IN MEMORY OF Welnar P. Rivas (August 7, 1993 to March 13, 2007)

"...the mystery of life lies in the unexpected twists and turns that we meet along the way. Just when we thought the road is paved and smooth we encounter a bump that forces us to take a detour to some rutted, potholed street...yet, the beauty of it is that before we stumble upon that roadblock, we are able to have a life. We are allowed to laugh, to cry, and to exist the way we want to..."

--Nicel Jane D. Avellana
Cancer Survivor

My Name is Welnar P Rivas; I was born on August 7, 1993
in San Jose, Sursogon.

My mother sent me to school in Siaton, at Felipe Tayco Memorial School.
I have a problem for hearing and I can’t talk but
I go to school. I get hurt because of my situation. My aunt Jocelyn knows that there is
One Candle Schoolhouse in Tambobo. So my cousin brings my picture
and asks if for me to be a student of this school
because I want to know how to use the computer.

In One Candle Schoolhouse there is a donation to solve my problem.
I receive a hearing aid and that’s a big help for me. I learn many things like drawing, painting, and designing eggshell boxes.
I’m so happy to be a student in this school
because all the students are understand my situation.

Painting by Welnar

Last week, Welnar was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was a passenger on a small motorbike, riding to his regular school in nearby Siaton. In rural Philippines, this is the local mode of transportation. It was a tragic accident, the driver not noticing the turn signal of the utility truck ahead of him before trying to pass. In the collision, Welnar was thrown and hit his head. Though Siaton has a hospital, it is only equipped to do X-rays. He was taken to Dumaguete, ninety minutes away, where he died.

During the same week, published in Dumaguete's weekly paper, the MetroPost, columnist Nicel Avellana mused how it would be if everyone were given a book at birth titled, How to Live. Within this book would be advice for each individual on which paths to take, and their consequences. She postulates that if we did have such a book, "...we wouldn't have to keep guessing whether the decisions we make are sound or not."

Given such a book, Avellana then goes on to wonder how her parents would have reacted to the information that their newborn daughter would develop cancer at the age of twenty-six. She imagines they'd search for cures, become depressed at the odds given in the late 1970's, then "probably treat me like china...not allow me to have a normal childhood...(hoping) the prediction would somehow reverse itself." She even adds that they might have even "thought twice" about having their two other children.

When I first read the column, I wanted to share it with our niece whose six-week old daughter had just survived several surgeries, due to bile duct failure. Though the spectre of brain damage and a liver transplant still loom in little Tatum's future, she was home from the hospital, "eating and laughing and pooping" like a normal child. Wonderful news--but it was easy to imagine for our grandniece the author's feelings, that if her parents had known of her future cancer she, "...would have most certainly missed being a normal kid, and would have had to endure being fussed over at the slightest fall."

In the days following Welnar's death, I thought of how his mother, Rosalinda, widowed during her pregnancy, must have felt when her son was born deaf--and I realized that she had somehow found the grace to help her son "have a life...to laugh, to cry, and to exist the way (he) wanted to."

This blog was impulsively begun as a means to share the progress of the students with friends of our school. Grateful for a donation that made it possible to attend an event for Special Needs children and facilitate their Arts table , that first entry (Candle In The Park) promised to include more pictures in a later entry. Given that Welnar and April Rhine (our other deaf student) also participated in the games that day, it now seems fitting to close the circle by including in this memorial to Welnar, those children whose lives were also affected by "unexpected twists and turns."

Field Trip

The third day in December, we go to Dumaguete to attend the Norwegian Disabled Care Foundation to share our talent in other children.

The student in OCHS they are all happy when teaching the disable children. I proud in the disable children because they have talent to show people.



by John Mark Dominisac

Allan Lajot writes:

It’s very hard to teach a differently-abled child but they can do what you think they can’t.

I was very pleased with their great
performances. They made me think of how different people do different work.

One Candle Schoolhouse students

helping GP Rehab students
making some tie-dyes.

This is what the children made

When we go to Dumaguete I saw the children sitting at the wheelchair. When I look at them they are sad but they can do like what we can do because I can teach them to do tie-dye and make a flag with shell.

