lost innocence

When you pray to God every day to protect your family.  

You leave it with Him to do just that. 

Somehow, evil and wickedness will find its way to bring darkness. 

It happened. Evil came, as did darkness. 

One of our girl’s lost her innocence. She is only 9 years old.

Nine.

 

to protect her identity

She was offered $2.00 by her predator to keep quiet.

To not say a word. To tell no one.

$2.00

Thankfully, she didn’t listen. She came forward and shared this awful story with her mother. And in that spirit, today, I share this awful story with all of you.

Because we won’t accept hush money either. And this story needs to be heard. 

FACT. For every 3 Filipino children, one child will experience abuse. 

 

 

 

Not us. It will never happen to one of our girls.

But it did.

  All of us are deeply affected and disturbed by what happened. 

As are all of the staff and families of F.L.A.G.

Personally, I feel helpless. angry. confused. saddened.  How could this have happened?

 

Please help us heal.

Pray for her and her family.

 

And if you feel the need to help further, donate $2.00 to F.L.A.G.

 

 all monies collected will go directly to her family.

 

The $2.00 in offered hush money need not be remembered as that. 

 

Please know, there is no obligation whatsoever but for those who have asked, your small change CAN make a difference.

 

"Be the CHANGE you want to see in the world"

- Mahatma Gandhi



i love your thoughts and comments, to protect her and her family, please refrain

from using any names. Thank you!

 

With love and blessings,

 

 

 

Monica

 

Thank you Susan for helping me write this story.

www.avagracescloset.blogspot.ca

 



just the two of us..

today, we let them go.

spread your wings and off they go.

don't you worry we will be right here.

supplier of junk food, milk  and beer.

you will be fine.

as we know we taught you well.. although you sometimes feel living with us is like hell :)

mommy and daddy will enjoy their time

living the life downtown in their prime.

Greenwich Village, NY July 2012 , wanna be in Woody Allen movie

Thank you for stopping by,

Hugs,

Monica



one step ahead..

we are always hoping she will come around.. come out of her shell.

quite as a mouse.. will not speak unless spoken to.

she can barely read when we first met her.

Erika on the far left 2010

smiling in photos is rare for Erika ( had a hard time looking for a pic with her)

there's something about her eyes.. wanting to tell us something.

Erika ( 3rd girl from the left) 2011

she proved us wrong..

Her school moved her to Grade 2 level

she was to repeat Grade 1

no one can stop her now..

Congratulations Erika! We are very proud!

Thank you to teacher Rose, Pastor Rey and staff  for their

continuing guidance and support.





Thank you for stopping by,




Hugs,



Monica

the move.

since I have lived here in Canada (25 years )

I moved 11 times..

this will be my 12th. and fingers crossed , might be the last one.

bye house! you were good to us!

my youngest is off to college ( tears *sniff**)

together with his older brother sharing an apartment together.

best friends for life

they will be fine. I know they will.

We are downsizing. simplifying. helping. Just LIVING.

Jon and the girls of FLAG

I am happy for the the boys.  Experience LIFE.

Make mistakes. Learn from them.

As for me, I have my own journey. Keep moving forward.

Can't wait for my next adventure.

The chapter continues.

Thank you for stopping by,

Hugs,

Monica



Report Card

We are celebrating “Educate a Girl” month via (www.becauseimagirl.com).  I am so excited to announce 6 of our girls from F.L.A.G are ready for their next adventure.  They are smart, funny and willing to learn to take on the world.

Our F.L.A.G girls who will be attending Grade 1 as of next school year, June 2012. 

Angel Ann

Roseanne

Angelica

March 30 is our Graduation Day.  I can’t wait to see all of them once again.  I

know I will cry during their tiny speeches of gratitude.  It is the greatest

feeling knowing I have changed their lives forever. I can feel my heart getting bigger

every second I hear " thank you" from the girls, their parents and families.  There

will be a song dedicated to us for sure.  At this time, I will be sobbing and can't

even speak.

 

Thank you for stopping by,

Hugs,

Monica and the F.L.A.G team





Greatest Love of All

The music of Whitney Houston was deafening during the first few months my sister and I arrived in Canada.  Thus, her music is memorable and unforgetable.

The lyrics of this song describe how I feel about the girls in our school and how I want to raise my children.  They are my greatest “loves”.

