SGI Young Men's Division members earnestly
engaged
in planting trees
SGI Philippines
Young Men’s Division
Tree
Planting Activity Report
On June 24, 2007 (Sunday), members from the Young Men’s Division together
with our Youth Division Chief Ronald Hernandez, Young Men's Division Chief
Jeremias Zhel Cruz, Young Men's Division Vice Chiefs Jordan Ong and Rodel
Paul Sauza, went to Nueva Vizcaya –
a province located just before the Central Mountains of Luzon –
to conduct a tree-planting activity.
Group photo after planting more than 3,000 seedlings
Descending from the mountain,
after the tree-planting activity
After doing morning gongyo at the SGI Philippine Culture Center, the group
left Manila at around 1:10 AM and arrived in the rain-drenched Nueva Vizcaya
at around 5:30 AM.
Soon after arriving, the group was welcomed by Mr. Oba, a jovial man in
his late fifties and the man responsible for granting the group the opportunity
to share our commitment, time and effort to help in preserving the environment
by planting trees in the land property of Sta. Fe Greeners Organization.
After a quick breakfast, the group went to Mr. Oba’s place to change and
prepare for the activity. Mrs. Violeta, Mr. Oba’s wife, gave us instructions
before climbing to the top of the mountain. After the orientation, a pair
of gloves was then distributed to each one of the participants.
Thereafter, the group in single file went up the steep mountain path. It
took 30 to 45 minutes for the entire group to reach the top. A beautiful
scene unfolded before our eyes and it made the exhaustion from the participants
disappear.
Shortly after taking a break, tree seedlings were passed to everyone and the tree-planting activity started in earnest. There was yet another short break at around 9 AM and sooner than expected, it was announced that we had just planted more than 3,000 tree seedlings.
Thus, in partnership with more than 50 combined volunteers: the YMD members
from Manila and the local Vizcayanos worked together to plant trees on
the mountains of Sta. Fe. The result of their effort is 3,000+ tree seedlings
which will grow into mature, strong and tall trees in the future.
Simple turn-over ceremony of school supplies and books
to the school offical
Group photo with the local children
after the film-showing
Then we started to climb down from the top traversing the same path we used to climb up the hill. When we reached back to Mr. Oba’s place, we washed our dirty feet, arms and legs. Most of us were really tired but there was an incredible sense of fulfillment.
By 12 noon, sumptuous lunch was served that fulfilled everyone’s hunger
and exhaustion. After lunch, the YMD prepared a short program for the local
children: a video presentation of “The Prince and the Sea Coral” – one
of the episodes in Sensei’s very popular animation series called “Happy
Tales” which was shown on national TV for both the children and adults
alike. The anime showed the importance of preserving the environment and
our shared mission to save our planet.
After the video presentation, school supplies like pencils, crayons, erasers,
and notebooks were presented as gifts to the children who were present.
Other school materials like books, notebooks and pens were donated courtesy
of Mrs. Ma. Nenita Pascual Ong Antipala, Mrs. Delia Pascual Ong Sosa to
the Bacneng Elementary School headed by Mr. Romulo Aglubat. Our YMD Chief
Jeremias Zhel Cruz gave his closing speech and looks forward to another
successful project with Mr. Oba and his family in the future.
By 2 PM, the group readied to say goodbye to the Vizcayanos and go back
to Manila. The chartered bus arrived safely back at the SGI Culture Center
a little past 8 PM.
After this experience, I had a better appreciation for trees and the significance of planting trees to our environment and to our very own lives. Tree is life: the oxygen we breathe comes from the leaves of trees; and the carbon dioxide we exhale is taken up by the trees in return. As such, our lives are one with the tree. This accord with the Buddhist principle of Esho funi or the Oneness of Life and its Environment. By carrying out our Buddhist practice, we awaken to our mission of transforming ourselves and to take full responsibility for our own life and our environment. What’s important is that we take action. And one way of creating peace with the environment is by planting trees.
