MY ADVOCACIES

The activities that I have participated and organized that are in line with my advocacies...

TRAININGS I'VE ATTENDED

The trainings, summits, conferences and other activities that I have attended...;

MY ADVENTURES

The places that I have been to, foods that I have tasted and things that I have discovered ...

MEETING PEOPLE

Very important people that I have met in conferences, summits, and other activities that I have joined in ...

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Archive for 2009

Written by oyyvernie in


Forgiveness is like a journey, a journey home

A JOURNEY HOME was a very nice movie, which manifested lack of job vacancy in the Philippines, financial crisis, price increase of certain commodities, marriage problems, the virtue of forgiveness, and most of all, the strong faith in God.
Job vacancy in the Philippines


Soliman Cruz, who played the role as Dante Santos, came back to the Philippines from abroad because he was fired in a company located in Taiwan due to the global financial crisis. He was working in three different countries abroad, I can’t remember the other two, but I’m sure that he worked in Taiwan. When he came back to the Philippines, he was jobless. He did his best to find a job but every time he applies in a certain business establishment; they would say that he is overage.


This reflects our country today. There are a lot of people with no jobs. Even a small source of income they don’t have. Last year, I’ve heard that the government was providing 8000 job slots, but only 1000 people were hired because the others were not qualified to work in certain jobs. Job vacancy is a problem, as well as, the deterioration of the number of qualified workers in the country.


Price increase


When Dante was scanning the newspaper, he saw the name of his ex-wife on the obituary page. He remembered his children whom he left and neglected before, because he has another live-in partner. He really is regretting for what he has done, so he planned to visit the wake of his ex-wife.


As he was walking down the road, he stopped by a flower shop, he was asking for the price. Imagine a bunch of flowers that costs 15 pesos near the church, in that flower shop, it costs 150? (asa ka ana? Kamahal!) They have much profit for that! Well, prices in Manila are very high.
Facing the past that was left behind


The act of leaving his family left Dante with no family, no companion, and alone. He wanted to correct his mistakes so he went back to his family and ask for forgiveness.
Joem Bascon, who played the role Raffi, son of Dante, was shocked and angry when Dante came to the wake of his mom. Dante, on the other hand, was just silent. He understood his son’s reaction.


Regret comes last. But in order to heal the wounds, one should face the past. (mao na run.. mayo rako’s sturya)


The broken


Dante’s daughter, Kristie, had this playboy husband who always has another girl with him. Because of God’s grace and God’s help, she was able to forgive her husband. But, his husband is doing it over and over again, that caused her so much pain. Later, she decided to file an annulment case.


This reflects the situation of some of the Filipino couples. Mostly, it’s the husband who tends to find another woman. They are not contented with only one girl. Sad to hear but it’s what’s happening to a lot of couples today.
The lost and the pain

Joem Bascon, was kind of lost because he still can’t forgive what his father has done to them. Later on, he find his way back to his father, but sadly, that time, his father had a stage four cancer.

In the end, he learned to forgive his father. When Toni Gonzaga, who played the role as Gayle, was 17 years old, and she was pregnant of her first child, Joem left her. She felt an excruciating pain but she learned how to forgive Joem.
Forgiveness is very hard to give especially when the person has done a very bad thing to you. But with God’s grace and God’s love, you can really forgive and forget the sin that that person has ever done to you. Together, you can live happily and it’s as he hasn’t done anything to you at all.

The religion

I’ve never ever seen a film that has Protestant as its religion, only Roman Catholic. The film is also very centered with the teachings of the Bible. This made me idolize it.

The free ticket and free dinner

All in all, I loved the film, people who bought the ticket and the food (dinner) for me. (yes, gilibrihan ko)

Written by oyyvernie in


everybody commits mistakes

I was just browsing the scanned documents in the PC, and suddenly, I was surprised for seeing my old picture, which was taken when I was still first year. Then, i was the THIN, INNOCENT, smiling vernie.

