INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY
Lilia Diaz (National Winner)
- Culion, Palawan
- Region 4-B
Nanay Lilia dedicated 35 years of her life to teaching in a
traditional school managed by Jesuits in Culion, Palawan. Upon her retirement, she was invited by a
group of Jesuits to teach a group of indigenous people in a small island in
Culion. She immediately accepted the
challenge and thought of it as a huge opportunity to help. To Nanay Lilia, nothing amounts to the
happiness that helping others brings.
However, her willingness to help was not enough to make her new job
easy. She was faced with a lot
challenges and difficulties. From her
traditional school way of teaching, she had to adjust to her new students
composed of individuals who have never seen a school in their lifetime. Some of her students, who are 65-70 years
old, do not even know how to write their names or add numbers.
Despite these difficulties and even with the lack of compensation, she
managed to alleviate the situation.
Through hard work and patience, her students slowly flourished. Seeing them learn and practice what she
taught them is a sufficient reward which compensates for the meager honorarium
that she now receives.
Nanay Lilia teaches from Monday to Thursday which prompted her
decision to live within the community of Sitio Alulad and stay close to her
students. Her entire life is dedicated
to teaching and her passion allowed her to help a lot of people. Even at her age of more than 70 years old,
she still continues to offer her talent to uplift the lives of the people of
Sitio Alulad.
With the many decades of her life dedicated to help others, Nanay
Lilia is proof that heroism never grows old.
Leonilo Beltran (National Winner)
- Baler, Aurora
- Region 3
Many Filipinos go overseas to seek greener pastures. But even greener pastures are not enough to
bring contentment into Leonilo Beltran’s life.
Even as he was earning well as an overseas Filipino worker in Saipan,
where he worked as an electrician, he felt the need to do more with his life. He wanted to help his fellow Filipinos back
home.
This was not surprising for people who knew Mang Nilo. Even before he left to work in Saipan, he was
already a volunteer to the alternative learning system (ALS) program of the
Department of Education in Aurora, teaching prisoners at their provincial jail
as well as the youth in their barangay.
Even then, helping others seemed to be his calling.
Mang Nilo took a leap of faith and went back to his homeland to help
people who are out of jobs and out-of-school youths. He established a “skills caravan” and used
his knowledge and skills on electrical and plumbing to train them. His passion to teach these technical skills
allows him to endure four hours of commute from the town of Baler where he
lives to the town of Casiguran where he holds his skills caravan.
Aside from teaching technical skills, he also mentors them by
incorporating values formation into his lessons. He believes that great skills coupled with
the right attitude, makes for an excellent employee. He is also a man of faith, believing that all
the challenges and hardships her encounters with his work can be overcome with
prayers and hard work.
He also encourages his students to pay it forward, encouraging them to
volunteer in his cause and help more people improve their lives. He believes that everyone deserves as chance
to rise from poverty, to find a job and be able to support their families.
In what often seems a world ruled by self-interest, we found a gem, a
true hero like Nilo Beltran, who selflessly offers to help those who cannot
help themselves.
Velvet E. Roxas (National Finalist)
- Diliman, Q.C.
- NCR
With her
goal to help as many Filipino mothers and babies as possible through her
advocacy on breastfeeding, Velvet Escario-Roxas turned her back from her
profession as a Chemical Engineer and a Math teacher. Since then, she had dedicated time and effort
to research facts and in-depth information on proper breastfeeding.
She
currently heads Arugaan, a project of the World Health Organization that aims
to guide mothers to proper breastfeeding.
She also trains other women to become breastfeeding counselors to help
other mothers, especially those who come from poverty-stricken areas, and
educate them on the benefits of breastfeeding.
Johnny P. Medrano (National Finalist)
- Cuenca, Batangas
- Region 4-A
He could not
walk, but he wanted to fly. Johnny
Medrano did not let his disability stop him from reaching his goals in
life. Despite not being able to attend
regular school, he worked hard to achieve education in his own way. His efforts paid off when he passed the
acceleration test from the Committee on Higher Education (CHED) that allowed
him to take a vocational course on technical repairs.
