Hi! I'm Cynthia Esquillo. Friends call me Pia. This is a personal note that I would like to share with you. I know you are busy but please bear with me for a few minutes.
On July 11, 2007, I turned 39. Before my birthday, I was already thinking of the number of years left in my life. Fifteen years or more? I don't know. But I have resolved that I will spend the remaining years of my life in helping people become better persons through achieving their goals, and help ease their pains and sufferings.
My friends in the development work would say, “You are already doing that.” Yes, I may be working for a farmer-based people's organization (
Having worked with the PO-NGO community for more than ten years, I noticed that non-government organizations (NGOs) come and go while POs rise and fall. However, this is not true with funding agencies which have provided bread and butter to many development workers and projects that aim to ameliorate the conditions of the poor and oppressed.
The trend is that funding agencies are growing. The FAs I knew before are still the FAs today. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is now a part of every reputable business entity. Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds continue to pour in to third world countries. Philanthropists now donate in millions of dollars. More and more foundations are being formed.
I realized that the giver can never run out of resources to give. As they flow like a river, the well does not run dry. The resources continuously flow to them because they have learned to give, and so they continuously give.
While the giver continues to flourish, the receiver temporarily enjoys the gifts and suffers from lack thereafter. In the case of the POs and NGOs being the first-hand receiver, funds are always difficult to find. They often “compete” for what they think are limited resources.
Now, going back to my birthday, if I want the resources to flow to the farmers so I may continue serving them and help ease their sufferings, I do not need to wait for more fund to flow through projects. Project proposals take long time to be approved and there is no assurance of approval given the number of applications. I can in fact start with my small available resources and be of help today and not wait for tomorrow.
And so two days before my birthday, I decided to make a 52-day generosity and service plan. Acts of generosity and service will form my daily habit. I intended to do this for 52 days to test my constancy of aim and effort. So while waiting for that dialog between the farmers and landowner to start, I took my pen and started writing the plan. I thought of having feeding program, donating school supplies and materials to day care children, of helping an individual start small income-generating activity, of providing whatever I can in every possible way. Immediately after the first few notes, I handed over P200 to one of the leaders in Barangay Samay (
The next day, I thought of focusing most of my plan to building the day care center/schoolhouse in a small village called Mintugas (located in Barangay Tup-on, Medina, Misamis Oriental, Philippines). I relocated to this simple village a year ago when I accepted my job to implement SICAD (Sustainable Integrated Coconut Area Development) Project in Misamis Oriental. I believe that helping them build their schoolhouse will contribute a lot to my dream of building my own academic institution for the children of coconut farmers. Weird? Nope. Since I still don't have the money to build an institution, I believe that I can take the first steps by making small efforts in building other smaller schoolhouse.
Today, it has been twenty seven days after my birthday and I have continuously pour personal resources on a daily basis. Even at my lowest ebb two weeks ago, I never forgot to flow or to give just to keep up with the plan. I have in fact given out more than five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) and the plan to construct the Mintugas Day Care Center has taken off. The people pledged to do counterpart through labor and a few trees for lumber needs, while I reserved a significant portion of my personal savings for the materials. A few thousand pesos shall also go to Maanyag Day Care Center for the making of chairs and tables.
These efforts are small yet powerful. You can start your own generosity and service plan to experience how the good work you do goes back to you constantly and in great abundance. You can also start by helping me improve my plan. Together, we can construct a more decent and child-friendly day care center/schoolhouse. If you would like to help, you can contact me through my email address at caesquillo@gmail.com, or through my mobile phone +63-920-3598877. Should you want to help but have doubt, I believe you will be led to the proper way to reach me because an angel is always there to guide you.
Thank you for your time reading this and may you be blessed by the All-Powerful Source of Universal Wealth!
