Adopt a family - Giving a hand (Community Service)

October 10, 2009
Saturday

For some reason, using the 5 hours of your day with some strangers is a big stupidity. Like we think that giving such time for them is the dumbest thing a man could do. However, their appreciation to your effort is different from your disappointment. The time you spend for them; that they laugh, they share stories, they forget their problems for a while, it is a big thing or i mean a big deal for them, especially, when that time you spend you help them with their lives, though not for long time, even for just a day, you help them.

With the same thing happened to me as well as with my classmates, we were having a community service. Well, at first, I were thinking that this was just for my grade, like I would show care and compassionate to the family though it wasn't my thing. That gone to places that were scuzzy were fine with me. but, when my teacher told me the situation of the family, all those negative thoughts were fade away. Instead of thinking on how am i going to interact with people who really opposite of my life, i thought of the things that we could actually give them for them to feel happy. Well, some goods, old clothes, hygiene stuffs and other.

When we were on the place, I felt no doubt on how poor the familes there, how much more our family? This family that had 10 children ages from 3 to 19 and a single parent, their mother. They live on a small spaced house that was being destructed by the last typhoon, ondoy. Their mother should work twice as hard as before just to earn money for their house and for their daily needs. The kids that were still studying, that it was so hard for them to study for there was no light nor big enough space for them to study. They were the ones who did the chores/ Instead of playing and enjoying life as a kid, it seemed that it was being buried and being replaced by adult responsiblity.

I'd interview one of the kids, Judy Anne. A 10 -year old girl in fourth grade who knew every single thing inside the house. She told me that she loves to read and she wanted to be a nurse. In that simple dream from a girl,I knew it would be a great inspiration for her to do better in school. Despite of being poor, she still wanted to study. Also, in that young age, she understood her mother's situation everyday. She understood that her mom was doing everything just for her and her siblings.

Before the service ended, we present them the stuffs we had. We let them open each boxes and plastics we got. The kids love the stuff toys as well as the goods. 'Nanay' and the kds was very happy to see the milk, can goods, noodles, detergents, bath soap etc. They also loved the clothes and shoes we gave. Nanay keeps on saying "Kahit ano man ito, pinapasalamatan ko na kayo sa tulong na ibinigay ninyo..." We really appreciated her thankful message to us. We were very happy to see them loved the presents we got. All the stress and tiredness I felt were gone, as I saw them happy, as I heard their inspiring stories of life, and so do my classmates.

After the service, my classmates and I realized how lucky we were of having this kind of life. That we should value every single effort our parents gave us. That we should share to others the things we had, like helping them, like what we did.

Like nanay's last message to us...

"Alam kong may plan ang Panginoon sa akin, sa bawat araw na naniniwala ako sa kanya, at hanggang sa pagdating at pagtulong ninyo sa amin. Salamat"