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.