30 December 2008

Alay kay Lia

(This AVP was shown during the memorial service for Lia, 12 July 2008.)


28 December 2008

Gift-Giving



Last 26 December, our family invited 35 underprivileged kids for some food and gifts. The kids were served birthday spaghetti, sandwiches, popcorn and grass jelly juice. Afterwards, loot bags were distributed, containing assorted toys and accessories. Before the kids left, they all gave Len a hearty greeting: "Merry Christmas, Ate Len!"

Most of the kids invited were Len's "kids," kids she once played with, kids she gave toys to, kids she sent to school. (At some point, I once referred to her as the Pied Piper of Hamelin, except that she didn't need a pipe to attract kids - kids were invariably attracted to her. And she always had games and treats for them, and she didn't have qualms about getting dirty and sweaty with them.)


The nice thing about this particular event is up until now, Len is still taking care of her kids. The toys and accessories we gave away all came from Len's store and these were stuff she herself bought when she was still alive.

Another gift-giving is scheduled for Friday, 2 January 2009. This time, the recipients will be entire families, grown-ups included, and we will be giving away mostly used clothes, stuffed toys, and bags.

09 November 2008

she started it all...


As most of you know, my sister, Lia Madeleine, or Len, died last 03 July 2008, two weeks short of her 24th birthday. She died in her sleep of pulmonary thrombo-embolism, a traitor disease that strikes without a warning.

Len's sudden and unexpected death left so many people bereft. Family, friends, schoolmates, sorority sisters, office mates - the sheer number of people who turned up during her wake, both in Manila and Bicol, was a testament to this. Len's absence is felt by all of us, and that loss will always be a part of our lives.

But there's a void that we, her family, are trying to fill. You see, when Len died, she was sending three kids to school- providing for their tuition, uniforms, and school supplies. At the same time, she also provided school supplies to several other kids in our barangay in Daraga.

Kalinga Lia is a project put up by the students of Aquinas University of Legazpi Science High School (AUL-SHS), where Len was an alumna (Class of 2001), under the guidance of Fr. Ramon Mendez. The project kicked off with a fund-raising and a play based on Len's life, which was presented by the school's drama club last September.

Our family is in the process of putting up the foundation, but even as the papers have not been finalised yet, we are already continuing Len's work. As it is, we have adopted Alvin, a grade five student, who now lives with my family in Bicol. And as much as we can, we have given financial assistance to the other two kids, Biboy and Dana, who live with their mother, Kathy, in Taytay.

Part of Kalinga Lia too is the high school scholarship that Fr. Mon, in partnership with AUL-SHS, is working on offering, hopefully by next school year.

I have put up this blog to record all the Kalinga Lia activities, as we are planning to continue the legacy that my sister had left behind. Updates on the foundation and the scholarship, and any other Kalinga Lia- related activities will be posted here.

Should you have questions, comments or suggestions, you can email us at kalinga.lia@gmail.com.