Ang SOP ay isang masaya na karanasan dahil marami talaga akong natutunan mula roon. Hindi lang ang mga gawaing pambahay ngunit pati na rin ang pinagdadaanan ng mga tao roon. Hindi naman silang Sukwater kung hindi sila ay naninirahan sa kanilang sariling lupa. Binabayaran nila iyon. Hindi lahat nandoon ay mahihirap dahil sa mga tao na nakatira sa baba ay maykaya naman. Yung iba nga ay may kotse at maraming magagandang gamit. Subalit sabi rin nila ay marami ring magnanakaw roon dahil sa kaharipan na rin. Ang puwesto na iyon ay halo-halo ng mga mayayaman at mahihirap na. Simple lang ang buhay roon, walang gulo, walang away, walang giyera. 😛 Kahit na mahirap sila ay masaya pa rin sila dahil lagi silang ligtas tapos magkakasama sila lagi. Ika nga mas mahalaga ang bonding ng pamilya kaysa sa pera. Doon ako humanga sa kanila. Hindi lang iyon, ang pamilya ko roon ay mahilig tumulong sa kanilang kapwa. Kahit na hirap na sila ay mahilig pa rin silang tumulong dahil sabi nila ang mga tao roon ay turing na nilang pamilya. Sobrang na touch ako sa sinabi niya! Kaya tuwang tuwa ako sa aking pamilya at balang araw ay pagpapalain din sila ng Panginoon! 🙂
SOP #4 August 3
This was a special day for me since it was the last day and I need to do everything to make it a special one. I bought Jollibee for them since it was my mother there’s birthday. It was a beautiful morning and the weather was fine. Everything went smoothly at the start, we talked and laughed together. Then she asked me to ask my friend if we needed to go to the Chapel for picture taking, so I went to my friend’s family since his family was there already. I saw him washing the dishes because a professor made them. I helped him in the dishes and a little bit of picture taking. 😛 We finished the dishes then I went back to my family. I told them we didn’t need to, so I told them to give me chores since it was the main purpose of the outreach program. They made me wash their clothes, the dishes. They also taught me to “SIBAK”. I learned so much things from them. After that, we went to the streets so that they could tour me then we played “Patintero”. It was fun especially seeing them having fun! 🙂
Nasaan ang Hustisya?
Nasaan ang hustisya noong panahon pa ng mga Kastila? Ginawang mangmang ang mga Indyo noon upang gamitin sila para maging alipin nila. Pinahirapan nila ang mga Indyo at niloko rin. Sobrang kawawa ang mga Indyo noong panahon pa ng Kastila. Niloloko na nga sila, ginawa pang alipin. Sinadyang hindi pina-aral ang mga Indyo upang hindi nila makita ang katotohonan. May takot din ang mga Kastila sa mga Indyo na kung malaman ang lahat ng kanilang mga ginawa ay baka magrebulto ito.
Ang mga Indyo ay alipin lamang ng Pamahalaan noon. Kaya’y may nakatali sa leeg ng mga Indyo ay dahil sila ay mga alipin lamang. Sinisimbolo ng pagkatali sa kanilang leeg ay ang pagiging masunurin ng mga Indyo sa Pamahalaan, parang aso lamang na sunusunuran lang sa kanilang mga amo. Madalas sa Noli na pagiging masunurin sa mga mas mataas sa kanila. Kagaya ng sepultorero na sumunod kay Padre Damaso kahit alam niya na mali ang kanyang ginagawa subalit sinunod pa rin niya si Padre Damaso. Marami pang mga Indyo na uto-uto kagaya ng sepulturero.
Ginawang mga alipin na nga sila ngunit hindi pa kuntento ang mga Kastila roon. Niloko nila ang mga ito dahil alam nila na wala silang pinag-aralan. Sinadyang pinahirapan nila ito at hindi pinaaral upang maloko at gawing alipin. Ang tatlong takdang pananong sa ulo ng Indyo ay nagpapatunay na walang alam sila sa mga nangyayari sa paligid. Ang pagloloko ng mga Kastila. Ang ginagawa ng mga Kastila upang hindi sila mahalata ay gumagawa ng Pista tuwing taon. Ito ay para makalimutan ang mga problema at para hindi mahalata na laging silang pinahihirapan.