Through his
own cellphone and watch repair shop, he was able to support the needs of his
family. He also became the founding
member of the Batangas Cellphone Specialist Association (BACSA), helping both
the able-bodied and people with disabilities like him by providing them technical
training.
Anton Mari H. Lim (National Finalist)
- Zamboanga City
- Region 9
A
veterinarian, businessman, speaker, organizer and a volunteer for worthy causes
for the poor – he is Dr. Anton Mari Lim.
He is one of the founding members of the Yellow Boat Foundation. It is an organization that brought children
from their homes to their schools and back through the Yellow Boat and provided
them a better chance at education.
Don Anton
also spearheaded the Tzu Chi Great Love Physical Rehabilitation and Jaipur Foot
Prosthesis Manufacturing Center which provide physical therapy and
rehabilitation for people with disabilities.
He also heads the Tzu Chi Great Love Eye Center which provides eye
treatment for those who cannot afford it.
His generous heart also brought him to lead several medical and relief
operations to calamity-stricken areas.
REGIONAL WINNERS
- Gerry Duwin A. Dela Zerna - Mandaluyong City (NCR)
- Adelina S. San Miguel - San Juan, Taytay Rizal (Region 4-A)
- Mina Cabugao Ballesteros - Roxas, Oriental Mindoro (Region 4-A)
- Paulino Matheu Bongcaras, SVD. Aka: Brother Paul - Cebu City (Region 7)
- Fr. Conrado Lacaba Casas, Jr. - Lantapan, Bukidnon (Region 10)
- Concesa Palaca-Lagare - Bangkal, Davao City (Region 11)
- Filemon Guerzon Romero - Bongao, Tawi-Tawi (ARMM)
YOUTH CATEGORY
John Michael F. Dellariarte (National Winner)
- Tugbunga, Zamboanga City
- Region 9
What began
as a school requirement became one of life’s purpose for John Michael
Dellariarte. As a medical student, he
was required to do an outreach in Lakewood, Zamboanga del Sur. His involvement in this activity and his
exposure to the community prompted him to want to do more than just fulfill a
requirement.
After
carefully studying the community, he came to know the needs of its people. This had sparked his interest to help them in
ways that he can. This gave birth to a
project with the concept of a halfway house.
Being close to the nearest health center, this halfway house became a
temporary shelter for pregnant women who are due to give birth. Before this project, pregnant women from this
far-flung area would travel miles to reach the health center.
Along with
this project, John and his fellow volunteers also built a floating
ambulance. Made of palm boat, this
improves access of Subanens living across Lakewood Lake to basic services, like
prenatal care and immunization, available in the health center. It also improves the expediency with which
necessary medical intervention can be given to patients in cases of
emergencies.
Like the
first two, John also conceptualized the third project: a solar reflector made
from soda can used for disinfecting drinking water. He came up with the idea when he visited the
place with other medical interns and discovered that the community’s drinking
water is contaminated. The project, also
dubbed as “I CAN make a difference” is a cost-effective and
environment-friendly way of disinfecting water in rural communities.
John Michael
could have been an accidental hero in the beginning. But his worthy projects and his genuine
concern for the Lakewood community prove that he is indeed a hero by choice.
Helen Gemma R. Vallejos (National Finalist)
- Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya
- Region 2
In a
mountain in Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya resides an indigenous group called
Iwaks. Among them, there is a gem of an
individual – Helen Gemma Vallejos. She
does not belong to the community but she is definitely treated like
family. To the young Iwaks, Gemma is
like a big sister, and for the elders, she is one of the best blessing of the
community.
She
established a group called Balikatang Pak na Pak and influenced other young
people to extend their help to the Iwaks.
The group continuously holds fund-raising activities to provide for
school supplies for the children and basic needs for the families of the
community.
Her
experience in helping the indigenous group opened her eyes to some harsh
realities of life. These motivate her to
do more with her life by helping others in need. For Gemma, the Iwaks are as much of heroes to
her as she is a hero to them.
