below was an email forwarded by my aunt, it has moved me personally, but did nothing except to narrate the story to my hubby and his friends since there's nothing more than i can do for these children but pray...
after reading a blog entry: http://nancydrewandme.blogspot.com/2006/12/thousand-bears-for-bicol.html the picture in it reminded me of these children and thought what would happen to them if they were in bicol during the storm...
the story below is very inspiring kaya gusto ko din i-share sa inyo... sana i could raise my son(and future children) to have the same outlook in life...
-----------------------
Ever since it was diagnosed that I am having a possible heart
enlargement in the last APE, I have exerted more effort to do
physical exercises.
I do jogging during week days and do long - ride mountain biking every
Sunday.
But this Sunday is a special Sunday to me. While I was on my way to the
mountains of Busay (cebu) hoping to strengthened my heart by this
exercise, instead, I personally encountered a heart-breaking scene that
changed me.
I already passed the Marco Polo Plaza ( formerly Cebu Plaza Hotel) when
I decided to stop to buy bananas at a small carenderia located along the
road. I haven't taken any solid food that morning so I need fruits to
have the needed energy to get to my destination - the mountain top.
I am almost done eating with the second banana when I noticed two
children across the street busily searching the garbage area.
"Basureros" I said to myself and quickly turn my attention away from
them to sip a small amount of water. I cared less for these kind of
children actually; to make it straight, I do not like them, and I do not
trust them evenmore.
You see, several times I have been a victim to these kind of children who
are pretending to be basureros looking for empty bottles and cans when
in fact the 'plangganas', 'kalderos', and 'hinayhays' are their
favorites.
I remember one afternoon while I was watching a Mike Tyson fight when I
noticed that the TV screen suddenly became blurred. I checked outside
and saw two young basureros running away with my newly installed
antenna.
Hatred may be a little bit stronger word to describe my feeling towards
these basureros, but I do not like them honestly not till I met these
three children.
I was about to embark on my bike again when I heard one of the two
children, a girl of about 7 or 8 of age saying aloud to the other , a
12-yr old boy , " kuya si dodong kuha-a kay nag-sige'g tan-aw sa mga
nagkaon, mauwaw ta" (kuya si dodong kunin mo kasi tumitingin sa mga
kumain, nakakahiya), only then that I noticed a small boy standing near
to me biting slightly his finger. He's a few inches shorter if compared
to my 5 years old son ( but I knew later that he's also 5 yrs. Old). Though he
did not asked for food to anyone in the carenderia, the way he looked at
the customers who were eating , enough to convinced me that he intensely
craving for it. The older boy then quickly crossed the street and
gently pulled out the little one who politely obeyed. As I watched the
two crossing back the street to the garbage area, I heard the tindera
saying " Lo-oy kaayo nang mga bataa uy, mga buotan ra ba na" (kawawa
naman yung mga batang yun mababait pa naman). I learned further from the
carenderia owner that the children are from a good family , both parents
were working before , and that their father got a stroke 3 years ago
and became partially paralized and their mother died of heart attack
while their father was still confined at the hospital. The parents were
still in their early forties when the catastrophe happened , and the
children became basureros since then to meet their daily needs and for
their father's medication.
Deeply moved by what I heard, I went to a nearby bakery and bought 20
pesos worth of bread and gave it to the children who initially refused
including the little boy. " Sige lang noy, salamat na lang,magpalit
lang nya mi kung mahalinan na mi" (sige lang po, salamat na lang,bibili
na lang po kami mamaya kung makabenta na kami) the young girl said to
me.
I explained that they need to go home because it started to rain . "
Naanad na man mi ani " (nasanay na po kami)the girl answered again.
Again, I explained that the rain can make them sick and if they'll
become sick there's no one to take care of their father.
Upon mentioning their father,they nodded and accept the bread but I
noticed that the older boy did not eat.
