FLOW - Our Beginning

"... you might be interested in knowing that volunteer work, especially direct work with people, is the common thread in people who thrive in their mature years. It is also the activity most likely to make people feel that they are part of a larger community and most likely to make them feel good about themselves.

You are probably familiar with the concept of "flow" as applied to athletes, musicians, surgeons and others. People who do one on one volunteer work are more likely to report experiencing "flow" than any other group..."

-- email from retired psychiatrist and good friend, Dr. Koi

David's casual observations arrived exactly as we were pondering which direction the next posting should take. It had been a spontaneous leap, the creation of this blog, prompted by the residual joy generated by our Day in the Park. It was tempting to make this next post a continuation of that day, inserting the pictorial essays our Students had already begun composing. However, a leap into the middle of story demands a certain amount of consideration for an audience's need for background before plunging further afield, and David's message lent the final weight to our desire to continue honoring the people whose donations have contributed so much to One Candle Schoolhouse. The scales tipped, so we'll be returning to our Day in the Park another time.

"Flow" has become a defining word for our involvement with the children here as will become evident, in the pages reproduced below. Created initially as a Thank You booklet, to introduce ourselves to Rotary Club members who'd collected and donated books to us, it now supplies the needed bit of background for this "work in progress" we are so involved with. Family and friends (and friends of friends), hearing stories about the children, contributed financial donations to help us. As part of their learning exercises, the children wrote stories of how that money was spent, and it became our way of returning to the donors, the gift of their generosity. Those stories, too,will be added in later posts.

It is so good to also, finally, have the opportunity to introduce the members of our special "sponsors' club" to each other!

David's reference to the feelings of connectedness echo words from another of friend whose words, in the next posting, we will continue unfolding the multiple facets of our project. To get there, though, we begin with the Thank You booklet...the first steps into the flow that brought us to this spot:

(Clicking on the pictures will enlarge on them for readability)

Candle in the Park

"No ray of sunshine is ever lost,
but the green which it wakes into existence
needs time to sprout, and it is
not always given to the sower
to live to see the harvest.
All work that is worth anything is done in faith."
--Albert Schweitzer

Sunday, December 3rd, the fruits from a chance encounter were shared when the students of One Candle Schoolhouse left Tambobo to assist the students of GP Rehabilitation Foundation, Dumaguete, create Art in Quezon Park. Though it was only three weeks prior when Director Analou Suan called to ask that we help add to their special day, our ability to participate can be traced to an event that happened more than a year ago…

It began in Octobor of 2005, with the tired impulse of a woman with a too-long list of tasks, who entered Dumaguete's Spanish Heritage Building, climbed its winding stairs and sought rejuvenation from Art displayed along the corridor. Through the open doors to the patio, her steps were enticed further, leading to an encounter with Pam Galvez--herself pouring over a list of details for the Young Art Competition an anonymous donor had sponsored. Kindly, she took time to show me the stacked canvases, the conversation about them easy and lively. Together we expounded upon the hidden benefits of, and the need for, incorporating a greater arts education program into children’s lives.

Soon, we were sitting on a low wall while I enthused about the twenty-three students of One Candle Schoolhouse, how they were developing their talents every Saturday (and public school holidays), by integrating them with computers. Slowly smiling at something only Pam could see, she suddenly interrupted and said, “I'm coordinating a wedding for a Filipino couple who will return to Dumagute, from California, next year, to renew their marriage vows. They don’t want gifts but will ask for donations, instead. They want me to look for an organization where the money would go directly to children, not to someone’s salary, and hearing about what these kids are doing, I’m going to recommend One Candle Schoolhouse!” Stunned, I stammered my thanks and with bursting heart, quickly raced about town to reproduce a small booklet we’d made for the school, for Pam to send and introduce us to these anonymous angels. It would be a while before anything further was heard, but...

...in July 2006, a small family group wandered into our Tambobo backyard. It was Thursday, laundry and window-washing day, and husband Bill and I were in our raggediest clothes. The schoolhouse and workshop were in total upheaval, a poor first impression. Undeterred, Tony and Marilou Navarro introduced themselves, then spent two hours avidly exploring and discussing all aspects of the students’ work. They warmed our hearts with their praise and comprehension of what the kids were accomplishing. When they left, they handed us 15,000 pesos to continue our project. We walked on air for weeks after.

Until recently, the students had not been able to decide the best way to use their money…the list had included a school bus-banka (most walk a long distance when family bankas can’t be spared), UNIFORMS (nearly unanimous but what to do with the remainder of the money?), a set of Encyclopedias, and/or a trip to a real restaurant with tablecloths and waiters. However, when Analou Suan called to ask us to teach Art during their upcoming event, it finally seemed the perfect way to share Tony and Marilou’s desire to benefit even more Filipino children from their love.

Last December 3rd, the students of One Candle Schoolhouse finally recieved their wish for uniforms, but as with all our projects, it became multi-faceted.

Their individual tee-shirts, designed and crafted by each student, became examples for the techniques they would teach the differently-abled students of GP Rehabilitation, in Quezon Park.

Tony and Marilou were not there to witness the “green” their bit of sunshine awakened into existence, nor were our other sponsors whose donations also contributed towards this event, but we gratefully take this opportunity, our first blog entry, to “grant the sowers” a chance to know their acts of faith have found fertile ground.