ROCKET LAUNCH

Weeee... weeee... Tooot... tooot...

"The President has arrived! Everybody, please settle down, we will start for a few minutes." The emcee announced.

"Thanks for gracing this event Mr. President" Paulo greeted him and introduced his family.

Men in black in every corner can be seen, they have that curled wires at the back if their ears and they whisper from time to time as if speaking to their shirts.

The one hundred twenty three participants in the workshop were all present, ninety-five boys and twenty-eight girls. They were not expecting to see the President in person. They sit in awe. They feel they are VIP in their new suits with the tie, and new pants and shoes made to order to their exact size given to them three days before the event. The girls in Sunday's best dress are so elegant. They sit as if they are graduating. Some parents are present in their humble dress, in jeans or an ordinary t-shirt and ukay-ukay pants(relief goods dress).

Some politicians, artists, and famous painters were present also like Benedicto Cabrera, Kidlat Tahimik, and Agnes Arellano among others.

Paulo gave the opening remarks.

"This is a dream, that God allowed being a reality. In the farm of Olympug, General Santos City,(the light focused on a painting depicting the poor farm with the Tira family in farm clothes with a dilapidated house in the background), a life full of suffering, hunger and hopelessness, came to a dream to this family. I was born with this defect of down syndrome and autism. I have my own world mostly with my self. But this hardship forced me to try to paint, my mind focuses on the subject and the paint as I mix it in advance is preparing how will be the outcome. There are so many people I would thank, my family, Tony, Martha, Juan, Ruthie, Ely, Luz, Joel, Jacky and especially Katsuo and Ichika, thank you and you have a part on this success.

This family supports me, and I pass my support to inspire and help these amazing artists of Tondo. I thank the KALAHI foundation lead by Alex Rollo and the Maketa Foundation for their assistance.

Lastly, I thank all the famous artists who are here from local and abroad. Everyone knows you, and ladies and gentlemen it is an honor, please stand as we honor this great father of our nation, the President of the Philippines." Paulo ended his speech and everyone stand and clapped.

The President cut the ribbon assisted by Katsuo, Ichika, Tony, and Maketa from the door and all the press take a picture of it, when the ribbon was cut, the name of the gallery which was covered by a white veil, fell down and exposed the name, "Gallerias Mama Martha".

Everyone clapped.

The President had a speech supporting the gallery, thanked Paulo for painting his official portrait. And is willing to sit for one hour to be painted by the artists present instead of the model in the program for the live contest.

Everyone clapped in a standing ovation.

The food was served and the contest began after everyone had eaten, painting the president as he sits in his chair.

The guests and the visitors went around to see all the wonderful works of art. The Tondo participants who were the finalists started their work live and can be seen on the TV channel as the press cover the event. They have only one hour to make this painting. The price is ten thousand pesos, a scholarship for the tenth placer, and one thousand is added for the ninth placer with the scholarship, up to the first place with the nineteen thousand with scholarship, the Champion, had a twenty thousand, scholarship and a painting contract with the gallery. The consolation prizes were scholarship to all the finalists and five thousand to each of them.

After one hour, a room was opened exposing the food for the buffet, chairs were rearranged and the new paintings of the contestants were displayed. The famous artists, Benedicto Cabrera, Kidlat Tahimik, and Agnes Arellano with the President and Katsuo were to judge the winners.

The paintings depicted the President in many different angles, they are all amazing, the judges had difficulty deciding who will win this contest.

Before the result was given. A special song was given by Joni Faith "Jesus take the wheel"

...Fifty miles to go, and she was running low on faith and gasoline

It'd been a long hard year

She had a lot on her mind, and she didn't pay attention

She was going way too fast

Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass

She saw both their lives flash before her eyes

She didn't even have time to cry

She was so scared

She threw her hands up in the air

Jesus, take the wheel

Take it from my hands

'Cause I can't do this on my own

I'm letting go

So give me one more chance

And save me from this road I'm on

Jesus, take the wheel...