When I asked him if he does not like the kind of bread I bought for them
he smiled but as he's about to explain, the little girl, who is the more
talker of them interrupted, "Domingo man gud ron ,noy, basta Sabado ug
Domingo hapon ra siya mokaon kami ra ang mokaon ug pamahaw pero dili na
pod mi mokaon inig hapon,si kuya ra. Pero basta Lunes ngadto sa
Biyernes, kay klase man , si kuya ra sad ang seguro-on ug papamahaw,
kami hapon na sad mi moka-on Pero kung daghan mi ug halin mokaon mi
tanan." (Linggo po kasi ngayon,pag sabado at lingo hapon lang po sya
kumakain, kami lang po ang kumakain ng agahan pero di na po kami kakain
pagdating ng hapon si kuya lang po. Pero pag lunes hanggang biyernes,
kasi may pasok, si kuya lang po nag-aagahan,kami hapunan lang pero kung
marami kaming benta kami pong lahat (kumakain) she continued. "Ngano
man diay ug mokaon mong tanan, bahinon ninyo bisan ug unsa ka gamay?"
(bakit kung kumain kayong lahat,hati-hatiin nyo na lang kahit kunti lang
ang pagkain?) I countered.
The young girl reasoned out that their father wanted that her older
brother to come to school with full stomachs so he can easily catch up
the teacher's lessons. "Inig ka trabaho ni kuya mo undang na man mi ug
pamasura, first honor baya na siya " (pag nagkatrabaho si kuya, hihinto
kami sa pamamasura, first honor kasi sya) the little boy added proudly.
Maybe I was caught by surprise or I am just overly emotional that my
tears started to fall. I then quickly turned my back from them to hide
my tears and pretended to pick up my bike from the carenderia where I
left it.
I don't know how many seconds or minutes I spent just to compose myself;
pretending again this time that I was mending by bike.
Finally I get on to my bike and approached the three children to bid
goodbye to them who in turn cast their grateful smiles at me. I then took
a good look at all of them specially to the small boy and pat his head
with a pinch in my heart. Though I believe that their positive look at
life can easily change their present situation, there is one thing that
they can never change; that is , their being motherless. That little boy
can no longer taste the sweet embrace, care, and most of all , the love
of his mother forever. Nobody can refill the empty gap created by that
sudden and untimely death of their mother. Every big events that will
happen to their lives will only remind them and make them wish of their
mother's presence.
I reached to my pocket and handed to them my last 100 peso bill which I
reserved for our department's bowling tournament. This time they refused
strongly but I jokingly said to the girl " sumbagon teka ron kung di
nimo dawaton" (suntukin kita dyan pag hindi mo tinanggap yan). She
smiled as she extended her hand to take the money. " Salamat noy
makapalit gyud me ron ug tambal ni papa " (salamat po, makakabili kami
nito ng gamot ni papa) she uttered. I then turned to the
small boy and though he's a few feet away from me, I still noticed that
while his right hand was holding the half - filled sack , his left hand
was holding a toy ? a worn out toy car. I waved my hands and said bye
bye to him as I drove towards the mountains again. Did he just found
the toy in the garbage area or the toy was originally his - when the
misfortune did not took place yet? - I did not bother to ask. But one
thing is crystal clear to me, that inspite of the boy's abnormal life,he
did not given up his childhood completely. I can sense it that way he
hold and stare at his toy.
My meeting with that young basureros made me poorer by 100 pesos. But
they changed me and made me more richer as to lessons of life are
concerned.
In them, I learned that life can changed suddenly and may caught me
flat footed. In them, I've learned that even the darkest side of life,
cannot change the beauty of one's heart. Those three children, who
sometimes cannot eat three times a day, still able to hold on to what
they believe was right. And what a contrast to most of us who are quick
to point out to our misfortunes when caught with our mistakes. In them,
I've learned to hope for things when things seem to go the other way.
Lastly, I know that God cares for them far more than I
do. That though He allowed them to experience such a
terrible life which our finite minds cannot
comprehend, His unquestionable love will surely follow
them through.
And in God's own time they will win.
