KHF German Benefactors Visit ADNU and Bicol
Members of the Frontenhaussen Community in Germany and benefactors of the Kristong Hari Foundation (KHF) visited ADNU and the Bicol Region last November 7-12, 2007. The group was composed of Mr. & Mrs. Walter and Hedwig Rothlener, Mr. Diethlem Gandyk, Mr. Franz Steinberger, Ms. Maria Kremi, and Ms. Barbara Bachmeier.
The main purpose of their visit was to inspect the community projects being funded by the KHF through the donations of the Frontenhaussen Community which are being implemented by the University Social Involvement Council (USIC) under the able directorship of Atty. Mila Raquid-Arroyo and the Center for Community Development (CCD) headed by Mr. Elmer Sto. Domingo. These are projects that help improve the living conditions of the Bicolanos in the countryside by providing water systems and feeding centers in Cabusao, Sangay, Atulayan and Buhi.
Mr. Walter Rothlener and his party also had the chance to interact with their eight (8) KHF scholars in ADNU namely, Noel Baesilico, Richard Cabida, Marian Del Rosario, Stephenson Delos Reyes, Cristina Espinas, Jesper Ricafort, Armando Solano, Jr. and Felix Niel Torallo. As expression of their gratitude, the scholars together with Ms. Evelyn Amaro, the Director of the College Admission and Aid Office, presented several song and dance numbers at the welcome dinner party for the guests. The scholars also prepared gifts and wrote letters and poems that deeply moved their benefactors.
The German visitors accompanied by Ms. Vicky Quiachon of KHF and Ms. Liway Torte of the ADNU Institute of International Exchange also went to visit the other beneficiaries of the Frotenhaussen Community’s generous contributions such as the Gift of Love, the Queen of Peace Children Center and the Don Bosco Training Center. They also had the chance to enjoy a unique experience in Bicol. After walking kilometres of rice paddies and dusty roads under the heat of a glaring sun they finally reached the water systems and feeding centers in Atulayan. Here they took advantage of the beautiful weather to take a dip in the clear, blue waters of the island. In Buhi, the group had an exhilarating speed boat tour around the Lake that brought them to the Buhi Lake Resort. The Buhi experience ended in a “budol-style” dinner hosted by Mr. & Mrs. Diones and Evelyn Belza in the spacious garden of their home. Eating with their bare hands was a novel experience for the German guests but they were all too ready to dig in and enjoy the simple but delicious dinner.
Of course, a visit to Bicol is never complete without a visit to the majestic Mayon. This trip however, was not purely a pleasure one as Mr. Nono Sto Domingo of CCD gave the group a guided tour of the areas devastated by typhoon Reming last year. They visited the evacuation centers in Barangay Maipon where over a thousand people were killed by the rampage of “lahar” from the slopes of Mayon Volano.
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