I never noticed that time was passing by so fast. All I have in mind was to learn and have fun.
My high school years were a bit fun, a bit, because I am still blinded by my mistake in the past that resulted to the cold approach of some of my friends.

I was a CWTS officer, back when I was in fourth year. Maybe you’ll wonder if there is such thing as a CWTS officer when CWTS is just a subject handled by the teacher, as what we have in USC. Yes, it’s CWTS.

As an overview of what OUR CWTS class In UP is, I’ll explain it to you. It embodies the laws of CAT, including the side-step, (hu)manda, harap patalikod and all. So, our CWTS class can be considered an improvised CAT class, but we also do what CWTS classes do, including cleaning the whole campus. It’s kind of weird right? Well, my classmate were complaining why not stick to the real meaning of CWTS and forget about the CAT class laws, but our assistant principal, Ms. Rodel, did not permit it to happen. And by the way, we usually have our CWST during Mondays.

Anyways, back to the topic. Yeah, I lost my friends, lots of them, like almost all. I was a bit harsh to them, teasing them for not performing a drill right, or putting them to shame. I was just doing that because our trainers, back when we had the officers training, were doing that too. I really forgot that they were just our classmates, that being an officer is just a little bit of difference with regards to our ranks, and that I SHOULD LEAD THEM, not tease them or laugh at them.

There was one time when my classmate, I won’t mention her name, cried, because one of my classmates accidentally hit her somewhere, most of my classmates approached and comforted her. She said “I hate you!" Sitting somewhere near the crowd, just to make my classmates laugh, I said, “I haven’t made you cry, have I?”

Unfortunately, the plan of letting my classmates laugh didn’t turn out good. She paused, and said, “You always make me cry. I HATE MONDAYS BECAUSE OF YOU! ” All of a sudden, I was shaking, I really wanted to cry. I wanted to say to her that I was just doing my job as an officer, that it was never my intention to hurt her or something, and that she never knew what it feels to be scolded by our adviser for not being able to control their stubbornness during CWTS session. My eyes, they wanted to release the tears that I am holding back. But then, I stayed calm, composed myself and said in a nice tone, “sorry na gud!”, and I smiled and left the crowd.

I went to the CR and burst out into tears. Then, I started to regret being an officer, a CWTS officer. I lost my friends and their trust.

Every time, we had groupings, I’m always left single-handedly, without anybody wanted to be my group mate, then, one of my classmates, Roel, said, “You have only one friend left in the Alpha Company.” What?! I lost all of the rest?! Like, am I that harsh?! Omegeedd.. Do I still have friends in Bravo? Charlie? Or Delta? This is terrible.

When we had the CWTS culminating activity, I murmured, “No more CTWS. Huhu.” But Krystal heard it and said, “huhu No more power naaa.” WTF! It was a slap in the face! Paet.

Now, everytime one of my friend in the lower years would ask, “Ate Vernie, is it a nice thing to be an officer?” I would reply, “yes, you get to grade your cadets for their performance, you get to command them on what to do,but, sometimes, you’ll lose your friends”I was very bad. But I don’t care about it because what’s important now is I’m learning from it.
After all, a person can never grow if he didn't commit a single mistake.

Written by oyyvernie in


USC BSA1- Block b

i'm from block b! proud to be Bright nga bogo hehe..money3x..

Written by oyyvernie in


Someone voted for me??





Ben was never close to me before Kool Camp. I first noticed his group mate, Fe, because I was amazed by her camp name, Athena. Then, I noticed his teammate Elizar, who was my tribe mate and one of my partners in going up to the Climbing Wall. While we were up the wall, I had a hard time climbing because there are no more grips to hold on to. So, Elizar offered his weak arms and aided me to climb higher. WTH.


It was during the Upland Immersion that Ben and I became close. We woke up early in the morning to drink coffee and to have a chit-chat with the people who were assigned to cook our lunch that day. They told us some stories about how life in the upland area is.