Charlie Palallos

Mia sewing her flag

with Richel

Because Welnar and April Rhine are hearing-impaired, they were allowed to participate in the special games organized for the GP Rehab students.

Here, Rhine is fitted with a safety harness by Jufer before she begins to climb the wall.

Normally shy, it was delightful to see her bold ascent.

Then it's Welnar's turn.

He was very
excited,
because he had been looking forward to this event all morning!

"Every pearl
is the result of an oyster's victory
over an irritation"

Better Late Than Never

"All the genuine, deep delight of life is in showing people the mudpies you have made: and life is at its best when we confidingly recommend our mudpies to each other's sympathetic consideraton"
--J.M.Thorburn

It has been over two months since the last posting--due to an overload of projects in general, and total frustration with re-sizing the last post's photos, in particular! To all our friends who've looked to this page for updating, please forgive the lapse--and though I still need to correct the re-sizing problem for those who have not been able to enlarge the pictures and read the history of our school, know that continuing to reliably update these pages is a commitment I'm eager to return to. This posting and the next few may be a bit uneven as I resume the work, but I trust that you will agree that DOING it will (at least for awhile) be more important than HOW PERFECT it's done. (I've been getting the ArtBizCoach's weekly newsletters, and those words of advice from her are what's gotten me motivated!)

So for now, to fill the recent information void, I will post an assortment of photos to introduce:

Where we are located

This is an aerial of Port Bonbonon, at the very tip of Negros Oriental, Philippine Islands.
The original school was located at the end of the pier, at the bottom of the photo, until moving
to Tambobo, located between and below the words 'Where' and 'we',
on the finger of land pointing to the yachts.

(Our home, Pilar, is anchored midway between the two schools)

What we look like & the things we do:

(clockwise) Our Main Classroom, Diane with Roselyn, Charlie playing chess with Bill,

Ivy, Ryan and Radel prepare lunch with
assistant Ludy, Math help with Ludy for Roselyn, Reynalyn & Rhine

Brothers Jayfer (then, 5) & Allan (13) discovering computers

Guest Teachers
from the
yachting community

are a treasured source of expertise.

Architect/Sailor/Artist Robin Riley
demonstrating Water Color Techniques.

You can see that Ricagin caught on quickly!














This is John Mark with his cousin Charlie,
and the drawing JM made of a Chinese Junk under repair, in front of the school.

One of Charlie's many talents is drying flowers,
then 'tweaking' his designs when he scans them into the computer.

Isn't Ryan's frog,
an illustration for one of his cards,
wonderful?

During Summer School of 2006,

the students began developing their own small businesses, creating cards, candles, jewelry and gift boxes to market. Artistic, linquistic and mathmatical skills are exercised as they individually design, craft, and maintain accounting records of materials, labor and profits.

For the many who cannot afford a college education, these skills will help them establish small cottage industries, thus reducing financial dependance on badly depleted fishing and farming sources
in their villages.

Our goal has always been to help children
learn HOW to think,
rather than WHAT to think.

In addition to adult Guest Teachers,

foreign children from Cruising Yachts often become teachers, too,
when they join us as Guest Students.

This is Bronwyn Wilde,

from New Zealand,

reading to Jayfer,

playing recorders
with Jaid and Leonila.

We have Special Needs children, also...

In this picture, Alzadam and Bernalyn are learning to sign,

so they can communicate easily with our two
hearing impaired students.

Donations from Al Wasserman and the Pool/Stuckey family ( as well as special consideration from Dr. Reyes, in Dumaguete), made it possible for Welnar and April Rhine to each obtain a set of hearing aids.





Using ClipArt and PowerPoint Presentations on the computer, tools to help them learn to read and write in English/Visayan, Welnar and Rhine have created their own illustrated Dictionary.





What was intended to be a quick patchwork of pictures has turned into an all-day obsession! I've had a wonderful time (dispite the frustrations of figuring out how to DO this!) and I long to keep on showing even more, it's been so stimulating.

But it's time to give it up...Bill has been back at the boat for hours, so I must go. In future posts, I will include the writings the kids have done, as well, but for now this is it.

Goodnight!

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.