Heartist of Hope

Hapag ng Pag-ibig

Hapag ng Pag-asa

          Joey Velasco as a painter and sculptor, is one of the great social artist our country has ever produced. He captured the heart of our nation when, in 2005, he showed to the public his famous painting-              "Hapag ng Pag-asa" which depicts the Last Supper with Jesus Christ and 12 street children instead of the disciples. He was a "heartist of hope", an artist who painted from his heart to give hope to the hopeless- particularly, the street children in our society.

          At present, one of the prioritites of Joey Velasco Foundation (JVF) is to give support to the Hapag Kids and their families as well as other families of Hapag Village in Amparo, Caloocan City. JVF will create livelihood projects for them,give training to enhance their skills and other activities for the value formation of the community. Also, the Foundation is closely monitoring the education of the children and their performances in school. Hopefully, the foundation could also provide for their other school requirements.

          Secondly, JVF is already in its initial processing stages of the Museum Development Plan               (i.e. Accession Catalog, Storage & Inventory), JVF wishes to have museum, "The Artesacra Center for Visual Arts Education" that will preserve and promote the life, work & advocacy of Joey Velasco, a Filipino visual artist who largely delves on religious art.

          Any donation/pledge is deeply appreciated, and your support will help ensure that the                   Joey Velasco Foundation will continue to be able to provide our less fortunate brothers and sisters the care and support that they need to continue Joey's advocacy.

THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS

Most of us have been hurt a number of times in life by people who are careless, thoughtless or deliberately cruel. The hurt could be expressed in myriads form- a parent’s abuse, a friend’s disloyalty, a spouse’s infidelity, a relative’s acid tongue, or an acquaintance’s tactless words.
The hurt could last for a lifetime, especially if it cuts deep into our ego. The hurt remains an indelible stain on the fabric of our memory. But is it worth it to harbor a grudge in our heart for a pain we didn’t deserve? Psychologist point out that carrying a burden of hatred in our hearts does more harm than good. In fact, studies show that the root cause of physical ailments like high blood pressure, ulcer, migraine headaches, insomnia and other diseases is suppressed anger or unventilated ill-feelings. 
Rage that is constrained or fueled for retaliation, or aiming to get even with the person who has hurt you can, cripple you emotionally. It can consume your energy and zap your high spirits in the midst of a sunny day. It’s like traversing the emotional spectrum from unfettered joy to the abyss of abject despair.
“The only way to heal the pain,” says Lewis Smeder in his book Forgive and Forget “is to forgive the person who has hurt you. Forgiving stop the virus of pain. It heals you. When you release the wrong doer from the wrong you cut a malignant tumor out of your life. You set a prisoner free. Only to discover later that the real prisoner is yourself.”
If the pain still hurts or assuaging it takes time, why not reflect on this food for thought:
Count your blessing instead of your crosses, Count your gains and not your losses, Count your joys instead of your woes, And count your friends not your foes, Count your best years instead of your lean, Count your good deeds and not your mean, Count your courage and not your fears, Count of your laughs instead of your wealth, Count on your health instead of your wealth Count on God and not on yourself.

How Shell Produce a Precious Gem Called Pearl?

Pearls are formed as a result of pain, after foreign or undesirable elements, like parasites or a grain of sand, find their way inside the oyster.
A lustrous substance called nacre is found inside the shell. When a grain of sand penetrates the shell, the nacre cells begin to work and cover the grain of sand with layers and more layers, to protect the helpless body of the oyster.
As a result, a beautiful pearl begins to form.
There is no way for an oyster that has never been wounded to produce pearls, because a pearl is a wound that has healed.
The same can happen with us.
Have you ever been hurt by someone’s harsh words?
Have you ever been accused of saying something that you never said?
Have your ideas been rejected or misunderstood?
Have you ever suffered because of prejudice?
Have you ever been treated with indifference?
So, produce a pearl!
Cover your sorrows with several layers of LOVE.
Unfortunately, very few are interested in showing this kind of effort. Most people just learn how to cultivate resentment and sorrow, leaving their wounds open and nourishing them with various types of emotions. And, therefore, not allowing them to heal.
What we often see are " Empty Oysters ", not because they have not been wounded, but because they were unable to forgive, understand and transform their pain into love.
In most cases a smile, a glance or a gesture is worth more than a thousand words!

Collaborated by: Gabriela Coimbra