During the coastal immersion, Ben and I became more close because he was the only group mate I had whom I can jam with. We talked about a lot of things. Because the YMA people noticed our closeness, some of them started to tease us. Fuji even teased me. He was pointing at a picture wherein the name “Benedict” was found and said, “uuuyy, Benedict.” WTH. Had he known who my crush was at that time, he would hesitate to tease me.


Before graduation, I had the chance to talk to Ben and asked him to help with the data of our research project. Although my group did not have the chance to report, I was glad that Ben helped me prepare.


I don’t know why I am very comfortable with Ben. I can say that we share something more than what simple friends share.

I never knew that Ben voted me for the Bridging Leader award. I never knew that he treats me as the best of the friendliest YMAers. :D

Written by oyyvernie in


YMA Grad day..

My journey in YMA ended last Sept. 5, 2009.
Though the call time is at 7am. As early as six in the morning, I was already at the 5th floor of the Sarrosa International Hotel, the venue for the Best of Young Minds Conference, Awards and Graduation. I came early because my group mates and I have to practice our presentation.

It was past seven in the morning when the registration team came. We were asked to fill up the YMA evaluation sheet. When Macky handed me the evaluation sheet, I reminded myself that it is the last evaluation sheet that I can fill up for YMA is ending and I have no more Saturday sessions to attend to. I should give my best in answering the questions.


Few minutes passed by, some teams were at the venue. With their business attires and cocktail dresses, they were very nice to look at. It was as if they are not students anymore, but professionals.


The VIPs include Sir Bobby Aboitiz, Sir Roberto Aboitiz, our headmaster Ma’am Eve

Written by oyyvernie in ,


Immersion at Brgy. Bairan, Naga




May 29-31, 2009
Brgy. Bairan, Naga

“Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough” -Charles Dudley Warner

After the immersion in Brgy. Bairan, team Copernicus and Ashurbanipal have really seen what it is to be a resident there. Happy faces surround you. You’ll receive warm greetings. They’re very welcoming.

Behind those happy smiles are problems that would cause a lot of things. There are a lot of OSYs. Most of the youth could only finish their schooling until High School and can’t proceed to college anymore. Based on our survey, this are caused by the wrong perception on the parents regarding education, some of the youth are forced to land a job because of poverty, and the school is very far from their barangay. The Brgy. Road was not asphalted so if it rains, the students will find a hard time traveling from their house to the school. Some elementary students also have problems with the Comfort Rooms because they have only one comfort room, which they are allowed to use, and it’s very hard for them not to have CRs. They also have problems in books.

Nevertheless, the people are already contented with their life. According to Nanay Belinda, they’re contented of their condition now. When we explored the place, we saw the beauty of life. The children could play hide-and-seek everywhere. They could rest while eating some fruits from the trees. They could play basketball and the “improvised” volleyball, wherein they use a small ball and small net. They could also get their food from their vegetable garden.

I was also amazed on how God touched their lives. They really rely and place God at the center of their lives.

Problems and obstacles won’t really matter if you have God.

Written by oyyvernie in ,


Kool Adventure Camp 189

January 25-27, 2009
Girl Scout Camp/ Punta Engaño



Learning while having fun is what RAFI’s Kool Adventure Camp (KAC) is giving. It introduces recreational activities wherein the camper can learn many valuable lessons.


KAC has a main principle which is “challenge by choice”. It says that every person has the right to decide on which level of challenge to choose. It teaches a camper to respect a person’s ideas or choices. It’s the chance to try new challenges or the opportunity to back off from a challenge.


Awareness and trust to one’s self, focus, value of time, playing to win, safety, courage and paradigm shift are some words or set of words that I have encountered in the camp.


Awareness and trust to one’s self leads you to be a better person and are very essential in achieving one’s success.


For me, focus is having concentration. One should concentrate to one thing only because no one can serve two masters at the same time. “When you master the ability to focus, you will master the thing itself” (KAC Handbook)


I have also learned the value of time. Time is gold, very precious. It can’t bring back what was once lost. It should be used wisely.


