Barely three weeks ago, I received a call from a friend I met through a parish group. She wanted us to meet because she just heard from our common friends that my partner, Tony, had died. We agreed to meet on Feb. 12 after the 6:30 P.M. Mass. She looked so happy to see me and asked me how I was. I said I was doing okay but that I was still grieving. Then, while we were seated on a wooden bench, she casually dropped something on my lap. I was caught by surprise and I tried to return the paper bills. It was by any standard a big amount of abuloy or cash dole out.(Pag-aabuloy is a custom where those who visit a dead person's wake give cash dole outs to the departed's family to alleviate financial woes brought on by the event of death.) But my friend would not take it back. I had been so worried about making our finances last till the next monthly payday and here was the answer to my prayers. But I told her that I did not spend a cent for Tony's burial and cremation. It was Tony's children and ex-wife who spent for everything. The urn with his ashes, though, were with me. But my friend reasoned out that I had been the one who was financially burdened by Tony's sickness and so we let it go at that. A little later, she took me out to dinner at Banapple, a cozy little restaurant along Katipunan Road just outside Proj. 4 where I lived. It seemed as if she wanted to assure herself that all was well with me. Over a meal of chicken, beef and rice, we agreed that I should go for a massage with a therapist she highly recommended. This therapist happened to be a trainor of the vocational center, a joint project of CWL, a parish organization that my friend headed, our parish priest Fr. Arnel Recinto and TESDA. My friend wanted to cheer me up and she succeeded.
This morning she called to remind me about my appointment with the therapist after lunch time. She said that I could invite others to come with me. I brought along one of my sons, who had complained of a runny and stuffy nose in the mornings. The massage therapist, Betty Esguerra, received her accreditation from Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. She was promoting natural methods of healing and combined Shiatsu, Thai massage, Ventoza and Swedish massage when she massaged my son and I. Ampy, another TESDA licensed massage therapist massaged me first while Betty massaged my son as shown in the photos above. Betty later finished off the whole body massage on me. She advised me to check my posture. Years of a bad habit of slouching and of feeling inferior in my youth probably caused my poor posture. It was not fair to feel that way at present when God had showered tremendous graces on me through the years and made it clear to me that I had been bestowed the dignity of being His child just like all His children.
I felt better after the massage. My body felt lighter and I could feel that its circulation was also better. I had not felt that way for many months. Tony had been sick for five months and while we were in that situation, it seemed like forever to me. I had expected Tony's eventual healing but God had other plans for him and me. Now, with friends like this gracious lady who even offered the services at just half their price, I could feel myself relax at the idea of closing the door I had opened with Tony and opening a new one without him.
Years ago, this vocational training center was not producing graduates who were up to the standards set by the government through TESDA. Students would come for class but spend most of their time chatting with friends outside the classrooms. There were many days when the trainors themselves were absent. Still they allowed the students to graduate without any real practical learning. When my friend volunteered her time, talent and treasure to the cause of these students out of compassion for them, she was able to train them herself. Often, she bought materials that they would use in their classes out of her own pocket. In September 2008, the students started to take the exams given by TESDA. There were two who failed to make the grade but she would not allow that. She insisted that instead of a three-day class week, they should come to class Mondays through Saturdays. They did just that until everyone passed National Competency Level 2 or NC2. They were now being trained for NC3. Cerna Velasco and Betty Esguerra were sent by TESDA to help the students achieve high levels of competencies.
At present, the training center was giving parishioners, most of whom belong to the poorer sections of the parish, hope for a better life. Massage therapy, Beauty Care and Dressmaking were the courses it was offering. At the center, the students themselves were sometimes treated to free quick massages, facials, hair care and the like. This, along with their newly acquired skills helped them grow more confident. From my point of view, the center had been doing a great job, ministering to people, inside, by its assistance to the less privileged and its course on therapy, and out, by its courses on beauty and dressmaking. It would be helping more and more people in the years to come.
