. My average pace was 5.25 min/km.

I peeked into the list of finishers and saw Annie in 1st place with the lady foreigner in 2nd place. I placed 3rd! So, I guess the coffee did me well.

Together with Annie, Jun, and Prometheus Cometh (who extended his run even after we headed back), I ran another 5km around the village. Total of 15km for the day. Just perfect.

- 10km Winners: Annie (1st), French lady (2nd), and myself -

Tags: Alabang, Hope in Motion, SOS Village
Posted in Races | 13 Comments »

World Youth Alliance: 1st GA - Project DDD Volunteer Briefing

The World Youth Alliance (WYA) is a global coalition of young people committed to
promoting the dignity of the person and building solidarity among youth from developed and
developing nations. We train young people to work at the regional and international levels to
impact policy and culture. Through this lived experience of the dignity of the person, young
people are able to affirm life at all levels of society. Founded in 1999, WYA now has regional
offices in Africa (Nairobi), Asia Pacific (Manila), Europe (Brussels), Latin America (Mexico
City) and North America (New York) and embraces over 1 million members from over 100
nationalities.

Next year will be a momentous year for WYA as it celebrates its 10th year of untiring work
towards creating a deeper understanding of human dignity and the promotion of solidarity
among the world’s nations. All five regions will be staging their respective celebrations.

What: Project DDD – Decade of Dignity and Development. Call for volunteers and committee
and sub-committee heads for major activities next year to celebrate WYA’s 10th year
anniversary

HAIRSPRAY The Musical

In Hairspray, it's 1962 - the '50s are out and change is in the air. Baltimore's Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion--to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corny Collins Show" and, overnight, is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can a trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program's reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her 'do? Only in Hairspray!

Welcome to the '60s!

The musical features an original score by Marc Shaiman (who co-wrote the music and lyrics for the acclaimed animated musical, South
Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut) and Scott Wittman. Their songs
take Tracy from the soundstage of a 60's-style dance show
to the streets of Baltimore to a downtown rhythm and blues
record shop.

Hairspray went on to win 8 Tony Awards including
Best Musical and has also become one of the most
successful and popular movie musicals starring
JohnTravolta, Zach Efron and Michelle Pfeiffer.

For its Philippine Tour, the Hairspray cast will be composed of Madel Ching, Micheal de Mesa,
Nyoy Volante, Tim Espinosa, Monica Reynoso, Christine Allado, Menchu Lauchenco-Yulo, and Dulce to name a few.

Tickets are valued at P800 and P600. 15% of proceeds will benefit SOS Children's Villages Philippines. BUY NOW !!!. Seats are on a first come, first served basis. Call 8070764 / 8509654.

October Children's Month Celebration

Committed Volunteers

Dear Papa Noel,

Thank you so much for you kind words of encouragement. We truly appreciate how the SOS community has welcomed us and for Carla's kind assistance in scheduling our meetings and activities.

Being mothers ourselves, we can understand the concerns the SOS mothers, most especially with regards to running a household and raising a family. We pray that these projects will someday be successful in addressing the issues that we and the SOS mothers discussed in our meeting.

We are inspired by you, Mr. Tejada, Carla and the SOS admin, and by the SOS mothers, who have so willingly and selflessly chosen this path to give these children a better life and future. We are very grateful to you for giving us the opportunity to help others and hopefully make a difference in our own small way.

Patricia

(On 5 Aug 2008, at 4:23 PM, Noel A. Leyson wrote:)

Dear Patricia,

I’m being updated by Carla about what your group of friends is doing for SOS Children’s Village Manila’s mothers and children—FOR LOVE! Going over your several “projects” gives one the impression that they are all well thought out and full of respect for the “beneficiaries” , not as charity objects but as persons. I’m inspired and humbled by your commitment to be good and do good for those in need of help!

My sincerest gratitude and appreciation to you ALL!

Papa Noel

Friends for Children Gallery (June 16, 2008 / Glorietta, Makati City)