Happy Birthday to ME!!!

I celebrated my 21st birthday (say what?! alright, fine! 27th! Spoilsports!) this month! And I wanted to thank all the wonderful people who greeted me on my special day. For all the wishes and prayers, for spending time with me, for thinking of me, THANK YOU! I really enjoyed my birthday this year. I spent it with some very special people who mean the world to me.


And since I was in very high spirits on my birthday, receiving text messages, calls, Facebook wall posts, and personal greetings from all of you, I decided to put P5 into my JamJar for every person who greeted me HAPPY BIRTHDAY. There are 288 of you - that means my JamJar is P1,440 richer! LOL.


Here I am with my JamJar and the P1,440:

Sorry, my phone's camera's resolution is just awful!! But I'm all smiles!!

And, my dear friends and family, here are your names:

Can you find your name? No? LOOK HARDER!!!

Again, THANK YOU BIG TIME for making me feel special, cared for, and loved. I love you all!! Big kiss. Big hug. XoXo!!


~Chali ☺

A Thank You Letter from Taberna NHS

I asked Dara a few days ago to look for the old letters and journals from our students so that I can post it here. That way, the JamJar Project supporters can read for themselves about the lives of the students while they were still being tutored and while they were already studying in CITE.


While I was browsing through the letters, I saw one that I immediately wanted to post. I am used to reading the letters from the students, and I immensely enjoy reading their stories about their first few days in Cebu. But this letter came from the teachers and the administrator of Taberna National High School. A new read for me. And since mababaw ang aking luha (yes, I cry easily when I am happy, sad, angry, exhausted, touched..), I became teary-eyed after reading it. Here's the letter:

Dear Tutors and Sponsors,

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for unconditionally rendering your free tutorial services to our students. You're so wonderful that you have spared your precious time to our students, wherein people like you are rare nowadays.

Thank you for inspiring our students to pursue their dreams and apply what they have learned for their betterment.

You really are good models to them that made them realize to do best than the rest.

Thank you for sharing your gift of knowledge to our students, guiding them to have a better future.

Thank you for letting them see the real meaning of their existence.

And finally, thank you for being you that you opened the opportunity they once had longed for.

Your kindness is already carved not only to the heart of our students but to the teachers and administrator of Taberna National High School as well. You really helped us in a way.

You are one in a million.

Let our Lord Almighty pay you back for all the good things you've done and yet to be done for the people's sake.

Taberna NHS Administrator and Teachers

Dara once told me, you become more and more sentimental as you become more and more involved in this project. I guess I have come to that point where I am already very sentimental about it. (LOL!)



What the others say is indeed true: the satisfaction of being able to help others is just amazing! And what is even more amazing is that what I had hoped for in the beginning of this project - being able to send these young students to CITE - has evolved to become something bigger: we are now able to touch the lives of even those who are not the recipients of the JamJar Project. Who would have thought that by simply saving P50 every payday for their tuition or by devoting four of the one hundred sixty eight hours we have in a week to tutor these students, we have already become modern-day heroes? We may not have capes, superpowers, and telekinetic abilities, but we care. We care deeply. We care enough to inspire others to care. And we care enough to change the world, one JamJar at a time.


~Chali ☺

Chali in Action - My 1st Tutorial Session for the Year

Etch, kee, davolyu.. what?! eych, kei, double-you! ahhhh... H, K, W!!


Today, I was at my first tutorial session for the year (Dara's 2nd - I wasn't available during the first session, booo!). The almost 100 students were divided into two classes. I handled Section Dahlia while Dara, Rey, and Gary handled Section Jasmin (hala! one-woman team ako!)


We started out with the usual introductions - "Hi, my name is Ate Chacha and I want to become a Chef! What is your name, and what do you want to do or become when you graduate from High School?" One student immediately caught my attention. His name is Ranulfo Verso, a very cheerful young boy who said he wanted to become a lawyer. We instantly dubbed him "Attorney". I am guessing he liked it because he was all smiles! Most of his classmates wanted to become nautical students, teachers or computer engineers. Hmm... 