 “I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.

Show them all the beauty they possess inside, Give them a sense of pride to make it easier. Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.”

Thank you for stopping by this Valentine's day!

From our heart to yours!

  F.L.A.G Team

40 years on earth

age 4

For the past week, I have been trying to think what to blog about.  We have

some exciting news on our Super Moms but no specific details yet.

The packages for the girls have not arrive so can't blog about that.

Not to be conceited, I think I need to talk about the milestone birthday coming up.

Dec 19

Thanks Google, nothing really major happened on this day.

Famous person Jake Gylenhall - is he even that famous?

Why am I here? What is my purpose?

I am who I am. I am here and I matter.

40 years on earth. Thank God.

I read this today, certainly one of many favorite quotes to live by (trying!)

I choose to live by choice not by chance, to make changes not excuses,

to be motivated not manipulated, to be useful not be used,

 to excel not compete. I choose self-esteem not self-pity,

I choose to listen to my inner voice not the random opinion of others."

Here's to the next 40 years.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Monica

Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil

www.flagphil.com

www.facebook.com/flaphilippines



Happy Thanksgiving Birthday !!

 November 24, 1994 - Jordan Matthew de Belen born 9lbs ! Yes, people he was 9 lbs. and all naturale .


In celebration of American Thanksgiving, we are also  celebrating my youngest son's 17th birthday.  I remember my husband driving on the highway shoulder because our house was in the east end and the hospital on  the west end ( in the middle of rush hour morning traffic!) We got there and the delivery went smoothly ( they gas me mind you ).  He was the cutest baby ( he still is!)


He is now a senior in high school, sigh! learning the anatomy of the body so he can help the society to be more conscious about their well being.  So far so good ( I think !). We are doing something right.  Like I always tell my boys growing up, being a parent did not come with any manual. 

Here are a few funny and AHA moments with Jordan:

Mom: Jordan, did you hate me when I use to give you lots of timeouts when you are small?

Jordan: No, time outs don't work Mom! we just sit there and think of what we're gonna do next !!

Lesson no. 2

Mom: Jordan, do you want a new phone for your birthday? like a nice touch screen phone?

Jordan: I don't need a new phone, this phone is good enough. I will let you know when I need one, so far this has been working well. ( his phone is 4 years old!)

He will be facing the next chapter of this life next year when he goes to college.  He is still my baby no matter what.

December 2010

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Monica

Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil

www.flagphil.com

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Meet Charlotte Rose

It has been over a week since she came in to our lives.  Once again we have been blessed, an angel - Charlotte Rose my niece.  She is the 4th addition to the family ( I have 2 boys, and my sister one boy Austin ).


How precious she looks in her cozy little place, nice and warm. Gosh, I miss the smell of babies! Really!



Charlotte Rose

 Rose is my maternal grandmother's name, my sister has been her favorite when she was growing up. She kinda look like Charlotte because she has very thick hair ( sorry we had to put the hat on because the Aunts have gone crazy with dressing her up).


She is another addition to GIRL POWER of our family and one day I will tell her about F.L.A.G and I'm very sure she will be my advocate for our cause.  At the end of it all, I want to leave this organization to my family and hopefully continue to spread the word.


Thank you for stopping by,


Hugs,

Monica

Follow us- twitter.com/flagphil

LIKE us - www.facebook.com/flagphilippines

When you give, you shall receive

Dedicating this blog to Connexions Ministries

For the past year and a half, our school has been functioning with only my husband and I. We have received generous donations in forms of cash, gently used clothing, canned goods and other items  in order for the school to operate.  We grew from 15 girls to 23 as of June 2011. Most recently, an overwhelming donation was given to us and we are overjoyed. With this donation, it will help with at least a month and a half of our expenses.  Some of you have commented on how to help, you can send me an email to monica.vera@flagphil.com . I know we are virtual friends and there are cynicisms around donations especially monetary, we understand.  We will run the school no matter what but our limitations are only within 23 students, our goal is have more and eventually have a bigger school. That goal requires donations.  I do believe in Karma, bad and good so you decide and how you can help.  If you are already helping other charities, that is fantastic! You are already saving a life.

To Connexions Ministries ( based in North York, Ontario, Canada)

We thank you for your generosity! From the F.L.A.G team

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team

LIKE us www.facebook.com/flagphilippines

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Her name is Lola..