Cyprian Jade L. Basa (National Finalist)
- Roxas City, Capiz
- Region 6
Even when he
was in high school, Cyprian Jade Basa was active in projects that helped the
community. An exemplary student and a
leader, Cyprian gained the respect of his classmates and teachers. He was always ready to lend a helping hand
even for simple activities such as community clean-ups.
One of his
most important contributions in the community is his discovery and creation of
“alternative pesticide” derived from the anonas squamosal tree. When he was freshman in college, he entered
this project in an Intel Science Fair.
The following year, he used the same concept and allowed the local
farmers of Capiz to try it. He conducted
trainings and seminars for the farmers on how to maximize the use of this
technology. This enabled the farmers to
make their own organic pesticide and save on costs. The success of this project earned Cyprian a
recognition from the Department of Agriculture in Capiz.
REGIONAL WINNERS
- Herald “Kyut” Villarca – Tondo, Manila (NCR)
- Aldrin Bucoy-Abdurahim – Guiwan Porcento, Zamboanga City (Region 4-A)
INSTITUTION CATEGORY
International Deaf Education Association Philippines Incorporation-IDEA (National Winner)
- Tagbilaran City, Bohol
- Region 7
In 1991,
Dennis Drake, a Peace Corps volunteer, established the International Deaf
Education Association Philippines, Inc. or IDEA. It aims to help the deaf and mute community
by providing education and jobs. This
objective, though simple and direct as it seems, has a wide scope.
Through the
organization’s hard work and perseverance, they were able to build an
institution that is able to provide job and education opportunities for the
deaf and mute. Participating in this
endeavor are schools from various districts of Bohol. At present, negotiations are underway with
private companies to provide opportunities to the graduates of the said
schools.
IDEA was
also able to build a special clinic for the deaf that provides check-up
affordable hearing aids for its members.
Beneficiaries
and scholars of the organization came from the underprivileged sector in some
parts of Bohol. These beneficiaries were
carefully researched and investigated by teachers and social workers to assure
that help is given to those that need it the most.
IDEA
believes that disabilities such as being deaf and mute should not be a
hindrance to achieve one’s dreams and goals.
So, it continues to work on providing opportunities for people with
disabilities to obtain good education and employment. The heroism they are demonstrating is the
kind that makes people heroes of themselves.
Malayang Samahan ng mga Katutubo (National Finalist)
- Libis, San Ysiro, Antipolo City
- Region 4-A
Even those
that live in the highlands were not spared by the devastation and flooding
brought by typhoons. When the Dumagat
residents of San Isidro in Antipolo City realized the amount of danger their
minority group might face in the future, they decided start an organization
called Malayang Samahan ng mga Katutubo.
Coordinating
with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other
government agencies, they lobbied for ownership of their ancestral land, mainly
to enrich and protect its natural resources.
Planting trees on these lands and taking care of the environment
provides hope that, in turn, it shall protect them in the future.
EZER Foundation, Inc. (National Finalist)
- Iriga City
- Region 5
Providing
quality education for the poor is the main advocacy of EZER Foundation,
Inc. Taking street children off the
streets, sending them to school and providing a roof over their heads had been
part of its mission. Through the years,
it has produced lawyers, nurses, accountants, and other professionals. They are now the ones that support the
foundation financially as a way of giving back.
The EZER
Foundation also maintains an orphanage which also houses some of their
scholars. It also becomes a venue for
their livelihood program where they teach projects such as soap-making and
others to some of the scholars’ mothers.
This holistic approach in helping these children as well as their
families gives them a better chance at life.
Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Manila (National Finalist)
- Taft Ave., Manila
- NCR
Established
in the University of the Philippines with the goal to help the poor in nearby
communities, Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Manila has now grown to reach more people to
help and more projects to accomplish.
Helping the Ugnayan are the faculty, doctors, nurses, and medical
students who volunteer for their various enrichment programs such as medical
missions and other community services.
Aside from
medical missions, they also hold disaster management programs, teachers’
enrichment programs and tutoring. In a
span of 20 years, they have helped hundreds of fellow Filipinos from various
places. The organization thrives through
the good hearts of its volunteers who believes in their worthy cause.
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