Ate Cha with the all-smiles "Atty" - I rewarded him with a chocolate because he was able to guess what kind of engineer I am. Chemical Engineer - check ü

Hmm.. Who could this mystery Atty be? Rov? Sir Noli? Or... :) *wink!*

Kuya Gary talks about the difference between High School and College life. Kuya Gary belongs to the first batch of CITE scholars. He is also a graduate of Taberna National HS and is one of our students! 

This is Kuya Rey. Another student of ours - also a CITE scholar - who decided to pay it forward and  helped tutor the students for this session.

After the introductions, seryosohan na! We made them practice Abstract Reasoning - a preparation for their college entrance examinations. My class is full of brilliant students. Instead of the usual 1 hour, they finished their exam in 30 minutes! 

Wow! The students are super serious in answering the questionnaire. Or are you having a hard time deciphering the photocopied drawings? LOL. 

While the students were busy answering, Kuya Gary and Kuya Rey were busy figuring out the answers. Hey, guys, you took that same exam years ago!ü

Time's up! Exchange papers with your seatmate and let's check the answers. This guy checked his answers by looking at the marks (lakra) on his notebook. Amazing!

Uh-oh! Looks like this guy is worried about his score.. Yikes! Lalim ng iniisip mo, pre, ah!

English class followed. Today, I taught them about subject-verb agreement and pronunciation. I think I taught them well! They were quickly able to pronounce the words correctly after only a few rounds of oral recitations. Bye, bye to "etch, kee, davolyu, and duh" and hello to "eych (H), kei (K), double-u (W), and the!"

Stressed out much, Chali? Hehe. Of course not, I'm just showing them my serious tutor look!

Okay, enough of the serious stuff. Let's have some fun! Ate Dara taught them the lyrics and actions for the song "If you're happy and you know it."

Ate Dara divided the group into 3 and asked them to sing, with each group having different actions/lyrics.  Let's see who the best singers are!

Ready, one, two, three, sing: "If you're happy and you know it..."

"...Clap your hands..."

"...Stomp your feet..."

"...Say Hurray!..."

Oops! Someone looks utterly confused. LOL!

Looks like your group is not the winner this time. But don't worry, we'll be back next time for more! 

It was almost lunch time and my tummy was grumbling. After giving them reminders to study hard and attend the next tutorials, we left the 4th year students of Taberna National High School - happy, hungry, and wanting for more.


Til next time! See you then.


~Chali ☺

Site Revamp

If you haven't noticed yet, I've added tabs to this blog! Yey! They can be found right below the heading:

The JamJar Project Story tab gives you a background about how the project came to be.


The Sticky-Sweet Wall tab allows you to write comments, suggestions, encouraging messages, or what-have-you. So, come on, say what you want or need to say, or just drop by and say Hello! I love reading messages, so I am really looking forward to seeing your posts there.


The 2009 Tutorials tab shows you pictures of a curly-haired Chali and slimmer (oops!) friends in action.


The 2010 Tutorials tab shows you pictures of a short-haired (and healthier) Chali and (healthier, haha!) friends with some new tutors and new students.


The JJP Angels tab (JJP = JamJar Project. Kuha mo?) has your pictures in it! If you are a supporter of this project and you want your picture to be published (don't be shy! I wanna see you here!), just let me know!


Alright, that's about it for now.. I will probably be adding more tabs later, so do check the blog out from time to time.


Take care!


~Chali ☺

Now Out in the Grocers

Wow! It's only barely a month after I launched this project, and already it has touched so many lives! The JamJar just had its first retailer and is now open for franchise. LOL! Just kidding..


I did say my vision was for this project to be far-reaching and effective, right? Last night, my friend Kiko sent me a message via Facebook:

"hey cha! can i adopt the JamJar project for my high school back in QC? though we are from a city, we are not exempted from having poor but deserving students who are not able to apply for college due to lack of funds. and when i read about your work, i came to realize that this could be the one low-cost project that our alumni association in QC could start doing so as to show the school that we are not just mere graduates who want to hold get togethers but we would be known as REAL GRADUATES who help their alma mater. i hope that you would give permission to this request of mine. thanks!"

How could I say no to that? For Kiko to be so inspired to use the JamJar Project concept to help others, that is already God touching hearts.