Playing to win is the favorite lesson that I have learned in the camp. It’s learning, without beating someone or reaching a goal. It’s just about seeing change as a challenge taking risks. It is very useful in facing life’s obstacles without stepping into others or hurting someone’s feelings.


Safety comes with the word responsibility. One is to ensure the safety of his/her comrade or loved one. It is a primary rule in taking risks and slaying dragons. Eyes on the climber, two hands on the rope, feet to the ground and staying focus are the things that did when doing the rope courses to ensure my teammate’s safety.


Paradigm shift is one of the nicest things that I have learned in the camp. It’s just a matter of seeing things in different perspective, being optimistic. I have always been pessimistic before but KAC helped me to look at things positively.


The camp taught me that there really are some persons who are willing to catch you if you’re falling, who are always there to help you in times of need, and who are always there in to share with you your happiness and sorrow. They are the so-called life spotters and belayers.


I have been through a camp before, which is camp 162, but I have learned more things in camp 189. I learned to share my God-given blessings to everyone equally, fairness. I have gained the trust of some people whom I have known for just a few days, trustworthiness. I have cared for some people whom I considered perfect strangers before, caring leadership. I have stepped up, followed rules, stay grounded, respected other’s ideas and choices and taken the responsibility to lead.
In Kool Adventure Camp, it’s not what happened to me that’s important, but it’s what happened in me…


Written by oyyvernie in ,


S. Leadership: The Potter’s Way

January 3-4
RAFI Plenary hall

January 3 at the RAFI Plenary Hall: our first day of class in the Young Minds Academy (YMA). There, I saw new faces, met new friends, and heard the miracles that God has showered upon Ms. Celine Yu, our speaker for that day.

Our session was all about S. Leadership, being a leader through
the Potter’s way.

S. Leadership taught me how to live every day of my life by putting God at the center of it. Matthew 7:7 tells us that,” Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” I should not hesitate to approach God because He is always there to help and to guide me the right way. He will always be the superhero who gives me yoke, who’ll guide me to be a better person.

S. Leadership taught me how to sore high like eagles. It taught me how to fight life’s obstacles, just as how the eagles fight and go with the wind. I’ve also learned how to care and unite with my team, just as how the eagles protect their family. I should have a goal in my life, just like the eagles’ 20-20 vision.

I should always be there to help my teammates, may it be in failures or success. Each member of our team should encourage each other to unite and have a strong foundation so that it is hard for us to fall. We should act like those flocks of geese flying in V-formation.

We should always encourage the hand behind the event. For every success that we may achieve, we should always remember that God was there who helped so that we may experience it. And for every failure, we should always put to mind that it happened on purpose and God has other plans for us.

I have learned that I should swallow my pride because it may lead me to do bad things. I should always be humble to whatever blessing He has given me.

I should be able to help other people in times of need especially at school and in YFC. If they approach me, it means that I am capable of helping them. I should use my God-given ability of peer facilitating.

I should share every lesson that I have learned in the lecture. What will be its help if I won’t share it to others?

I am God’s instrument. He gave me lots of blessings, talent and skills. I should use them for his purpose because I am an S. Leader.

Written by oyyvernie in


The bibliography of Vernie Naraja by Gilphanie Tamayo

Sir Ereno required us to make a bibliogpahy of a classmate.. Gilphanie was my partner so she made my talambuhay. so here it is.



"Sinong taga-Unibersidad ng Pilipinas High School Cebu ang hindi nakakakilala kay Vernie Naraja? Sinong estudyante ng U.P. hayskul ang hindi pa nakasalimuha, kinaibigan at tinulungan niya ng lubos? Sino ba ang makakalimot sa isang mangitiing kahit na may maraming problema at matulunging anak ng Diyos katulad ni Vernie? Ang taong ito'y inuuna pa ang ibang tao kaysa sa sarili.