Hindi lang iyon ang pangloloko nila. Ang paggamit ng Katoliko sa mga Indyo. Pinapabayad ng mga Prayle ang mga Indyo upang pagpalain sila ng Panginoon. Ang mga Indyo naman ay naniniwala sa mga ganito kaya sila’y nagbabayad kahit na iyon lang ang mayroon nila. Mas gugustuhin pa nilang magutom dahil may takot sila sa Panginoon. Ang paghuhulog ng pera sa karton ay nagsisimbolo ng takot sa Diyos. Sabi sa Noli Me Tangere na kung gusto mo makapunta sa langit ay kailangan magpamisa o magbayad araw-araw. Isa na roon si Kapitan Tiyago na madalas nagpapamisa.
Subalit iyong mga pera na binibigay ng mga Indyo ay napupunta sa mga bulsa ng Pamahalaan at ng mga Prayle. Kagaya roon sa ilalim na may parang pabrika na nagbabalot ng pera. Ito ay binabalot para mapunta lamang sa mga Pamahalaan at Prayle. Makikita natin na ang pera ay napupunta sa likod ng dalawang lalaki. Hindi ito nakikita ng mga Indyo dahil patago ito at mga matataas na tao lang ang nakakaalam. Kagaya ng mga Kura sa Noli Me Tangere na kung saan ay pera lamang ang habol. Tinatakot nila ang mga Indyo kung hindi magbayad ay mapupunta sa Pugatoryo.
Mahahalata mo na mataba ang dalawang lalaki na nasa gilid tapos payat yung nasa gitna. Yunng dalawang lalaki sa gilid ay maraming gamit. Sila ay nakakakain araw-araw tapos masasarap pa ang pagkain. Maganda pa ang bahay nila tapos kaya nilang bumili ng kahit anong gusto nila. Subalit ang nasa gitna (Indyo) ay payat. Sila ang api at laging walang masyadong nutrisyon sa kanilang katawan. Sige lang nilang magtrabaho tapos kakaunti lamang ang natatanggap nila. Yung kakaunting pera na iyon ay napupunta pa sa Simbahan. Hindi na nga sila nakakakain araw-araw. Yung dalawang mataba ay sumisimbolo ng sakim. Sakim sa kapangyarihan at pera. Tapos inaapi pa nila ang mga taong walang-wala na kagaya ng mga Indyo. Si Sisa ay isang Indyo na nangungutang para mapakain ang anak, nagpapakahirap para mapasaya ang anak. Hindi na nga kumain dahil kulang ang natira na pagkain (Salbahe ang asawa inubos ang mga niluto niya para sa anak.) Hindi siya nakamisa dahil gusto niyang tapusin ang trabaho para magkapera para sa anak niya. Sakripisyo niya sa anak niya ay wagas. Habang ang mga Kura kagaya ni Padre Damaso ay puno ng sakim. Ang mga tao ay humanga sa kanya dahil hindi raw kumain ng almusal noong kinaumagahan subalit kumain ito ng 1 tsoko, 1 gatas, isang lucenang tustadong tinapay na may margarine. Para sa mga Indyo sakripisyo yun nga mga mayayaman dahil laging kumakain ito ng mga masasarap ng pagkain hindi lang mga ganoon.
Kawawang kawawa talaga ang mga Indyo noon. Aping-api talaga sila. Kaya’y ginawa ni Jose Rizal ang Noli Me Tangere ay para gisingin ang mga Indyo noon. Kahit na hindi nila mabasa ito gusto rin niya ipabasa sa susunod na henerasyon. Parang si Tasyo na nagsusulat para sa susunod na henerasyon upang makita ang isyu na nangyayari sa Pilipinas. Gusto ni Jose Rizal na dumating ang kanyang mensahe sa lahat ng Pilipino. Sinakripisyo niya ang kanyang buhay para lamang sa ating bansa kaya’y bigyan natin ito ng halaga!
