A Dream Fulfilled

– reposted from Habitat From Humanity Philippines

We first met Felisa Amistoso and Shirley Elladora last year. Back then, they were just two women who were motivated by a dream. This is a story of their success and unwavering hope for a better life. Many thanks to JM Lago, whose tireless efforts have humanized our thousands of home partners.

It is November 6, 2015.

The air was festive. There were green and blue balloons lining the main road. A marching band was playing a catchy, modern tune. The sky was a clear, bright blue, complementing the green roofs of the houses. Some had curtains, others already had furniture, many had lawns and new shrubbery.

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There were children running around the village. There were women sweeping the floors of the houses. There were men gathering water and making last-minute adjustments to their furniture.

These are the new residents of Habitat…

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Helping President Duterte by the the Citizens is Crucial

Posted by penpowersong

HELPING PRESIDENT DUTERTE

BY THE CITIZENS IS CRUCIAL

By Apolinario Villalobos

No amount of brutish approach can make a leader successful as traitors can always lurk around him. Not even dictators in the past had a peace of mind. Treachery is innate in man. In politics it is viewed with subtlety and benignly called “turncoatism”.

President Rodrigo Duterte may be brave and his brutish frankness may be emphasized with colorful cusses, but all these shall go to naught if even just a single traitor among his trusted will deceive him. It should also be noted that while the chiefs of the various agencies have been traditionally booted out, there are still the so-called “career service officers” who are left behind, with some or many of them having been part of the machinery that churned out corruption with various impression under the past administrations. Chiefs stay and go but these CSOs whose butts got calloused in their chair for twenty or more years, and who are fully aware of how manipulations are done, could be rubbing their palms together while salivating for new prospects of suckers who will fall victim to their butt-licking and kowtow strategies

The Filipinos should be made aware this early, of the agenda or plans of the new appointees. They should be holding press conferences by now so that those who are closely watching the new administration could keep tab of their actions. If something has gone wrong, the citizens could readily call their attention so that necessary adjustments could be made to prevent stacking up of faults. This “attention calling” effort can be done via the social media networks.

The whole nation is fully aware that many appointees are neophytes and that they were appointed because of their “specialties” and “exposures” in their past jobs…albeit, in private capacity and environment. All of them are all brimming with courage, no question about that as working with a gutsy president is no joke, because the ire that he may earn from his detractors can also spread out to his various working groups.

This time around, Filipinos should set aside their differences for the sake of changes that each has been longing for. It is not always that the Philippines can have a hard-hitting president who tells drug lords, “I will kill you”. It is only once in a lifetime that the country can have a fatherly president utter, “If you hurt my people, I will kill you”.

Filipinos should join hands and support Duterte…

Trust~

Posted by penpowersong

is an honor,

that is earned,

and easily broken.

The Holler Hummers have learned to trust,

and will feed readily from hand.

My husband and son volunteer occasionally for photos,

as you can see in this photo, but mostly I do it myself, which is really quite comically difficult.

I hold the camera with my right hand and the feeder with my left!

But the experience of concentrating, vibrating, hummingbirds feeding from your fingers, so close to your face and eyes, is so simply phenomonal, that’s it’s worth is above words.