The Story of the sponsored kids in Reclamation Area
Written By: Susanne Mae De La Cruz
Filipinos are one of the sweetest and most smiling people, they said. People always wear a smile for anyone on the streets; strangers or friends. They wear a smile to hide their problems, to show that they are alright when deep inside they are broken and craving for solutions to their problems; the same with the sponsored children living in the North Reclamation Area in Cebu city.
This is Megan Mae with her mother and siblings outside their house
Megan Mae Batong, a sponsored child whose house was demolished just recently, suffers much from poverty as do the other kids in the area. People living in a place like the Reclamation Area never stops thinking of what would they do if they will get a command from the land owner to have their houses demolished? Where could they go and how would they start all over again? People such as them are bound to suffer from so much depression; as with these kids. At their young age they have learned how to look for a living. In the morning they go to houses and garbage dump sites to look for scrap metals and plastic bottles and they will sell it for P10.00 (0.22$) per kilogram. They usually give their money to their parents to buy food for their younger siblings.
This girl is on her way to picking up some scrap metals and plastic bottles.
These are some of the kids who beg on the streets, wiping cars' windows in exchange for some pesos so that they can buy food.
And on midnight, Megan with her brother Christopher go to the nearby fast food chain called “Mang Andok’s” to beg for food from the customers and the service crew. When this chain closes, they give the children left over food. This way the children got to eat at least one time a day.
Megan Mae sitting outside Mang Andok's (a food chain in Cebu), waiting for the crew to give her left over food when it closes.
Knowing this, I remembered what my pastor has shared to me about giving what you have. He said that there was a time when he was with a missionary and they were eating. Then suddenly, that missionary told him “what if you would stop eating even just one meal”. My pastor was quite embarrassed and was taken aback but then the missionary further explained this statement when he added, “because we have a lot but those children almost have nothing to eat. Instead of eating three times a day, why don’t we give them our last meal and we sacrifice a little because we always have much but they don’t have enough.” After hearing this, my pastor cried in compassion for the hungry ones and appreciation for the missionary.
These are children from the reclamation area, they are brothers and they are eating food that were left over unfinished by a customer in this eatery on the street side.
And from then on every time I eat my meal I remember what that pastor shared and the hungry children begging for food. Then I realized, with a small effort of cutting one meal and sharing it to the needy ones, we are sharing part of our lives with them. And there will be one less hungry child in the world.
Teacher Jennifer, who has worked with Rise Above for several years is here sharing food donated by Joven's grill (another food chain in Cebu) to these poor children. The reclamation area have hundreds of hungry children like the ones on this photo.
Share a part of your life to these children by giving a part of what you have; a simple act of self giving for others will make yourself feeling complete.
You can give a donation to help these children by clicking on this link.
Susanne Mae De La Cruz is an intern with Rise Above from the University of the Philippines
