Like other children his age who like nothing except playing, 5-year-old Rico John Serna also wishes he could but he can't, as has been confined and diagnosed to have meningitis at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City.

His mother, Rebecca Serna, 47, is seeking the help of DAILY STAR readers to help them defray the expenses for the boy, who has been bed-ridden at the hospital for one month now.

Rebecca and her husband, Ricardo, are sugarcane workers at Hda. Canlaon 1, Brgy. Sag-ang, La Castellana town, Negros Occidental. Rico John is the ninth of their 10 children.

Medical records reveal that the patient was admitted on Feb. 3 with a headache, and was later found out to have a temporal lobe abscess.

Three months before his confinement, Rico John suffered an ear infection. He had undergone cranial CT scan, it added.

The mother said the boy is scheduled for operation once his condition improves.

His eyes are bulging, and he can no longer speak, the teary-eyed mother said in the dialect. Any assistance for the patient may be coursed through the DAILY STAR office.*GCT

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Riverside GK to build
houses for urban poor

The Gawad Kalinga-Youth of Riverside College will construct 10 houses for urban poor families who will soon be relocated at Kasanag Village, a Bacolod city government relocation site, in Barangay Granada, a press release from the group said.

GK provincial director Bobby Magalona received the donation from college president Jean Rivera and college administrator Mary Ann Mirasol during the Teacher's Day celebration on February 15 at the College Quadrangle.

Riverside College doubled the amount collected by Riverside GK-Youth for the project, which costs at P60,000 for each housing unit, the press release said. The Dr. Pablo O. Torre Foundation, Riverside Medical Center, Torre-Hermanos,Inc., and the students of Riverside College through the student governments of school years 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007, also sponsored the project, the press release said.

Provincial GK Shelter Head Joe Gatuslao, Provincial Shelter and Site Development Coordinator Butch Villanueva, and Provincial GK Youth Coordinator Velvet Sison also attended the donation rites.

Meanwhile, Riverside's Faculty and Staff Club president Mary Ann Rojales turned over P4,140 to Extension Program Officer Janet Villanueva for the purchase of carpentry tools to be used during the construction on March 18.

The tools will be donated to the Kasanag Village beneficiaries when the housing project construction is completed, the press release added.*

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Violinist, pianist get ovations

Romanian violinist Alexandru Tomescu with Negrense pianist Mary Anne Espina was given a triple standing ovation on his return engagement at the Philamlife Theater Saturday night last week, a press release from event organizers said.

"You really outdid yourself," former Secretary of Tourism Gemma Cruz Araneta told the violinist during the post-concert reception. "Your audiences simply went wild," she added.

The first ovation happened after the end of Paganini's La Campanella and was repeated after first encore, De Guzman-Romero's Bayan Ko. The third ovation was when the violinist played Zapateado by Zarasate. He obliged with the third encore, Rachmaninoff's Romance.

A day after, Tomescu and Espina were again given another standing ovation in their first appearance at the Nueva Ecija Convention Center in Palayan City where he was mobbed by students. "It's an honor to have you in my province," Gov. Tomas Joson told Tomescu after the concert.

Tomescu and Espina will also be heard in Bacolod City on Thursday, 6:30 p.m. at the Governor's Hall, Provincial Capitol, on the occasion of the National Arts Fair. It is initiated by the Negros Cultural Foundation and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, the press release said.

The latest CD of Tomescu with the Romanian Piano Trio is available at the Governor's Hall lobby on the night of the concert along with the CDs of great Filipino artists namely tenor Otoniel Gonzaga, violinist Camencita Lozada and soprano Eleanor Calbes. Tomescu's latest CD contains a performance of Mozart's Trio No. For inquiries on the Bacolod concert of violinist Alexandru Tomescu, those interested may call Tel. No. (02) 9007023, or 09065104270, or email musicnewsservice@yahoo.com., the press release added.*

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