Thursday, February 7, 2008

teach them how to fish

source
whenever i went out of the office i either ride a cab home, take two jeepny rides to up then to katipunan or take two train rides to cubao then to lrt katipunan.
yesterday, i opt out in taking the last option. usually, i take the escalator because of obvious reasons. but it seemed like the escalator was out of order, looking at road pole that was tied across the elevator entrance to prevent from persistent commuters from crossing and doing katherine zeta jones' entrapment acrobats.thus, everybody needs to take the the "road block" either the elevator which would take the rebirth of the dinosaurs to get to the second floor or take the stairs that would give you varicose veins as large as balate roots.
i thought time is gold so i took the stairs instead. while i was struggling with my breath, i saw a little girl begging for some spare coins and food sitting on the next flight. i remembered that she happens to be the same girl who was stationed on the entrance of the elevator. it seemed like she was displaced from her branch.
as i mentioned on my previous post, normally, i don't really give alms to such not because i am a born pathetic. but simply because sometimes sparing some coins or food would not really help them rather they would continue depending to others and doing this for the rest of their life. as the old chinese quotaion goes, give a man a fish and he'll live for a day. but teach a man how to fish and he'll live for the rest of his life.
nonetheless, the look on the little girl's face just basically crashed my chest. i might be very pessimistic in thinking that she is a good actress. but what's on her play is something that you don't normally see among beggar's faces. others might call it conviction. but for me, i call it hunger. it gave me no options but to pull up spare coins on my pocket and gave it to her.
as i walk away from her, the words "salamat po" kept on echoing on my ears like thunders cloud sitting beside my shoulders. i just can't stop blaming so many people regarding the little girl's fate. i am blaming her parents because they springed her without any guarantee if they'll be able to support her. i am blaming the government because it can't provide appropriate social services for people like her. i am blaming the people who just walk across her as if she doesn't exist, i am blaming god for giving her such fate and i am even blaming myself because all i could do is give her spare coins.
there are so many to blame, in which, i then realized is inevitable. but i am thinking that if we could atleast lessen it, then there would probably no street children sitting on those cold, hard and dirty floor asking for something to survive each day.
before i thought of applying for a non government agency or organization, regardless if it would just promise me a low salary. atleast i thought, at the end of each day, i have a smile on my face as i go to sleep knowing that i have helped somebody. for me that was the definition of a fulfilling job. but then, i need to work first and earn sufficient money to bring myself to post graduate school.
there were lots of things, realizations and plans that keep on flying in my head, as i wait for forever to get a single journey ticket. when finally, it was my turn to buy a ticket, a girl guarding a tin can said to me,
"sir, konting donation lang po para sa mga nangangailangan."
she was holding a big tin can full of coins that has the red cross logo on it. then i just taught of the girl again and thought of these organization. when i realized that my sudden pause was already blocking the next person on the line. i just walk away from the booth and concluded: "let's just teach them how to fish, instead."

11 comments:

FerBert said...

nagcomment ka kaya magcocomment din ako.. kahit na dinugo ako sa entry mo kase english.. hahahaha

Minsan kase pag bingyan mo sila aabusin ka pa.. Binigay mo na nga ang kaliwang kamay mo gusto pa nilang kunin ang Kanan. Tama na yung turuan mo silang mangisda pero yung ikaw pa mangingisda para sa kanila.. abuso na yun...


(tsktsktsk.. valentine post ko yun petition mo.. inunahan mo ko.. hahaha.. pero sakin naman petition ko na ilipat yung halloween sa 14.. wala lang trip ko lang baket ba.. )

salamat sa pagdaan sa blog wandering commuter

wanderingcommuter said...

ferbert: tumpak...prepare ko na lang yung petition, bukas. hahaha

ruff nurse-du-jour said...

street urchins exist for a reason. they seem to remind us of so many things --- how our govt sucks, how inequitable the resources in this universe are distributed, how apathetic human beings could be, how people can stand such injustices, etc etc.

i'm likewise not fond of giving alms.

i might be heartless, apathetic and all, but then i guess i should let the title of this post speak for me on my behalf. :-)

Quentin X said...

You are quite right in your title. If I remember right, Cebu has anti-mendicancy laws but putting them in jail is not the solution either. The country needs to improve its social services. Family planning should be accessible and promoted.

jericho said...

dito rin sa Hong Kong dumadami na ang homeless. mga dating "cage people". they were called as such kasi they used to live in rooms na parang bird cages. social services are also on the decline. sad. anyway, you have applied for a new job already?

Winter said...

too bad our gov't is a bunch of idiots working for their own sake.

wanderingcommuter said...

ruff: i just wonder their reasons really...haayyy... i like the term by the way sea urchins. but i just wonder why urchins? hehehe.

quentin x: wow, its a surprise that i am receiving an affirmation coming from you. am i improving? hahaha. :-)

am actually thinking since the church wouldn't really want to promote family promoting.

how bout helping the government in providing employment to those who are unemployed or doesn't have a stable job? because observing the trend. people who doesn't have a stable job has the tendency to bear more children. obviously, because they have something else to do aside from their past time.

jericho: yeah, i've heard about the cage people...haayyy, space is indeed wealth in hk... im still in limbo, employment-wise. hehehe.

wanderingcommuter said...

bulitas: haayyy, that is why i hate politics...

Anino said...

Wandere,hindi sa pakikialam ha,saan mo kinukuha yang mga litrato?Ang ganda kasi!

Tapos sasabihin ni Gloria,"Yehey, gumaganda na nag ekonomiya ng Pilipinas."

Ang dolyar ay humihina laban sa lahat ng currency sa mundo.Tumataas ang peso dahil mahina ang dolyar.Hindi dahil lumalakas ang ekonomiya natin.

Anino said...

Bago sa aking pandinig ang terminong "STREET URCHINS"
May natutunan ako sa blog mo,Wanderer.

wanderingcommuter said...

anino: thanks ruff...hehehe...my source dun. online ko lang siya riniresearch... click mo yun source link sa ilalim ng pic.