Sagay Schools Division Supervisor Lavender Hipolito found the true meaning of Christmas in 1980, the year she almost died when the ship she boarded from Manila to Bacolod City sank.

Hipolito, 62, was one of the survivors of M/V Don Juan that sank on April 22, 1980. The experience made her reevaluate her priorities and the things she cherished in life.

While she always considers Christmas as a time to share one's blessings with other people, it was more meaningful that year with the realization that she was blessed with the second chance to live.

Hipolito, known to her friends as “Ma'am Love”, said that since 1980, she made sure the inner happiness she feels reflects in her work as a teacher and as a peer to her co-workers.

Giving love and sharing one's time and resources with other people should not only be during Christmas but should be year-round, she said.

As a member of the Sagay Kabingahan Lions Club, Hipolito found another avenue to serve the community and every Christmas, she goes with her group to distribute gifts to indigenous communities.

The sense of fulfillment she feels in mentoring is almost the same as when she is with the adopted communities of the Rotary, she said.

It was like celebrating Christmas everyday seeing the smiles on the faces of little children who receive gifts from strangers, Hipolito added.

Being single is an advantage as she spends her time and resources without having to think of a husband who would frown at her “extra-curricular” activities, she said.

She also makes sure that every Christmas, her niece and helpers who stay with her in her house have gifts from her, Hipolito said.

This year, as tournament manager of the swimming events of the Palarong Panlalawigan, she said she was left with little time to plan for her Christmas activities.

As soon as the event is over, she will immediately check with her fellow Rotarians in Sagay to know her assignment this Christmas. Being busy is not an excuse to overlook one's responsibilities and duties, she said.

Like everyone else, Hipolito said she observes the tradition of Christmas, such as putting up decorations, going to a church service and having Noche Buena with the family.

But more important than the tradition, she said, is the inner happiness one feels at being alive and having the chance to serve one's fellowmen.*NAB

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