A quilt sewn with scraps- and love

MANILA, Philippines - In 1972, Mariese Lim joined 12 Pagkakaisa sa Pagunlad volunteers on a mission to flooded Pampanga.

The Chinese-Filipino or Tsinoy volunteers rode a bus, transferred to an amphibian truck, then to a motorized boat and finally a banca rowed by residents to reach the places they were helping.

At night, they slept on the pews in the church, water dripping from holes in the roof and several inches of water on the floor – leptospirosis was not known then. It was the sheltered 18-year-old’s initiation to volunteer work, and rather than dishearten her, the experience sealed her commitment to help the less fortunate in society.

Pagkakaisa sa Pagunlad became Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran, and Mariese kept her ties with Kaisa through the years. Even when she married and settled in Berlin, she kept up her commitment by sending money to support Kaisa projects, or having her brothers bring donations over, especially when there was relief work for calamities.

She would ask members of her church in Berlin to help raise funds for Kaisa projects; in fact, one of the GK (Gawad Kalinga) houses at Baseco was paid for by their group. They would auction off the handicrafts they made and the funds were given to Kaisa.

When tropical storm “Ondoy” devastated the metropolis and surrounding areas and thousands were left homeless, Mariese responded to Kaisa’s letter of appeal and sent her brother to the relief center with her donation.

Yet she felt that it wasn’t enough. Photos showing the widespread devastation continued to haunt her, and she responded by working on a special quilt – literally hewn out of love. The quilt, she explains, was inspired from a quilter on the Internet. 

“When I saw the quilt that she made, I realized that it is a perfect quilt to make to release the feeling that I had when I received the (Ondoy appeal email),” she says.

“When you look at the quilt, you will see that the yellow square in the middle of each block signifies the sun, surrounded by white squares, which stand for the innocence of the people. These are in turn surrounded by squares of red, to signify the heat or warmth of the Filipino people. 

“It is a scrap quilt, meaning there are different colors of fabrics in the quilt, which represent the different cultures, islands, people, religions – just the diversity of life here in the Philippines. And yet, there is a kind of unity, especially when disaster affects our beloved country, then we pool our resources together and reach out to others.”

Mariese has given the quilt to Kaisa, to be auctioned off to fund continued relief and rehabilitation work.

“I did this quilt in a matter of three months instead of the usual time of about a year, which is what happens when I am inspired,” she shares. “People think a scrap quilt is just about scraps; they do not realize that there is more to it than that, at least for me. Colors still play an important part, but most of all, this quilt is made with a lot of love for Kaisa to do as they please.

“Kaisa has been a part of my life, and even the church which I joined (in Berlin) knows about my involvement. Our priest Fr. Penta has been in the Philippines during Estrada’s time, and he has agreed to give 500 euros donation for the victims.”

Mariese’s experience shows that no matter where the Tsinoy may roam, home will always be where his/her heart is – in the Philippines.

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Anyone who would like to see the quilt and make a bid may contact Kaisa at tel. 527-6083 (look for Arlene). Kaisa is located at Bahay Tsinoy, Anda corner Cabildo Sts., Intramuros.