"Let hope remain."
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It’s not very uncommon how we see lots of beggars wandering along the streets of Metro Manila. After living for four years in the Philippines, I have seen a range of them. On the streets, we have children who go knocking on your car window, mothers who carry their babies on cloths tied around their waists and shoulders, and blind men and women, who feel the flow of the streets just by their sticks. On the sidewalks, on the other hand, we can see crippled men and women sitting on their carton beds, women with hospital bills on their hands for proof that they need money to cure their loved ones or with travel bags with them saying that they have no money left to commute.
As beggars are already common, I, in fact, saw two today. The first one, I assume, was a son-father tandem. A boy, around 8 years of age, was leading his blind father from car to car along Julia Vargas Avenue in Ortigas. It was not a rare racket for beggars, but, even so, I suddenly felt a firing rage inside me. This little boy should have been in school instead of roaming the streets barefooted, with his blind father in hand. This little boy, who has a whole lot of future in front of him, should have been cared for instead of him acting and thinking like an adult for his young age. He should be enjoying his childhood, but he can’t, because of the circumstances given to him – a blind father, a hard life, and a weak “support” system.
The second one was a man literally walking on his four limbs. He seemed to have had polio because of the features of his thin, weak legs. When I saw him, the first question that popped up my mind was “Why, in the world, does he not have crutches? It’s a basic need for him! It will make him walk – on two legs!”. Anger, frustration, and sadness all covered me at once. Where is the intervention of the department of the government who should be taking care of these kind of people? This crippled person should be given attention and care because the street is a very dangerous place for him as he is not freely mobile. This crippled man can do more besides begging. He can be way more productive, but he can’t, because of the circumstances given to him – his disability, a hard life, and a weak “support” system.
On both of these two situations, I initially felt hopeless that I can’t do anything for the blind man and his son and the cripple without his crutch. I do not have tons of money to buy them a house or provide them with whatever they need. I do not have the same power given to mayors and governors to mobilize their people and implement rehabilitation projects. But if I look at it again, I realized, again – as I have known this fact and I just keep on forgetting, that I actually can do something, however indirectly. I am part of this weak “support” system that I keep on mentioning.
How? As I am currently already employed, I now should pay my share in government taxes diligently. As I already know how to drive, I should abide by driving rules patiently. And even if I’m not driving, I should know how to use the footbridges to reach the other side of the street and not dare cross the busy street where signs shout out “BAWAL TUMAWID. MAY NAMATAY NA DITO”. As I am commuting my way to work, even if the driver mistakenly views me as a student and hands me the wrong amount of change, I should know that this little act of dishonesty will rob them a peso or two which might have been used to buy them a meal.
By the daily practice of values such as patience, obedience, and honesty, together with even the littlest bit of hope, I might transform this weak “support” system into a better system gradually every day. Little acts of these values might influence other people as well. Who knows? Imagine how tiny droplets of water, when put together, can make a huge puddle? This picture can also show how small acts of the said values above acted by a single person, when put together, can then make a huge difference. Who knows? Maybe the next generation of politicians, even politicians seated today, would realize that , by due diligence and acting out such values, they can eventually make every weak aspect of society become strong.
I would like to thank the blind man and his son and the crippled beggar for serving as reminders of how I, in my own little way, can make a positive difference, that would eventually affect them when I look at the bigger picture. If, eventually, beggars are totally eradicated from the streets of the entire Philippines, I hope that even this eradication would continue to inspire me to become a better person and a better Filipino.
P.s. I recommend that you read “The 12 Little Things Filipinos Can Do to Help Our Country” written by Alex Lacson if you want to know more about what simple things you can do to be a droplet of positive change for the Philippines.
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