Kiko, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has thought about this concept (maybe I'm just the only one you know who wrote about it and is so vocal about it, hehe). If I can - and someday, I hope I will be successful in doing this - I will encourage everyone to help our less fortunate brothers and sisters with their education. If the JamJar Project concept works for them, then by all means let's distribute JamJars to the world! So, go ahead, Kiks, and good luck! Let's hope we both find as many Angels as we can. God won't let us down.


~Chali ☺

From the Kitchen

This is the story behind the JamJar Project. For those of you who have already received your JamJars or the letters I sent thru email, this will already be very familiar (if you read the letter, that is. LOL!).


In 2004, my friends - Emerson and Dara Go, and Glen and Roselle Ceballos - started holding tutorials for the 4th year students of Taberna National High School in Palompon to help them prepare for college. At the end of the school year, however, they realized that many of these students would not be going to college. Many wanted to go, but just not all of them could afford it.


Entrance examinations and pre-admission trainings cost each hopeful student about P1,875, while tuition fee (excluding board, lodging, and other daily expenses) costs about P9,000. We encourage each student's family to shoulder part of the tuition fee, but they can only afford so much.


My friends thought that if they could just get help from other people to finance these young students' education, then they could help them have a chance at a better life. So in 2005 and each year thereafter, my friends and I (Archie Reyes and I came in 2008 when Emerson invited us to be part of the Taberna Tutors circle) started looking for generous hearts who were willing to sponsor the education of these deserving students. We were always very diligent in handing out letters to would-be sponsors. Since then, we have had 50 scholars - 24 of whom have already graduated and 26 are currently enrolled this 2011.


It wasn't an easy task - looking for a willing sponsor who will have to shell out at least P500. So I thought of a way to lessen the weight (I'd hate to use the word burden 'cause it really isn't a burden, right? Come on, we're helping people here!☺) of having to donate money one-time, big-time. Plus, with my many friends and colleagues (and friends of friends of friends of friends, too. You get the idea, right?) here and in other places, I could make this endeavor both far-reaching and effective. After giving it much thought and consulting with Dara and Emerson, I launched the JamJar Project.


The JamJar Project allows the JamJar Angel (because I truly believe that those who support the project are really God-sent angels) to help these young students get a chance at a better life by just setting aside at least P50 per payday (it says at least, so you can actually give more! hehe!). It may not seem much compared to the costs that are involved, but my friends and I are hoping for all the help we can get - yours included.


To date, we have 55 Angels, 3 of them come from countries outside of the Philippines (my International Angels!). We hope you become part of this project, too, by getting a JamJar, or any jar you have, and use it as a savings jar where you can place the P50 every payday. Let that jar stand as a reminder that with your help, the Taberna students who will be studying in CITE soon, will get a good education. Aside from this financial support (should you want to help the students this way through this project), you may also assist the students spiritually by praying for them each day, and emotionally and materially by sending them letters and gifts to let them know you care. However, this is not obligatory. ANYTHING YOU DO IS VOLUNTARY.


We thank you in advance for supporting this endeavor, for being so generous and kind, for jump-starting these students' journey through college, for nurturing these students' dreams, and for simply believing in them. May God bless you a hundredfold for this selfless act!


~Chali ☺

Jam In-The-Making (the preface)

I will share with you my recipe for making a very delicious and satisfying jam - Chali's Jam of Life. ;) It is quite easy and fun to do, too!


Like any other jam, we would need a few ingredients:


Fruits - No, no, not the real fruits which we eat, I'm talking about the people - you people! My Jam of Life wouldn't be so delish without you. You are the main ingredient of this recipe.


Pectin - The gelling agent. In our case, what binds us all together is our desire to help our less fortunate brothers in Taberna.


Sugar - what makes this Jam of Life so sweet is the satisfaction of knowing that we are all nurturing the students' dreams by giving them a solid foundation for their future, by virtue of their education at CITE.


Water - I hate to be materialistic, but water, in this case, is none other than... (drum roll please.....) moolah! Yes, money. You can't make a good jam with just the right consistency without water, just like you can't really fund education without money. But at least it's put to very good use, right?


Now all you have to do is mix all the ingredients together, let their creative juices flow, add lots of passion, kick it up a notch with some of God's blessings, and voila - you've got one very yummy Jam of Life!


Dig in and enjoy!




~Chali ☺