After being down with colds for a few days, I finally got the chance to watch the TV for news updates. I was elated to know that a Filipino was awarded by CNN and recognized as a hero for his “pushcart education.” At first, I thought it was kind of a joke to push the heavy cart around and instead of calling the children to come to him, he comes to them instead, and teach all sorts of basic education. That is a very peculiar thing to do. Yet after threading throughout the whole segment of the documentary, I was convinced of its plausible result to the street children in Cavite.Many would have deemed this futile for who would wound the street and brave the scorching heat to reach out to children deprived of the opportunity to learn in school due to destitution. Amidst the market-driven life where survival goes along with the thirst for every drop of a mint in the pocket, it is surely foolish to pursue a career that has no payback. We are in the culture of something for something, quid pro quo, and doing without being rewarded is a no-no policy these days. But a simple man in Cavite had proven that wrong by making a difference. He looked at the world differently by recognizing the need of the failing educational system in the Philippines, and it was by this vision that he started to roam around, first with his trisikad, then gathered street children to teach them the basics of education. Eventually his trisikad was changed to a pushcart, which had but few educational materials on it. Day by day, amidst the dangers of the street and demeaning snickers of incredulous individuals, he attracted lot of student volunteers to join his cause in tutoring the children every weekend. Withstanding fatigue and other threats of the road, his remarkable endeavor paved the way to the establishment of the Dynamic Teen Company or DTC.
Efren Peñaflorida Jr. was a poor man but very rich in heart. By being raised in poverty, he saw the necessity of education among the young as an emancipation from poverty. With this simple goal he had gathered a good number of volunteers and his project was supported by World Vision and other business tycoons in Cavite. His project was even replicated to other places even as far as Kenya. His plausible accomplishment may not only serve as an inspiration for all Filipinos but a reminder that each could be a hero on his own. All we have to do is to discover and unleash it for the service of all. You don’t have to look for far places to prove your worth; your own ground has so many problems that need answers.
Truly, this exemplary man is one of a kind – a saint in the middle of street – that dared to make a difference in the lives of others. I know how foolish it is to roam the street in 30 degrees heat and impart to the children his knowledge, but, as far as testimonies have been sprouting in the press, this foolish endeavor turned out to be the best in a certain respect. All saints, including Efren in that category, are often regarded foolish at first for thinking out of the box, but history proves that this kind of insanity has given a lasting change in humanity. Efren started it in his own ground and gradually etched his vision to the world, and he did this with happiness and contentment. With all of these, I salute the hero in him.
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Meanwhile, I had a great moment reading the Time magazine. Last week’s issue was superb for it featured the 50 greatest inventions of 2009. These were not just accomplishments in the field of science but milestones in history to ease the burden of humanity in various fields. To see the full list click on this link.
There was one particular invention however that really hooked on my mind, the rest were all, in a strict sense, in sheer scientific application. I am talking of the Biotech Stradivarius. What made this remarkable is the application of science in the field of arts whereby creating a perfect replica of the world's most expensive violin in the world: The Stradivarius. Made in 1711, Strad becomes is the world's most widely sought violin of all time.
We all know that in the musical culture in the Philippines the number of violinists is surpassed by the number of pianists. The reason for this is not that piano lessons are far cheaper than violin lessons, but the fact that the violin is as alien as F1 racing in the Philippines. So in order to change this, there should be cheap yet quality violins available in the market for those aspiring music students. By making it affordable, students of music will be gradually drawn by its sensual spell.
This is the very vision that prompted Professor Francis Schwarze of the Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials Testing and Research. The professor used two fungi (whatever those fungi are, I don’t have any idea) to alter Norwegian spruce and sycamore to perfectly imitate the wood used by Stradivarius. He then hired a violin-maker to make use of his experiment and the result: out of 152 professional violinists who were blindfolded and were directed to distinguish which of the two was a Strad, 113 chose Schwarze’s work and only 39 distinguished the real Strad.
Time had one explanation why it happened:
“One theory has it that Stradivarius' violins sound better because the craftsman lived in a brief climatic period that produced particularly high-quality wood.”
However, whatever the reason is, I just hope this will become cheap in the long run and the people in the world, especially the poor, will have an equal access to the wonderful world of music.
