Philippine Scholars

What is summer camp?

�..One thing I observed from my fellow scholars is that they are always depending on their parents. It�s good to have parents on your side if you need their support. But not to the extent that you are always depending on them, which will result to lack of self-confidence and poor decision-making. These things are no longer helpful to the development of the child. My mother once told me� that the proper way to show love to your children is to let them taste the sweetness and bitterness of the world: experience how enjoyable life is, but also the darker side of it. If they need to get burned first before they can learn how to build a fire, then so be it. Her point is� if you want something to achieve then you need to work hard for it. It is better to gain something out of pain, than no pain but you gain absolutely nothing at all. I can describe it as a Lesson� When I was just an Elementary student, my teacher once taught me that for every story that you�ve read, always seek for a Moral Lesson. She said, that every story never fails to teach us something regardless if it�s good or bad or if they are beneficial or not. Then I ask her if it�s really necessary� but she only answered, �Someday you will know�. Now I know. The facilitator decided that we�re going to take-up the two most significant activities. One was a theater play, titled, �Luyo sa Kamatu-oran, Ngano ingon niini?�, which literally means in English, �Behind the Truth, Why is it like this?�. This play tells the story of the common real life situation of the scholars and their family and how they ended-up as Philippine Scholars. The other activity was we watch a movie entitled �Little Voices�, played by Alessandra de Rossi, an award-winning actress here in the Philippines. The story of �Little Voices� conveys about a young teacher who struggles to educate a group of deprived children in a remote area. With a minimum support from the school administration, the teacher strived to shed a light of hope to the children and serve as an inspiration to every one of them. The movie was quite sentimental, I almost felt like crying. But it didn�t make me cry at all. I guess I can still handle such intense drama. I would like to start to give my own reflection to the movie. If I have to say in one word what I learn from the movie that would be �listen�. We need not to say or utter anything� just listen. Learn how to listen to what others have to say, and in return, they will listen to what you have to say. If only people would have the heart to listen, then we can always have hope and peace in our heart. Let�s take for example the teacher in the film, �Little Voices�. If she have done the same thing, ignoring the students just like her fellow teachers have done, then probably there could be no hope for the children. Now let us go to the most common situation that we see everyday here. Just imagine if the government officials would take a minute of their time to listen to those people on the street, then there is no need to blow them with water guns or throw them tear gas. Just imagine the lives wasted because the government deprives them of one simple thing� and that is their time to listen. Imagine how listening can affect ones� life and place peace in each one of us. Also through listening� we can gather information, share our thoughts and ideas and be able to communicate to our fellow men. Speaking of communication: it is a two way process. If you know how to talk and able to share your views, it is also important that you know how to listen what other people say. In that way, we could easily resolve conflict and prevent it to happen again. From a letter by a Scholar, editor of the Cebu website.

Cebu Scholars Summer Retreat

Scholars in Cebu had their summer camp / retreat in April, after the school year ended. They went for 4 days to a scenic resort in Carcar. They had discussions of life, friends, themselves, did drama and art, and had dozens of games. For example, they were asked to describe themselves to the other 50 persons --- without words.

Recent Letters about the Scholars Program from Bohol Students

The Philippine Scholarship Program has been created to motivate the will and intelligence of the poor students. It gives benefit to the poor but deserving students to finish studies. It plays a big role to the less fortunate but well-deserving students in the enhancement of their lives. With their ambition to finish studies lies the future of Scholar families to be free from the bondage of poverty. Marites G.

How our Scholars view the Future

''The Person I Admire the Most''

During their retreat in April, the Scholars were asked to name the person that they admired most, and to give their reasons for selecting that person. They were specifically told not to name someone in the U.S. (i.e., their sponsors). Several Bohol and Davao scholars responded, with "most admired" often becoming "my favorite" person. Regardless of the phrasing, top billing goes to one or both of their parents. Here are excerpts from Bohol:

"My mother, because since I am in my mother's womb she cares for me. She fights for me to live free, and she teaches me right and wrong." Eugene A.

A Touching Letter from a Scholar

You know, Tony, during our recollection I've learned a lot about others experiences and ideas, and also about myself, too. With the events at the recollection, I learned that everything has a meaning. While sweeping the floor I realized that even the small insects keep finding food and finding their place where they are comfortable to live. I was trying to sweep them to get them closer together, into one group, but they always kept going on with their journey.