August 24, 2008
Dear friends, relatives and fellow citizens of the
world, There
are places on earth whose inherent beauty imparts on your soul a quiet and deep
connection to Mother Nature and to the Divine. You have been to a place or two
like this before, when you felt that somehow you were favored with something
special, when you wished that others could get a chance to have the same
experience, when you longed that you could have shared it with someone you
love. There is such a place in my hometown of Hinunangan, Southern Leyte, in the Philippines,
a beach on Hinunangan Bay facing the Pacific
Ocean where the Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought during the Second
World War. It is a magical place. When you set foot on its brown sand in the early morning
mist, the world seems very far away and your life comes into clear focus, the
everyday cares and frills melting away with the dew. Your spirit is pure and
you hold in your heart only what matters most.
It is a beautiful place. Its gentle C-shaped curve carves a golden brown lining on
the verdant green of coconut fronds. At the bottom of the C rises a mountain, a
short peninsula jutting into the blue sea, still a jungle, lush with untouched
vegetation, inhabited by monkeys including Tarsiers, its belly riddled with
caves, still unexplored except for a few limited excursions by local officials. It
is a richly endowed place. Across the bay, only a few minutes away, are two
barrier islands, surrounded by a healthy and colorful coral reef, teeming with
marine life, offering bountiful catch to the fishing boats, big and small
alike, their coves and beaches luring swimmers and picnickers to tarry into the
night. It
is a place to be loved, relished and cherished, in this lifetime and the next,
and for generations to come. It is
for this sentiment that the Hinunangan Spirit Beach
Park & Scholarship Foundation, a National Heritage Foundation, was born. The
scholarship work of the Foundation got its start in 2007. The student attends a
nursing program at Central
Philippines Adventist
College in the Philippines.
She finished No. 1 in her freshman class last year for which she was awarded an academic scholarship) and is doing an excellent job in
the first semester of her second year. Another student is entering college in
June of 2009. The beach park and cultural preservation work of the Foundation
is next to take wings. I am appealing to your kindness and generosity to make
this mission a vehicle (maybe even just a small one of your many), for the
fulfillment of your deepest desire to leave a legacy in this world. I am also
counting on you to share this with others who might be of like persuasion. Your
philanthropy will be remembered forever in a place in the park where you and
friends and relatives and future generations might visit and connect.
Sharing
is easy. Go directly to: Or,
if you received this by e-mail, fill out the attached form and e-mail it back
to me. Your
gift is very much appreciated and my heartfelt gratitude is yours forever.
(https://www.registrationfactory.com/v3/?EventUUID=020103B1)
It
is dedicated to the spirit of the people of Hinunangan
and its mission is to preserve the beach as a public park, to revive and
preserve the cultural heritage of the people and to nurture the minds of the
young Hinunangnons. The gist of its vision is in the Hinunangan Dreaming text.
https://www.registrationfactory.com/v3/?EventUUID=020103B1
Sincerely,
Lena Capapas, M.D.
Dear Fellow Hinunangan lovers
and Friends of Hinunangan,
My deeply Hinunangnon soul greets you with a smile and happy wishes
today! I am happy because the realization of a lifelong dream which
many of us share (though may be new to some of you), is beginning to
take shape. The dream is that of a pristine Hinunangan beach preserved
forever for the enjoyment of the townspeople, unspoiled by chaotic
development and commercialization.Let us revisit that dream and
share the view. Have a seat, be comfortable, then close your eyes and
picture this in your mind:
You are strolling on a pedestrian boulevard that parallels the coastal
barangay road. The Pacific Ocean is on your right, a mysterious, dark
midnight blue broken by shimmers of gold from the setting sun. The
swell of the incoming surf stretches long and lazy along the bay,
getting bigger and higher as it approaches the shore. Then it reaches a
crest and pulls back, now a curling wall of water that breaks with a
booming crash into splattering white foam that rushes on to caress the
glimmering sand. MORE
Hinunangan is a municipality of roughly 28,000 people on Hinunangan Bay on the Pacific side of Southeast Southern Leyte, Philippines.
Wikipedia Entry for Hinunangan
Hinunangan Spirit Beach Park and Scholarship Foundation is a member of the National Heritage Foundation family of donor-advised funds.
.