– Winchell Liao H3C 14
SOP #3 July 27
I was tired during the third visit since all the assessments were compiling. It was hell week, and I was panicking. When I reached their place, they were happy to see me, so it lightened my day. My friend came with me to my family since his family was still gone. We talked about robbery since I told them the shooting that happened near my house. Then it shifted to their problems. I learned that they were rich and they had lots of things. She worked in Saudi Arabia as a care giver and married a Palestinian. After her husband passed away, she received at least 5 million dollars. Something happened to that money of hers, I also learned that she has a mean sister, older. Her older sister was kind to her when she was still in Saudi until she gave her 2 million dollars to make her deposit it to her bank account. She made her older sister study in a good school and gave weekly allowance. After graduation and her husband passed away, she went back to the Philippines. Her older sister now is a very successful woman, but her pride was eating her up. The oldest sister became arrogant. She was ungrateful to my mother there, who made her study in a good school. She even told her to die already. She was trying to get her money back, but the oldest sister spent it already. The other money she had was taken away from her because she was scammed a lot of times. Since, that time she was desperate to go back as an OFW, she gave her money to someone she didn’t know. All of her money was gone, then she cried and cried and cried. I became sad that time, even my friend. We comforted her so that she won’t feel bad, and we gave her advises. She was proud of us since we tried our best to help her even though we are young. She said that we are lenient. 🙂 We promised that we would pray for her, and we told her to also pray for herself, her family, and especially her mean, older sister. 😀 After the SOP I prayed for her, and everyday I always include my family in my prayers. 🙂
SOP #2 July 20
I was excited to go back, since I had a lot of things to tell them. The weather wasn’t that nice that time, so I thought it would be a short one. I was scared of the rain because of the Ondoy. It was another day, where we just talked to each other. They weren’t able to give me chores since they said they finished it already. When we were talking about their life, suddenly my friend came to my family’s house. He said his family left him and would be out for the day, so my family welcomed him. I gave my family Adobo, so they wouldn’t cook anymore. We were chatting and laughing. 🙂 We didn’t do much that day. I learned new information about them also. Nothing extraordinary happened that day! Then the guard cut our conversion because it was already time. So after our long conversation, I went home and reflected a little bit!
SOP #1 July 13
At first I was feeling a little nervous because I didn’t know what to tell them or how to keep a conversation with them. I was praying and hoping that my family would be someone who I can relate with. When I first met my family, I was kind of happy because my mother there was very friendly and hospitable. They welcomed me in their house and also they tried to offer me water, but they took it back since they saw my water jug. They tried to ask for my address, but I wasn’t allowed to give, so I shifted the topic to something else. We talked about their life in Payatas. They also have a house in Manila, but they prefer to live in Payatas since in Payatas it is very simple. Not only that, but I also learned a lot of things about them; they have a mini business where they sell slippers. In the past they have a mini sari sari store, but something happened, so it is temporarily closed. We didn’t do much on the first day, just a get to know activity. My family kept on asking me about my family, so I gave a little bit of information. Then I asked them about their family, they told me that they are only 3 in the house, and their husbands passed away already. I was saddened by that, but they said it was okay. The older sister didn’t had a son, but she adopted one and sent him to Manila to study, while the other sister has only one daughter and she is currently studying in AMA. That was the end of our discussion since there wasn’t time left!
