Tito Edward’s overflowing charity: building every community
Why is my beloved Tito Edward Agdeppa a quite remarkable man when it comes to mentoring young minds?
Is it because he is exceptionally MENSA-like intelligent?
Is it because he is as famous as Kris Aquino or Bill Gates?
Or is it because he has the clout and the popularity?
To be honest, none of the above exists. Just to set the record straight, Tito Edward is your average Joe whose main avocations are to serve our public (just to reiterate, he was with SSS as an IT professional for more than 30 years), to help other people with no expectations, and to help to make our educational system much better (at least in terms of mathematics education).
What sets Tito Edward apart from the rest is that he reaches out to indigenous peoples of our country, especially the children. He has a really soft spot for them and they are therefore close to his heart. Because he was trained to be a leader through his decades-long career at SSS (being a junior management-level executive), he began to develop his life-long love and passion for service through volunteerism, just like our bosom buddy Titser Fe M. Lustañas, who is widely known for her Education Under the Bridge project (we will be featuring her soon).
Tito Edward began immersing himself into volunteerism when he and his classmates from the De La Salle College of Business and Economics (now College of Economics) conceptualized a project, which involved donating school supplies to underprivileged children of North Fairview, Quezon City. The project was aptly called Bag-To-School, Back-To-School and he and his team went beyond his immediate community.
Epiphany was what Tito Edward experienced as he neared retirement. He decided to focus on literacy and even went to far-flung areas (which he still does, together with his ardent supporters) to interact with the locals. The impetus for his later passion project was the PISA 2018 result across countries, in which the Philippines ranked 76th out of 78 countries that participated in the PISA examination in terms of Mathematics. Thus, Tito Edward decided to focus on both reading and mathematics.
One of the other accomplishments of Tito Edward and his team was the Extended Parent Program in Barangay Kaligayahan, Quezon City, where he has taught the children there without fail. He formally dubbed the project I-Volunteer for Filipino Children, for he partnered with I-Volunteer, founded and headed by young civic leader JB Tan. Tito Edward’s goal was to determine the comprehension levels of children, and thus he was successful (and still is) at it. What is more remarkable is that Tito Edward himself teaches the children, along with other volunteers, on weekends. What is also commendable is that nutritious food is served to the children for them to satiate not only their physical hunger but also their intellectual hunger.
Tito Edward’s pet project eventually became more attuned to the times because he began to use technology to teach more than 60 children from other nearby communities. His compassionate heart and indefatigable volunteerism took him to different places nationwide, particularly in his hometown of Sinait, Ilocos Sur, Batangas, Leyte, Laguna, Tarlac, and other areas. He has also been instrumental in helping indigenous peoples to become accomplished scholastically, particularly through mathematics education.
As a result of Tito Edward’s efforts, recipients of his remedial program have been winning accolades in mathematics competitions nationwide.
Despite the overwhelming support and publicity Tito Edward has received, he is still a man whose feet are firmly planted on the ground. He also never fails to give back to his hometown and to his community (and even to other communities).
Such a man is one who is worthy of emulation, admiration, and idealization of what a true civil servant is, both in creed and in deed.
GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHO!
GUESS WHAT: This national special high school has been in hot water for weeks now due to abominable moral acts which involve reputations (but in fairness to the school, no sexual or any other predatory acts).
Do you want to know the reason why?
Many of the teachers of the school have been notorious for sowing terror and vitriol among their students. I have happened to discover serendipitously the major brouhaha in which our subject school is entangled. I happened to read the social media post of a user who complained about one of the teachers who spread the deplorable rumor that the user is pregnant, though the student has long graduated from the school. Other users reported that some of the teachers are not only uncivil but also vituperative and hubristic especially towards their students. The mayor was tagged in the post but did not do anything about the long-standing scandal.
What are the lessons of the story? Teachers, let us be loving and compassionate towards our students. Never ruin our students’ future. Be a beacon of hope, not of discord. Be good role models to our school and our society.
GUESS WHO: This famous and prolific actress from the not-so-distant past used to be as wild as a cheetah whenever she would involve herself in a relationship with her love team partners. Back in the old days, our subject was rumored to have pulled an act that would shock even the late Linda Lovelace. According to my source, who is a man about town, our subject experienced heartbreak and got her eyes wet from tears because her one of her perennial partners called it quits. The male partner grew tired of her promiscuity and of her amorous acrobatics, notably her propensity for oral presentations. In fairness to our subject, she already has a quite blissful and successful family life. What more could she ask for?
What are the lessons of the story? Never pounce on your lovers like a jaguar or tiger would. Take it easy when you get physical (and get animal, to borrow Olivia Newton-John’s lyrics from her phenomenal 1981 hit). Find happiness in the people who love you and whom you love back. Go for lasting peace and happiness, not a moment of wanton carnal pleasure.
If you have suggestions in terms of the education-related topics that you want me to feature, please feel free to send me an email to edteo.ramos@yahoo.com or to coachjet.inspirations@gmail.com and I will reply to you as soon as I receive your email.
