Maka hilak man jud na oy, honestly. It was such a shock for me, truly, the fact that I grew up in America and never saw such conditions with my own eyes before. We visited Baranggay Catbawan in Panaon Island (the home island of my paternal grandfather), when i went with my cousins to give out food and candies, so many children from the baranggay and surrounding places came out and asked with hands open. Tanan gi hatag nako. Until there was no more. I was so heartbroken to see so many kids there with infections, skin inflammations, and many of them were just suffering from general malnourishment. I could see that some of them were anemic: megaloblastic and pernicious anemia (due to deficiency of thiamine and folate). For me this is shocking because this is not something i see here in the 'states. And it hit me, Belle, because these were my fellow countrymen, these were Leytenos (i being half Leyteno) and was really heart broken.
That night, after dinner with my extended extended family and friends etc, i walked out of the house to see that there were people outside of the house i was staying in. Many of whom were families and kids that i saw and met earlier. I talked with them, and their parents etc. Most of them were distant relatives of mine (Lucinos and Estrallas, Castaneros, Arays, Pusios etc). So i did what i could do, i went with my cousin Mathias to the local general store, and i purchased every single candy, cracker, drinks that they had. All of it. I distributed it to the kids and their parents, and did so equally. I know that it was not much, but na looy jud ko. I wanted to give them vitamins, pero wa ko ka bring, or all of the ones i had were already distributed.
For me, that was really heart touching. I could not help myself from crying. And seeing their desperation of the people there, i can see where some foreigners and tourists can easily take advantage of the poor and the desperate.
This is why I say no to drugs, and no to the legalizing of said illegal paraphanelias. Di ko mo support ana jud. Most of the families in the PHilippines are already suffering and are poor / malnourished as it is, why place something that can further degenerate the situation?
Di ko jud!
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