"Dahil sa kanyang mga kahanga-hangang katangian ay huwaran siya sa bait, gawa at tiyaga ng bawat mag-aaral at bawat tao. Kilalanin natin siyang mabuti. Sa likod ng kanyang ngiti ay ang tinatagong buhay sa karalitaan.

"Ipinanganak siya sa St. Vincent General Hospital, Cebu noong ika-25 ng Abril ng 1992. Siya ay unang anak nina Erlinda Naraja at Bonafacio Tanola. Sa kasamaang palad hindi na nagpakasal pa ang mga magulang ni Vernie at nahiwalay ng tuluyan kaya si Vernie ay nanirahan kasama ng kanyang ina na isang housewife lang. Sa kabila ng hindi pag-uunawaan ng kanyang mga magulang ay patuloy siayng sinuportahan ng kanyang butihing ama na isang karpentero. Si Vernie ay binanyagan gamit ng apelyido ng kanyang ina. Sa paglaki ni Vernie sa piling ng kanyang ina lamang ay natutunan niyang maging matatag sa kahit anong pagsubok. Nalaman niyang isa siyang anak sa labas at may mga nakakatandang kapatid pa siya sa unang pamilya ng kanyang ama. Sa kalaunan, natanggap niya ang mapait na kototohanan at naging tulay pa ito upang magsikap pa siya ng husto sa bahay man o sa eskwelahan.

"Anim na taon pa lamang ang gulang niya ay ipinasok na siya ng kanyang ama sa Kinder 1 sa Bukas Palad Learning Center. Siya ay pangalawa sa mga nangungunang estudyante sa Kinder 1. Nagbigay ito ng labis na kasiyahan sa kanyang ina.

Nang nagpitong gulang na ay na-aral naman siya sa Mabolo Elementary School sa loob ng anim na taon. Noong ika-1 ng Abril 2005 ay pumasa sa siya sa elementarya ng may matataas ng marka at napabilang pa sa dalawapung porsyento ng graduating class. Pinatunayan niyang sa tulong ng sariling tiyaga at mataimtim na pananalig ng Diyos ang kahirapa’y hindi sagabal sa pagkamit ng edukasyon.

"Nakapasa siya sa isang tinitingalang paaralan sa Cebu ang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. Noon pa man pangarap na niyang makapag-aral sa isang paaralang kilala sa pagbibigay ng kalidad na edukasyon sa mga mapalad na estudyanteng makakapasa sa intrans eksam. Simula ng pumasok siya sa U.P. ay naging maimpluwensiyang lider na siya mula sa pagiging isang passive na estudyante. Kung hindi dahil sa U.P. hindi niya mararanasan kung ano ang pagiging miyembro ng Youth For Christ, opisyal ng Citizens Welfare Training Service at mapalad na miyembro ng YMA(young Minds Academy). Dahil sa pagiging pantas sa larangan ng poetry translation ay nahirang siya bilang tagapangalaga ng Legacy of Poetry.

"Si Vernie ay isang miyembro ng props komite sa nakaraang dramafest produksyon sa Sa Ngalan Ng Ama ng fourth year Gonzalez. May Marami siyang natutunan sa paggawa ng mahusay ng produksyon katulad na lamang ng time management, ang wastong paggamit ng ilaw sa entablado na dapat wala aninong makikita. Ang make-up ng actor ay natutunan niyang na dapat bumagay sa karakter na gaganapin nila. May marami na siyang nalaman sa Theater Arts kaya naman mas alam na niya ang pasikot-sikot sa produksyon.

"Ngayon, si Vernie ay nakapasa sa UPCAT sa kursong BS Management. Plano niyang maging iskolar ng STFAP o di kaya’y maging working student sa UP College Cebu upang matustusan ang pag-aaral niya sa kolehiyo. Pangarap kasi niyang maging tanyag na CPA baling araw. Sabi pa nga niya “mada ra nag-smile… It’s just a matter of praying to and serving God”. Sa tulong ng diyos at sariling gawa at tiyaga ay talagang maabot ni Vernie ang mga pangarap niya gaano man ka layo ito."