austraLasia
1395
'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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