Who?

At this point, the "WHO" question remains unanswered. 

Fast forward to May 1, 2013, over lunch at Choice Buffet, an eat-all-you-can style restaurant along Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City, specializing in authentic Korean and Japanese cuisine.

I learned that Amie, Ming - Ming's wife, who used to work for the Capuchin Sisters in Cabug, now works for the Department of Social Services and Development in Bacolod City. She is a licensed Social Worker currently in-charge of the city's youth endorsed to government organizations for additional support  - assessing and evaluating them and even visiting them in their far-flung barangays to check on them and report on their progress. 

All throughout that 2-hour lunch, while grilling our food at the table, we talked about her cases, about the current situation of the facilities in charge of taking care of our dear city's abandoned, orphaned and neglected kids and teens.

Amie mentioned that several houses / facilities have been set up all over the city to take care of these children, yet the budget provided by the city is not enough to provide for even just the basic needs of these children and teenagers. At the home for adolescents and teenagers for instance, basic hygiene practices are not strictly observed due to the lack of soap and shampoo, toothpaste, laundry soap and sanitary pads. At the homes for toddlers and young children, basic school supplies are sorely needed, to enable the youngsters to attend school and gain basic education. 

Between the home for the teenagers and the toddlers and young kids, the toddlers won because of the emphasis for education. As my parents always said during the years when we were in school: "Your education is the only legacy we can leave you; it is something that nobody will be able to steal from you. It will not matter even if we have to go into debt to pay your tuition; the important thing is for you to  graduate from college."

With that reminder still ringing in my ears as if it was spoken only yesterday, I decided to work on collecting "Education Care Packages" and delivering them to the children of the Senor Sto. Nino Home in Brgy. Taculing, Bacolod City.