'TULOY', ALABANG (Phil): 26 April 2011 -- "We grow
things on rock here" said Fr Rocky Evangelista with a
certain pride, and proceeded to demonstrate just how! Anyone
who knows Tuloy, the outstanding Salesian work for the truly
poor amongst Manila's youngsters, has little difficulty
seeing a daily resurrection story at work amongst these
youngsters; but if you look hard around the rocks and
refuse, the hard ground and the rocky hill to one side, you
see another miracle at work - one which is very deliberately
meant to coincide with the miracle of grace as well and
enhance the educational and Christian message in this jewel
of the Preventive System.
Fr Rocky has done his homework - read up
on hydroponics and ecological systems, basically, and put it
all into action. He went the 'Aussie' rather than the
Israeli way, he tells us: same result or better, but without
chemicals. Formerly unserviceable 'dumping' areas around
Tuloy are now turned over to growing anything you can
imagine, feeding not just the bodies but the very souls of
the youngsters, many of whom play their part (never mind the
little ones who had just drowned thousands of hard-working
worms and possibly weeks of work with some good fun with a
hose on a hot day, as he was leading us around!).
Lettuce, tomatoes and herbs on rocks, or charcoal, fed with
water containing nutrients starting with the cycle of
chicken manure. And nothing is burned or tossed away
anymore at Tuloy. Cardboard boxes, paper, anything
biodegradable is worked over by the worms and produces a
unique organic and completely odourless fertilizer fed back
into ponds with fish - which have their work to do as well
- and in turn fed to the plants, and the plants feed
the people, and on it goes.
Rock and water seems built into our faith
tradition - from Moses to the Resurrection, but somehow at
Tuloy, especially in the Easter octave, it comes alive in
a special way. Kids who began growing up in the midst
of refuse, knew only rock in the hardest physical and human
senses of the word and the metaphor, learn something quite
different, about transformation. And the key has been not to
leave it at that, not even at the 'miracle' of nature at
work. In the midst of all this rock and water stands the
church, built of broken bricks, each brought, one by one,
from abandoned buildings and now offering a sacred place
where the real miracle of transformation is celebrated each
morning. Grace completes nature.
He started out as 'Rocky' for an obvious
reason - named Marciano by his mum and dad, the nickname
soon caught on. But today you'd be forgiven for thinking of
another etymology. _________________
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