Haha-happy moments at Commonwealth High School

The progress of a country can only be as swift as  its  progress in education.   Strongly motivated to help goad our beloved country to progress and  achieve peace, which go together like horse and carriage, I have embarked on helping public schools by providing the desperately-needed water-and-sanitation facilities.

After scouting around for a public school that needed  water and sanitation facilities the most, last September, I visited Commonwealth High School in Quezon City, the chosen one from the shortlisted public schools submitted by Roger Cuaton.  We were graciously met by the school principal, Dr. Sally Barcelona, who brought us  around the school campus, and zeroed in on their  three toilets. Commonwealth High School is comprised of 9,700 students and 371 faculty and administration  staff.  I saw two drums near the toilets that were sooo slowly being filled with water trickling in from the almost-broken pipe.  The janitor gets pails of water from the drums  to flush the three toilets for the 9,700 students!  One can only imagine the difficult situation the students go through whenever they have to answer the call of nature.

As done in the schools we adopted in the past years, I asked Mr. Cuaton to study how we could provide a complete water supply system, to ensure that ample water would flow in to flush the toilets and for washing hands as well.  Furthermore, we wanted to increase the number of functioning toilets to give students more access when the need arises.  My mantra for this advocacy has always been: “Healthy bodies equals healthy minds.”

As a child, we all have a dream. Once upon a time,  to be a teacher was my fondest dream, which explains why teachers and students occupy a  very special place in my heart. My elementary and high school teachers, and college professors —  well-trained and truly-motivated educators who provided us with quality education — inspired me. When I was a student activist, I happened to interview some public school teachers, and my heart  bled after hearing their stories.  Some teachers intimated there were days when they could not go to school for lack of transportation money, while others said they were thinking  of where to get the next meals for their family while in the classrooms.  Almost the same story applies to thousands of  “molders of our youth.”  Though the degree of their travails  may vary, the root cause remains the same:  financial difficulties!

Yet, the teachers are the parents’ partners  in molding the minds and hearts of our youth …  the hope of our beloved Motherland.    Unto their hands we entrust the education of our children, as they balance very delicately their responsibilities to their families, their students, and society!

That afternoon, to help unburden and cheer up the teachers as well as the students,    I conducted a Laughter Yoga session for 300 students and   teachers in their covered court.  To teach what  to  do when feeling tired, sleepy, sluggish, and even angry.  I suggested they  integrate some Laughter Yoga exercises during flag ceremony for 10 minutes to start the day in a better  mood, and in between classes for even just five minutes  to re-energize and boost their energy.

We started with Laughter Yoga clapping. I explained that when they clap that way, acupressure points on the palms are touched, which helps boost the flow of energy to their bodies.  I followed it up with hoho-haha-ing to make them feel better with the going up and down of their diaphragms.  Being young and playful, they easily dropped their inhibitions so we proceeded with the other LYoga exercises.  They laughed almost non-stop, mirthfully.  Even the school principal gamely participated while on the stage, as the teachers standing beside the students followed. Their laughter echoed not just on the  covered court; it reverberated in nearby classrooms and was heard by the wondering-students still having classes.

To help sharpen their minds and increase memory power, we did the appropriate health-through-fingertips exercises gleefully.  Hopefully, a few thousand more students can experience Laughter Yoga when we turn over their complete water and sanitation facilities by next month.

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The next Laughter Yoga session is for Robinsons Land employees in Tagaytay on Oct. 26. E-mail me at mega_abundant_lv@yahoo.com.