Mt. Mayon Volcano

Mt. Mayon from my bedroom window

Mt. Mayon from Impact Learning Center

Mt. Mayon from Daraga

Mt. Mayon Volcano is located in the province of Albay on the island of Luzon.  Its shape is a perfect cone and this is achieved by only one other volvano, Mt. Fuji in Japan.  Mt. Mayon is spectacular.  It dominates the landscape and the smoke that billows out of the top often obscures the mountain but when you are lucky enough to see the slopes, it is a beautiful sight. The mountain has been a national park since 2000. It is protected landscape and as such you need to get a permit to climb.  The starting off point is in Tabaco and the climb to the summit takes three days and 10 to 12 hours.  At the present time, the summit is off limits.  The last volcanic activity on the mountain was in January 2011 when it weakly erupted but scientists feel that it may be building up to a larger more hazardous eruption.  There are monitoring devices on the mountain. To the best of the experts' knowledge, the mountain has had 49 eruptions.  The last known deaths were in 1993 but 77,000 people were evacuated in 1984 and lava flowed when the volcano erupted in 2008. Mt. Mayon is part of the Ring of Fire.  It is the most active volcano in the Philippines and it is just outside my window.

The legend that has been told regarding the mountain is as follows:

Legend of Mayon Volcano

Once there was a princess named Daragang Magayon (Daraga means lady, Magayon is beautiful) who lived in Bicol. She’s so beautiful. She came from the family that reigns over the entire Bicol.
Because of her beauty and influence, warriors, princes and datus from different parts of the country desired to have her as their wife. But Magayon fell in love with a warrior named Handiong, a prince who came from a tribe that was, unfortunately, the rival of Magayon’s tribe. The two suffered so much from their respective family’s attempts to separate them that they finally decided to flee. Unfortunately their families found out and fought a bloody tribal war. This caused the young couple so much pain they decided together to commit suicide.
The tribes buried the lovers separately. Months passed when Magayon’s tribe saw a volcano growing in the place where Magayon was buried. They named it for Daragang Magayon. “Bulkang Magayon” describing its perfect shape likes their beautiful Daraga.

First Communion

Monday was not a normal school day.  It was First Communion Day for the third graders.  The students at the elementary school in Salvacion had learned their prayers and had studied their catechism and were ready to receive the host for the first time.  At 8:00, they began to come to the neighborhood church and their teachers and spiritual instructors were their to orchestrate the ceremony for their big day.  Not all the parents could attend because it was a work day but all of the celebrants had at least one person to walk them up the aisle for their first Communion.  Before that moment happened, each of the children went up to Father Mendoza and made their first confession. This was a private time and it was not rushed or hurried. After the last child had returned to their seat, the children lined up with their lit candles and walked in procession up the main aisle.  Then mass started.  The children were the lectors and they did a wonderful job.  Each read their part with clarity and calm.  It was uplifting.  Songs were sung and after an hour a few heads were whirling and veils were slipping but the boys did not fish any toys out of their pockets or throw any spit wads, so the solemn moment was just that, solemn. Those children who brought an offering, took it forward.  There was fruit, pesos and a few bottles of rum.  The families gave what they had to give. Each child came forward with a parent and each received their host. In the children's hands were lit candles.  The candles remained lit for the rest of the mass and I watched each and every one as they flickered close to the netting of the veils and the rayon of the boys' shirts.  All went well. It was truly a privilege to be invited to this monumental event in these children's lives.

Gulayan Sa Paaralan @ Impact Learning Center

In the Philippines, one in three children does not have adequate food.  They come to school hungry and this effects their ability to learn.  Compared to other Southeast Asian countries, the Filipino people rank the lowest in vegetable consumption.  They average 40 kilograms per head each year as opposed to the Chinese who consume 250 kilograms per year. The lack of food and the type of food consumed has resulted in stunted growth, 33% of all children, and anemia, 20% of all children.

In response to these problems, the Department of Education started a program called Gulayan Sa Paaralan in 2011.  It is a five year project with the goal of planting gardens in all 42,076 elementary and secondary schools across the Philippines. The project's cost is approximately 50,000 pesos or $110 dollars per school.  These funds are used to purchase seed.  The GPTA must become stake holders because soil supplements, fruit trees and labor are needed to make this project work. Education Director Armin Luistro has faith.  He has instigated awards and training to promote organic gardens.  He has mandated that the food feed the children and if there is excess then it can be sold to enhance the learning at the school where it was grown. The hope is that this project will be up and running in all schools by 2016.

At Impact Learning Center, each class is responsible for a plot of land or an area of ground. They weed, plant and mulch their area.  As the okra and beans begin to grown, their excitement rises. If the present garden thrives, then there is a possibility of planting the hectares behind the school that are currently home to the neighborhood cattle. In the front of the school, the teachers used bags to plant vegetables in because the soil is too hard to promote growth. Also, with the threat of a typhoon, these bags are portable and will not be lost if they can be moved in time.

All in all, the project works at the school where I am assigned because the teachers and parents make it work. 

Kawa Kawa Hill

Kawa Kawa Hill is located in Tuburan, Ligao City, Albay, Philippines.  It currently has the Stations of the Cross and a life size replica of the Last Supper. A church is being constructed next to the Carmelite Nunnery due to the donations of Fernando Gonzalez and his wife. The fourteen stations are accessed by means of terraced steps that lead up the hillside.  Each station has life size figures that represent Jesus and his last journey.  You can sit and contemplate or continue trudging to the top of the hill where you will have breathtaking views of the Kawa Kawa of bowl of the crater.  On this grassy plain, children and adults engage in sporting events and picnic.  There are terraces of plantings that are native to the Philippines and some like the pineapple or guava, are harvested when the fruit is ripe.  On the crest of the hill is a rest house and a CR or comfort room. Fernando greeted us as we began our climb and he is often on the site to talk to the visitors.  There is no entrance charge.