Well we call her our 'Lola' - Lola is tagalog for Grandmother. Our grandmother is turned 92 yesterday. I'm dedicating this issue of my blog to her.  I was the oldest of the 6 grandchildren on my dad's side ( all girls !) One of the reason why I didn't take my husband's last name.  I have been told that her grandmothers lived to over 100 years old. Yikes, not sure if I want to live that long. I will enjoy this life for now , thanks very much!

She is growing old gracefully, very healthy and sharp.  We brought male dancers last year to the home and had a blast! Sorry, can't share the pics to you guys :) She was there for me when I needed her when I was a young mom raising my boys.  Thank you Lola!

Cheers to my Lola ! Happy Birthday and live the best life!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Monica

Hey Dad, I'm coming home!

Dad and son ( grade 8 grad)

It was  Sunday morning, Father's day when Patrick called " Dad, can I come home?".  What a wonderful Father's day present when his oldest son found his way back. You see, early this year was tough for all of us when he decided to drop out of school and move out. Jon was heart broken but he knew it would be for the best.  Their relationship was much better since then.  Like a prodigal son, he has to make his mistakes and learn from them. 

My prayers were answered and I thank God for bringing him back to us.  I know it will not be an easy road for us but we will get through it.

Happy Thankful Tuesday!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Monica

I was daddy's little girl???? HUH?

When my mom visited us from the Philippines, we had great conversation on how I was when I was little girl. I don't remember any memories of my dad playing with me, telling me stories or even sitting on his lap. That's not how I grew up. He was a disciplinarian, stern and strict. That's how he grew up ( I was told).

My  mom told me when I was two, my dad bought me a biggest teddy bear from a vendor after working out of town ( he was not home most of the time). For the life of me, I can't remember that time and I wish I could.

3 years ago, my dad passed away after a long battle with emphysema. I spent 3 weeks with him while he was very ill. I came back home to Canada and 3 weeks later he was gone.  It was the most emotional 3 weeks of my life that I will never forget.

To my tatay, wherever you are, Happy Father's day!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Monica

Her name is Clementine

Is it too late to have another child?? Yes it is for me although some women can have babies in their 60's.

My husband spent the Saturday and Sunday with sweet Clementine. My cousin has moved back to North America after living in Europe for about 5 years. This sweet moment I captured while Jon is playing with her. The moment was so precious that I needed a remembrance of that day.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Monica

Every mom's wish

With my oldest son being 19 years old and on his own, my wish for him is to be the best that he can be.  Make mistakes and learn from them.  For my other son, Jordan follow your dream. I never ask for anything on Mother's day other than cleaning the garden and planting a tree every Mother's day. They are my gifts.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team

Introduction to this BLOG

Hi All,

If you don't already know. My wife and I opened a school in the Philippines last year. We visited the Philippines and met many new people including very poor children. All of them have never attended school. They are within the ages of 6 - 11 years old, even though we only met them a couple of times, it's hard not to fall in love with them. They are such wonderful children and looks at the world much different than we do. Most of them are lucky if they have a decent meal every 2 days, that's how poor they are. They sleep in cardboard boxes in a room smaller than our closet. They don't have houses but lives in a shed or whatever roof they may find.

We decided at that time to give up whatever we can financially and build a school to better these children's lives. Check out our website at Fundamental Learning Academy for Girls and meet the girls that attends our school. At the school we provide them with food, uniform, school material and basic equipment. Most importantly, we provide with the education not only academic but the entire fundamentals that we all learned in Kindergarten, such as hygiene, sharing, communication, conflict resolution, etc. FLAG is preparing them to enter the regular academic school and be placed to as close to their proper grade level.

Last month, we were notified that six or our students passed the exam and have qualified to enter the academic public school system. This was a proud moment of all of us including our friends and family that joined the cause. We are opening the school up during their summer season (April and May) as well, to ensure their progress and to help them with the standard curriculum for the public school system.

Monica and I will update this blog regularly for you to meet the girls at our school, meet the new students that are coming in for the coming school year and to understand why we are doing this for the Philippine community.

Thank you and I hope you follow my BLOG. I promise to make it as interesting as possible.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs from,

The F.L.A.G team