'Help you receive, help you give', and other messages:
Tuloy community bears fruits of its own motto
MANILA: 18th January 2006 -- Tuloy sa Don Bosco is a
very special place, for those who have been fortunate enough to visit
it, and for those who haven't, then it has to be something like this
which can give you an insight or two. It is a work for street
children. We have a number of these around the region, and they
are all very different, run by very different teams in very different
circumstances. Perhaps they share one thing - the need to survive
financially means they take the direction of being 'Foundations' which
can attract funds, support from business, government, private
interests.
Tuloy, with Fr Rocky Marciano and his team of
Salesians and others, other religious and lay people at the helm, has
as a motto in Tagalog, 'Tulong sa iyo, Ituloy mo' which means 'you
receive help, you give help'. Tuloy has helped hundreds of
youngsters make their way in life. Recently a boy who 'grew up'
at Tuloy, studied there, lived there and found a job from there, came
back to offer a thousand pesos per month from the salary he earns from
the largest automotive company in the country. That's around 20
US dollars, no small amount in the Philippines economy. The motto
has borne fruit.
Fr Andy Wong, who prior to being Provincial in the
Philippines North Province spent a term in that role in Indonesia-East
Timor, recently visited Tuloy and offered the boys there a simple
message from his own experienced, especially during the difficult times
in East Timor. He gave them a three point message to reflect on:
1. There is no solution to violence. In his view, in-fighting
ceased in East Timor when people realised they didn't want to fight
each other anymore. 2. Strength of faith, something he learned
from Bishop Belo. When people want peace, they should have faith and
hope in God whatever trials they may experience. 3. Personal
responsibility is the most important thing of all. Our future,
our family's future, the country's future, said Fr Wong to the boys, is
our responsibility, one we cannot escape from.
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