I visited my family in our house in Quezon City on Christmas Day, then suddenly I felt the same Christmas spirit during my younger years come back. The laughter of my niece and nephew, coupled with my all-time favorite chicken sopas triggered memories of my youth. An afternoon nap with my pamangkin reminded me of the mandatory siesta when I was still in elementary. We spent Christmas Day quite ordinarily, and that’s what made it very special. The joy of being.
I recall a conversation I had with a person who asked me how I spent the Christmas season. I said I was working, but I had a day off with my family. She felt sorry for me, I knew because it was written all over her face. But I smiled at her and said a day was enough for me. All that holiday stress made me appreciate simple moments with family.
My Christmas sojourn ended with my going back to work reading the news, mostly bad news that happened during Christmas Day. There was a fire in a shopping mall in Ormoc where 24 people perished, and another in the Cebu capitol. More bad news on a child who died in an amusement park in Marikina. As I watched the little girl’s parent weeping, I was questioning God: Why this Christmas? Why could there be no ceasefire of bad news, at least for one day?
Work also brought me to interview Luisa Tayco, one of our subjects for the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs year-ender special: Ako ang Simula.
After 17 years as an OFW in Singapore, she is back in the Philippines for good after her employer terminated her contract last March. Reason: she was too busy to be a maid.
She denies neglecting her work but admits she was busy collecting 25 crates of old shoes she wanted to donate in the Philippines. The warehouse was going to close already and she had to bring the stuff to the Philippine embassy, A.S.A.P.
Now that she’s back, she put up a modest canteen in Novaliches. This was where I met her for our interview. Immediately, the name of the canteen caught my attention: Pinokyo, like the character in the fairy tale. She named the canteen after the foundation she founded in Singapore in 1999. Out of curiosity I asked her why "Pinokyo." "Because it’s catchy!" She replied with a grin. "People are always curious with the name. I take it as an opportunity to talk about the foundation."
Pinokyo, she says, is about a boy who lied because he was not cared for and given much attention. Through the foundation, she wants to be there for those in need, here in our country.
With the old clothes and books that Pinokyo Foundation collected in Singapore, they were able to build mini libraries in different parts of the country. They also have several scholars. (One of their scholars is now an aircraft maintenance crew who put up a library to give back the generosity he received.)
Though earning only a third of how much she used to make in Singapore, her generosity never faltered. She keeps a coin bank in her canteen where she collects 25 centavos for every sale, and donates it to Tala Leprosarium. A part of her income also goes to the Internet, to correspond with members in Singapore.
The irony is, you’d think because Luisa is an OFW, she should have at least invested on a house and lot, but she still lives in a barong-barong. I thought to myself, this lady must be crazy to be giving so much to others and having nothing of her own. She earned the ire of her husband because she helps other people, but can’t help her own family, especially their sick child. But Luisa speaks with wisdom. "I am the president of Pinokyo, and I must not benefit from the foundation. How can I get people to trust and help the poor?"
I was astounded. Most of the time, I see the poor asking for help, and to me this was understandable. I stared at Luisa, a woman of optimism and fire, who spoke about building the country and moving forward, of self-reliance, of contributing to nation-building regardless of stature. "We should educate ourselves instead of spending time in Tong-its and inom," Luisa says, referring to the pastime of poor Filipinos.
"Saan ka nanggaling?" I asked Luisa in disbelief that people like her existed! "Ewan ko, nung bata ako kapag walang lapis yung classmate ko, pinuputol ko ang lapis ko, at binibigay ko ang kalahati," she told me. She simply couldn’t resist helping others.
Luisa makes it sound so simple. And maybe it is. Because for every bad news is an opportunity to make good things happen.
Be the change that you want to see, Mahatma Gandhi once said.
Watch Ako ang Simula tonight at 9:45 on ABS-CBN.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
(E-mail me at bernadettesem-brano@gmail.com.)