Last SOP Visit
We had our last SOP at the Reception and Study Center for Children. We were assigned in a different house, where the children were abused, some are sexually abused. This time, we were inside, we weren’t allowed to play in the park with the kids because they were young to play outside. Unlike last SOP, the kids were much hyper. Although they were very hyper, we were prepared. We had a plan. Everything went great at first, but an hour later; everything went bad. The children won’t listen to us. They lost the toys that my friend brought. It was really hard to control the children, for they don’t want to listen to us. We tried to shout as loud as we can, but they yelled louder than us. It took us time to think of a plan, but the children distracted us by playing with them. It was fun though because I was able to understand them. That was the time were the children were open to us. While talking to them, I learned that we have a lot in common. We talked to each other like we were brothers and sisters. I was really impressed. First, I thought they won’t talk to us. Second, I thought they would be well behave. Lastly, I thought children wouldn’t cry. It was a total opposite of what I was expecting. That didn’t hinder me from communicating with them. Good thing, I had a back up plan for the kids. I brought my sister’s candy for prizes to the children. I showed the candy to them, and it made it worst. The children went wild. Some are really wild, some even threatened me. I can’t even believed it that a 3 year old boy would say such things. I tried to understand their state. I prayed that nothing would go wrong. My prayer was answered when our teacher told us to bring the food. We were able to split the food to the children equally. We had an extra one, so we shared it. At least for an hour the children were all quiet. We were able to relax and plan the next thing we would do. After letting them eat, we asked the kids to clean up. It didn’t go well, especially there was kid who broke the trash bag. It was a mess. So we just played with them, and maybe a little conversation. Then after our teacher said we were dismissed. Some of the kids said that we should stay. They were happy that we were there. My partner even asked me if we were still going back because she was really happy that we were there. She even thanked us for the great day. My nephew is very different from the children in the orphanage. He has someone to love him, unlike the orphans. It made me think that the orphans are really grateful that we were there. I even think they feel the presence of love within us. God is within us showing love to them. These kids needs love, cause they lack love. Some of the children there are turning into a bad person because they lack love. If we lack love, the more we commit sin. Now, the people who made those children feel the presence of the Lord are the nurse. They are the true heroes according to my teacher. They need to take care of these orphans with different kinds of personalities. Unlike us we just visited them twice, but we still give them the presence of love and happiness. 🙂
CLE SOP Reflection (First Visit)
We had our first SOP last Saturday, and tomorrow is the last SOP. When we had our first SOP, I was really scared. I’m not really good with kids, especially if I don’t know them. I really didn’t know what to bring, and what to do. My group and I weren’t that prepared for the SOP. We don’t have an activity for the children. It was quite impressive when I first went there. The place was quite extraordinary. Unlike other Orphanages, they have quite a lot of facilities, and the place was quite huge. There is a playground, houses, and classrooms. I asked my partner for more details, so he toured me around the place. I was very impressed because at a young age, he was able to tour me. The first thing that hit me was that an orphanage is usually disorganize, but it turned out to be the opposite. The place was very clean, and orderly. I would say that it was like a home already. My view of the Orphanage really changed. Maybe it’s because I watched too much fiction movies such as the Robinsons. I was thinking that the children would scream, run around, etc., but I was wrong. They were well behave, though some were quite annoying. I’m not sure about this but there was an autistic child in the orphanage that kept on annoying us. His partner was avoiding him, maybe he can’t take it anymore. I was able to talk to the boy, but he was mad at me for not giving him food. He was selfish though because he wanted all of the food for himself. Even though some children are like that, there are still some who still cared for their partner. Someone even said to be careful because there are snatchers inside. It was very challenging especially we weren’t able to plan anything. These things didn’t hinder me from bonding with the children. I knew that these kids barely play outside. They told me that they can only play outside if there is an event. Even though our age gap is quite big, we were still able to bond and have fun. My partner told me his story why he was there, why he doesn’t like it there, and why he wants to leave. Luckily his mother found him, and he will be able to go home. According to the kid, there are a lot of bullies inside. Sometimes they don’t get along well. Maybe overtime they could find themselves. I found myself even more in this activity. I learned that I am good with kids.. 😀 Although I made a kid cry, in the end I still made him smile. I recommend that we should plan ahead, so it won’t be tiring. We should also know our partner’s life, for they have stories that they want to tell us. Not only that, we should at least teach them what is right and wrong because some seems like wanted to be a hold-upper, but some wanted to be a police. My partner was really grateful and wished that we can go there everyday. I asked him this one simple question “What do you want when you grow up?” It took him time to think, but he gave a beautiful answer. He said that he wanted to be like us, who visits the orphans and make them happy. They are very grateful that we are there, visiting them because they feel the presence of the Lord within us! 🙂
Promoting the Philippines
It was quite easy, but not that easy. I encountered also some difficulties, but I overcame it. I hope nothing goes wrong, especially, it took me time to do this project. Enjoy! 😀
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