A message "Man, God's masterpiece" was given by the invited Pastor, Pastor Manny Garcia from the Bicol Region was given based on Ps 8:4-6: "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:" He also speaks of man's disobedience, God's justice and God's love that will recreate man spiritually if he responds to God's love and gift, who is Jesus Christ, the Savior.

The prayer for the blessing of the Gallery was done, everybody standing and prayed silently then Pastor Manny prayed.

Then after for a while the result was given, Donny Mesa won the championship. They were called one by one and they had a picture with the President holding their painting. And their life stories were read. They were given also their prizes. Their life stories were so inspiring that there were those who shed tears with their stories.

Then the next was featuring the best story with the painting, it was selected by the staff from those who have not been part of the finalists.

Lovely, twelve years old who painted in the workshop a beautiful flower planted in the boots thrown in the garbage, the background is all kinds of garbage like in the Smoke Mountain and out of it, a beautiful flower, with vibrant colors emerged. It was not selected in the finalists for some reason. But the story of her life made it more colorful.

The Paulo and the family cried reading her story.

She is an orphan, her father was killed in a landslide of garbage that when his body was retrieved he was already dead with an open abdomen. Her mother died of appendicitis, she did not go to the hospital because she has no money, they all died when she was six. She lived alone collecting garbage for five months and selling it. She has no relatives to take care of her. At seven she was attempted to be r*ped, abused, she escaped, she went back to the smokey mountain, to survive she ate pagpag(food like fried chicken, hamburger leftover from restaurants that was thrown in the garbage that they just blow the dirt away or wipe it and eat it as their food). She was now with a friend of her mother who adopted her as their child, she has never been to school because of poverty, she knows how to write and read taught by her foster mother, who loved her as her own child. But her story was written by a staff who interviewed her. She learns to draw using charcoal drawing on carton boxes. She happens to hear about the workshop, she was being discouraged by her friends that it is a waste of time. But her foster mother encouraged her to go.

Paulo called Lovely Geveron and gave her the Twenty thousand Pesos, a scholarship, and called her foster parent, Arlie Brillante to receive the plaque of appreciation and a cash gift of twenty thousand pesos for taking care of Lovely as her own.

Many stories of sad experiences, some are funny but are fighting poverty headlong by hard work. There are stories of how politician failed their promises and how some politicians also made a difference although limited to their term of office but the message is clear, there are children, struggling to live, abused sometimes, and are wondering what future awaits them.

"Paulo's program does not stop here, this children will all be monitored, assisted and will be given a chance, to have the leverage to succeed if they use it wisely and have that faith in their hearts that they can make a difference, we can help them make that difference," Juan said in his closing statement.

The guests are now gathered, before the dinner, there is an auction of the children's paintings which were transferred to elegant frames with pictures and stories at the back of the paintings. They are now for bidding. The flower of Lovely became worth fifty thousand pesos bought by an owner of fast-food chains.

The paintings of the first to the tenth placer became worth ten to forty thousand pesos.

The one hundred twenty-three paintings of all the participants were all sold, the lowest was eight thousand pesos.

Some paintings of Paulo was sold for two hundred thousand pesos, one of his paintings about the farm was sold for one million and one hundred thousand pesos. Four people bid for it for one million pesos.

The children's painting which was sold, the payments were given to them in cash.

The President was so happy, he stayed the whole time of the event and want to buy a painting of Paulo about Tondo. Paulo said "Mr. President, I will give it to you free, I will just ask for your support for our project of our foundation KALAHI to help some that we can to make a difference.

" I will, that is not a promise to be failed but a commitment even after my term, I will help anything possible," The President said.

The president grant five million pesos for the KALAHI foundation, some of the millionaires gave a million. All the donations totaled to thirty million pesos that night.

Alex was so happy, and Katsuo didn't expect that this will happen.

"My child who was teased and despised in his childhood because of his condition with down syndrome and autism made a rocket launch to the moon tonight, praise God, His works are amazing! Martha said embracing his son Paulo.