by Isabel

When my sisters and I joined the DEH youth choir years ago, the choir was led by two brothers — Pip (who I recently learned has passed away, bless him) and Ikel Gadi.

The brothers told stories and made us laugh, but they both loved music and were talented musicians as well (Pip played the guitar and Ikel, the piano). They taught us songs and vocal arrangements, pushed us in our vocalization, and scolded us when we were lazy. Between Pip’s soft-spoken demeanor and Ikel’s stern nature, the choir slowly went from an out-of-tune (or tempo), rowdy, disorganized, bunch of kids to a group with a purpose: to fill the community with music at the upcoming fiesta. (We were still a bit rowdy, but at least we knew what we were doing, and why.)

The Gadis, who used to live just a few houses from us, have long since moved out. But sometimes I catch myself humming the songs they taught us, or I hear certain songs sung at Mass, and I am transported back to those younger, more carefree days.

Tomorrow (Saturday), the community’s musical tradition continues. If you want to help fill the community with music, head for Our Lady of Remedies Chapel for the DEH music ministry workshop at 1:30pm. It is expected to be a fun and rewarding way to spend the afternoon.

by Isabel

The DEH Music Ministry is inviting all residents of Don Enrique Heights, young and “the not-so-young” alike, to attend the music ministry workshops one Saturday afternoon per quarter.

The objectives of the workshop are as follows:

Other objectives include to encourage stronger ties with neighbors through community activity and to promote the work of homegrown composers and arrangers.

For inquiries and registration, kindly get in touch with Ms. Pauline Balao. You may also leave a reply below.

The first workshop is on 19 May (Saturday) from 1:30-4:30 PM at the Our Lady of Remedies Chapel. Next batches will be in August and October.

See you there!

by Isabel

Before going ahead with Our DEH Community, I sent out a questionnaire that would help assess how many community members are “Netizens” (Internet citizens) and to what degree. The questionnaire also sought to gauge DEH residents’ interest in participating in community life — would we be interested in reading reports about the community, chapel or parish activities, or the youth? Would we participate in online discussions on community issues?

One questionnaire was sent out per household. Of the 200 that were distributed, only 74 were returned. This represents about one-fourth of the number of households in DEH — a small sample, but good enough to get a feel of how and to what extent we were interested in community life.

(To skip the statistics and read ahead, click here.)

What the survey said
Most of the respondents (60%) access the Internet from home, with majority (33%) going online only once a day. When asked to rank the reasons for going online, not surprisingly, the respondents gave email the highest ranking (87%), followed by research (79%). Blogging and reading other people’s blogs each accounted for only a small percentage (21%).

When asked which of the different aspects of community life would interest them, the respondents indicated the most interest in current community issues/events (58%), followed by chapel/parish activities (39%). Participating in online discussions got the least response (26%).

Most of the respondents (32%) were neutral about having a DEH web site or blog; about half this number (18%) gave it a high priority. According to the majority (32%), a web site or blog about the community should carry news about current events/projects/activities. Other suggestions for content were ads (12%), community problems and concerns (10%), and information about neighbors (8%).

For the parish, the responses were similar — a number of respondents (14%) thought a parish web site or blog was a top priority, but the majority (22%) were neutral about it. Content suggestions included parish programs and activities (21%), a schedule of services (17%), official stand on issues (14%), and profiles of priests (10%). However, as St. Benedict Parish (of which Our Lady of Remedies is just a subparish) encompasses a larger community than DEH, these are by no means exhaustive results.

It is interesting that most of the respondents (20%) were from the 21-30 age bracket, followed by the below 21 bracket (18%). I later learned that some homeowners let their children or grandchildren answer the questionnaire because it involved the Internet — a subject they perhaps felt was better suited to the younger members of the household. (The youngest respondent was 12 years old, by the way.) Seventeen percent did not give their ages.

So what?
What does all this mean for DEH, you ask?

The purpose of the survey was to measure how interested DEH residents are in community life. Though the results indicated a high level of interest in community affairs, there was a general attitude of neutrality about having a web site or blog that would both inform us of these affairs and enable us to participate.

Was this a consequence of the medium, of the subject matter, or of age — or a combination? Intimidation with the Internet appears to be a non-issue, as members of the community do go online for communication (email) and information (research) purposes. Was the neutral attitude then a sign of resistance to an unfamiliar form of Internet use (i.e. reading a community blog and participating in interactive discussions)?

Or is it a question of the subject matter and not the medium? Perhaps community members do not see the point in enhancing our experience of community life through the Internet — after all, a short visit with neighbors or a phone call would be faster and much more intimate.

Or, given that most of the respondents were younger than 30, perhaps the results indicate that their priorities simply lie in other things. Is it then a matter of channeling and concretizing their interest in the community into participation?

Are we as a community ready to be engaged in community life? Do we want to make ourselves heard through the Internet? Your comments and reactions are most welcome. No doubt the answers to these questions will make themselves obvious as we continue with this blog.

Thank you for your participation in the survey, and for your interest in the community.

by Isabel

At a meeting last night, someone from Fairview asked me where I live. When he learned that I live in Don Enrique Heights, his eyes lit up.

“Your subdivision is a beautiful place,” he gushed. “It’s small, but very well kept.”

He went on to describe the chapel. “It’s so big and beautiful that you would think it was the parish church,” he continued. “It’s hard to believe it’s just a chapel.”

I could not help but smile upon hearing this. It wasn’t the first time I had heard people describe our chapel this way. They may find it even harder to believe that it was such a tiny structure years ago, renovated recently to keep up with the growing community.

Dedicated to Our Lady of Remedies, the chapel stands as a reminder of the community’s love, cooperation, and tireless efforts. Hopefully this blog will soon include a history of the chapel and of Our Lady of Remedies.

The centuries-old shrines and churches in honor of Our Lady of Remedies — in Sri Lanka and in Mexico, for instance — are surrounded by stories of miracles and healing. I have no doubt that Our Lady of Remedies will continue to manifest Her Healing Love to and within our community as well.