To Friends in California: Read and Help

Preschoolers SHEIRRA MAE BATULAN of Cebu, and CHRISTINE ANGELA BARREDO of Zamboanga City have complex congenital heart disease. Christine also has a cleft lip and palate. Their families cannot afford to pay for the medical supplies and the tests, which are considered as the Filipino charity patient's share for heart surgery. Now these little girls have the once in a lifetime chance to get their hearts repaired at UCLA Medical Center through MENDING KIDS INTERNATIONAL's US CARE PROGRAM. But they need you to help them find a volunteer medical host family before they can even get to California. Sheirra's dad is jobless and her mom is a factory worker in Mactan making $5 a day to support a large extended family, including grandparents and cousins. Christine is an only child, but her father must also support his parents and younger siblings from his earnings as a tricycle driver in Zamboanga City. Both little girls will be escorted , without accompanying family members, by Menchu Sarmiento of the PAL Foundation. PAL Foundation gives Filipino charity patients medical travel grants to help them to access free medicalcare for serious ailments.Please help them to find families who will be willing to take care of them before, during and after their surgery. To find out how to become an accredited medical host family, you may contact MENDING KIDS: 661.298.8000 or 562.260.9939 (Keever Rhodes) or email menchu_sarmiento@pal.com.ph.

Nap

Please help NAPOLEON JAVIER, Nap to us in Baguio and former general manager of DZEQ, Radyo ng Bayan.

Three weeks ago he was felled by a stroke and has been at the intensive care unit of the Notre Dame Hospital on Gen. Luna St., Baguio City, since then. A few days ago his vital signs started to stabilize, but he's not yet out of danger. Meanwhile, his hospital bills are mounting and his daily medicines amount to almost P10,000 a day.

Nap is a friend of artists and writers. He helped organize the visual artists' group Tahong Bundok and is a founding member of the Baguio Writers Group (BWG) along with Cirilo Bautista, Luisa Igloria, Butch Macansantos and Gabriel Keith. When the BWG was revived last year, he took it upon himself to organize a poetry reading on the air over DZWT which he co-hosted. He used to read poetry, too, in his former radio program "Nightfall."

Nap was also responsible for the "barangayan program" wherein basic government services were brought to the barangay level in Baguio City.

Your readers may want to assist Nap and his family. Donations may be deposited in the account of his wife Erlinda A. Javier, Banco de Oro savings account # 940056623.