‘We can change society in our own little ways’

While other young ladies her age may fret about what fashion statement to make in yet another party or "gimmick", 19-year-old Francesca "Chesca" Dolendo has an altogether different concern – reaching out to nuns. Here on vacation from her studies at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University where she is an incoming BS Biology sophomore, Chesca fervently hopes she can reach out to as many nuns as she can.

"Our latest project now," explains Chesca about her Hand in Hand Foundation, "is (to facilitate) breast cancer awareness among nuns. Since nuns are single, they have a higher risk of getting breast cancer. And since they are also cloistered, they may be less informed about the risks of breast cancer."

Chesca has given a seminar on breast cancer, Keeping aBreast, to the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Convent. Her mom, Makati Medical Center pediatrician, Dr. Rita Espiritu-Dolendo, also attended the seminar as medical consultant.

"The lectures will run until July 5," Chesca continues, "and so (congregations of) nuns can choose a date, call if they’re interested, and we can go to them."

It’s typical of Chesca to involve herself in yet another project that she hopes will be helpful to others. The eldest of three daughters, she says she and her sister have always been encouraged by their parents to have a socio-civic sense.

"Going to school," Chesca recalls of her younger days, "we had baon every day. When we’d see street children begging in traffic, we would share our baon with them."

Three years ago, Chesca founded Hand in Hand, a non-stock, non-profit foundation registered with the SEC. She is the foundation’s president while her sisters, Catherine, 15, and Cristine, 13, are the vice presidents for operations and for administration, respectively.

"Our general goal is idealistic," relates Chesca. "It is the improvement of society. I believe that we all can help change society in our own little ways."

Hand in Hand counts as its members Chesca’s relatives and the friends of her mom and their children who are mostly college students. The foundation has engaged in various projects such as medical missions like the ones it has held in such places as Benguet and an Aeta village in Pampanga where Chesca’s uncle, internist Dr. Joseph Espiritu, also lent a hand.

"We’ve also reached out to kids at the SOS Children’s Village in Alabang," says Chesca, "who we visit every week. We play with them or watch movies together, take them to the zoo or swimming parties."

Her laudable apostolate is consistent with Chesca’s life goal of "making a difference in people’s lives." She reckons that her goal of becoming a physician is her "greatest way of helping others. I think I’ve been given talent and I have to use that talent to make a difference in people’s lives."

To be sure, Chesca has already achieved much in her young life – she topped her high school class at the International School in Makati City, and is one of just over a dozen Filipinos at Johns Hopkins (of the group, Chesca is the only one from the Philippines; the rest are Fil-Ams residing in the US. "My schoolmates at Johns Hopkins are very amazing, very witty," Chesca gushes, "but I just try to concentrate on being the best that I can be."). Yet Chesca knows she will measure her life not by her academic achievements but ultimately, how she will use those achievements to help uplift other people’s lives.

"From my mom I learned to take responsibility for my actions," reveals Chesca, "and that everything I do should be for God. From my dad (interior designer George Dolendo), I learned to work hard – which my mom also taught me – but to balance work with fun. He always says that life is there to be lived and not just to make a living. So I also have fun – I hang out with my friends, go on road trips or to the beach."

Chesca is not yet sure what medical specialty she will eventually choose, although she is considering OB-Gyne. She is certain, though, that she will practice here in the Philippines, where she knows she can continue to make a difference.

That may still be far off in the future, but Chesca isn’t one who lives for tomorrow. There’s much for her to do today, and that’s why she’s not wasting any minute – including of course, reaching out to as many nuns as she can.

(For inquiries on Hand in Hand’s breast cancer seminar for nuns, please contact 893-22-74, 893-59-89 or 0917-5363697).