First of all I want to greet you a pleasant morning to one and all, I want to thank you for giving me a chance to speak and share about my own experience in life, Actually it is not easy for me to share, especially when it comes that my experience in life is the topic, because it is very difficult to remember the past especially when this past was full of suffering, but despite of this I want to share not only because I was assigned to do this, it’s because I know that in my every experience even it is bad ,but this is the reason why I’m striving hard now. This morning, what is our topic all about? Isn’t it the POVERTY issue? So, what do we mean by this or how do we understand the word itself? If you’re going to ask me, I could say that it is most likely a communicable disease that is continuously spreading throughout the world. Who do we think is suffering from this? Wasn’t it those people who belong to the poor? Just like my family and me. Based on my experience, I could say that since I was a child I already experience a lot of hardships, start with my family to my parents, environments where I grow up We were actually living in a crowded squatter’s area of Metro Manila. Our house was very small that if there’s even a light rain, the water will flow from the roof. My father spent most of his time drinking alcohol together with his friends especially if he has no job. When he is drunk, he would go home at a very late night and would ask for food. When there was no food, he would turn to be violent and begun to throw anything that is inside the house and my mother will get angry to him and the battle between my parents will soon start. I felt very afraid for what might happen to them. I don’t know what to do. I am watching unsure of what was going to be the ending. I was hoping that somebody will help us out and would try to stop them from fighting. Most often than not; no one could be seen inside our house. I prefer to stay in the center of the Carmelites Sisters of Charity Vedruna. Before going to school, I always made it a point to drop there because we got some food.. Then I go straight to the street stayed there the whole day together with my street friends. When the dismissal comes, I would also go home as if I went to the school. I really hate going to school, it was useless but I was afraid that my mother would discover it. When they did, she bitted me. My father and brother had fights too. My brother was not his son, was the son of my mother with her first husband, that was the reason why they were not close. I was really afraid for what might happen to them. We didn’t know what to do. My mother and I went to our neighbor’s house to hide from them because they were fighting using a bolo ( a huge knife). It continuously happens in our house. With this situation, my mother and father separated. It was a mixed emotion that I felt by that time. I was relieved with the fact that there will have peace in our house but sad because the hatred of my mother towards my father transferred to me, she always said I was like my father and that better I would go with him; I felt rejected and angry at her. A week after, they decided to live together again. The gap between my father and my brother become worse. They are still fighting using the bolo, my mother tried to stop them but was the one hurt. It s good that it was not so serious.. I felt so bad towards my father, at times I prayed to God to get him so that my life will become better. I felt I was so unlucky to have a family like them. I felt envy to those children who have a happy family. Yes I had a family but I never experience a happy family. It was in Nov.2, 2000 when I was shocked by news, my father died, and I told to myself if God hear my prayers. I was so sad because I even he was like that I loved him; he always defended me and was industrious when he had work, but this is what I prayed for and it’s better because the conflict between my parents have stopped now. The first family of my father gets his remains and brought it to their province. During his burial, we stayed there for almost a month. I didn’t expect that I will experience a nightmare from the hands of my paternal cousin. He tried to touch some parts of my body for how many times but I just kept quiet for the fear of what they could do to us; we did not have any relatives there. We were treated as servants but we did not complain because they were feeding us. My mother worked to earn money for our transportation allowance going back to Manila. I brought the sadness and hatred against that man. I could never forget him, but until now no one knows about it even my mother. It’s only now that I am telling this to the crowd and I really feel bad in it every time I am recalling it. We reached Manila without any single centavo in our pocket. My mother and my brother had no job. We were often sleeping with an empty stomach. I was at the age of 10 that I decided to help my mother earn money through laundry works and fetching water, throwing garbage in exchange of small amount, just enough to buy only rice. Another event had happen in my life when I was about 11 years old. I got involved with the shoplifting in big malls of Metro Manila together with my neighbors and relative. My mother learned about it and she did not like it but later on, she was the one to encourage me to do such things out of her desperation to earn money for our daily needs. In one of our operation, I was unfortunately caught in act and was put into jail. My intention of doing that was to have money for my enrollment in school and some school supplies. I’ve been involved with the group for a long time but I have planned to stay away from them soon and will try to change my life and I will study hard for my mother’s sake. I have stayed in Jail for almost 8 months, I missed one school year. It was really a bad experience for me most especially when I was transferred to another jail that was also for adult. Good enough that I was transferred to Molave (a place for), I was shocked upon discovering that a lot of minors were there and had committed different crimes: they were charged of pushing illegal drugs, and robbery and even killing. I had one in-mate there who immediately released right after she had pay her Vail but for us who cannot afford it, we just stayed there and waited for our case to be dismissed. My mother felt pity for me and she sold our little house and the Carmelite Sisters had helped her too. For some reason I felt like I don’t want to leave the jail anymore. I am ashamed on what my neighbors would say against me and I was not yet ready to face them. Yet, I realized that if I will choose to stay in the jail, nothing will happen to me. So I’d rather face them and stay in my grandmother’s house, a very crowded place. We went to the convent of the Sisters asked them to help me. The Sisters immediately helped me with the condition that I will leave my family and stay in an institution. This made me confused; it was very difficult for me to leave my mother more now that we were together again. Yes I was angry to her before, but I realized that she loved me. But I decided to leave her because if I stay nothing would happen to me. There was the possibility of getting involved again to illegal activities and I don’t want it to happen again in me. In the end, I decided to live my mother in exchange of good future that might be waiting ahead of me. Until now, I am still living under the care of the Carmelite Sisters of Charity Vedruna (a center for abandoned children) together with other children and we are happy there. We treated one another as real member of the family. We are lucky because we know we have good future here. We can go to school, complete nutritious meal, and free from any kind of abuses. I am very thankful to God for giving me a family like this and for guiding me in the right path. The experience I had is not even a half of the experience of other people. I know many other young ones who are into drugs, others are dying because there is no food; many do not go to school because of the hardships of life and have no family to follow them up. Many are abandoned. Many young girls sell their bodies for a little money; they get pregnant but can’t take care of their babies and abandon them. Many people have no place to stay and they live on the streets; they have no job, so they risk into iligal or criminal activities just to survive. And what it is painful is that things are getting worse and wore. Every time I go back to our place I can see many changes: my friends are getting pregnant so young, many children work in the garbage. Even in my family, I pity my mother because they don’t have food, my brother had two children already but they don’t have milk or rice for them; he is sick but no money to buy medicines. My cousins are not going to school, always in the street, begging. I pity them but I can’t do anything for them, just to pray. There are my inspirations, the more I try to strive and study hard. Today I bring a call to the leaders of the nations and to all the citizens of the world: we are the children and youth in our world today who struggle to survive and grow day by day in the midst of poverty. We ask you to help us to achieve our dream by promoting peace and equality. Please, make use of your power for the good of humanity. Provide an opportunity for the youth and children to voice out their needs and concerns and give special attention to them. As an inspiration for our dear leaders and to all of you; I have prepared a song that will hopefully touch your heart. So may I request everybody to stand up and to listen to this song as I sing it to you?
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