OUR children should not suffer from hunger and as parents we should provide them the most basic thing they need in life – that is, food.
In the Philippines thousands of children die of hunger and malnutrition every year. Of course the main reason for this is poverty.
But if only parents are responsible and can put food on the table three times a day, no child should go hungry or be malnourished.
I have never experienced hunger or being malnourished as a child growing up during the Sugar boom in Negros Occidental in the 70’s.
My dad was only a laborer at the Victorias Milliang Company, Asia’s biggest sugar refinery in Victorias City. However, he earned enough to send us to good schools and to put food on the table.
My mom was a housewife and was a magnificent cook. She grew up in a convent and the nuns taught her cooking and baking so food was not a problem for us until I was in college. My mom died when I was ten and my father retired after I finished high school.
So I was a working student most of my college life. For seven years and one semester I was on and off school struggling to make ends meet while also trying to get a degree.
On my final semester, I quit work and concentrated on finishing my degree at the University of San Jose-Recoletos.
My sister, who was working as a domestic helper in Hong Kong, supported me in my last semester. She sent me P1,000 monthly allowance which would include my tuition fees.
How I survived a monthly allowance of P1,000 was a mystery. It was during this time that I would go hungry. I remember once that I only had P5 in my pocket and went home to my boarding house looking for food to eat.
I did not have rice and what was left in my kitchen was a piece of ginger and some brown sugar. I crushed the ginger, boiled it and added sugar.
Bingo Salabat na. I then bought P5 worth of bread. I had supper and slept. The next day was another struggle.
It was like that for many months until I found a job with VoxPop Cebu as a sports correspondent.
Those hungry months of struggle made me realize how bad it is to suffer from an empty stomach. I was already in my 20’s during that time. At least I could find ways to get food somewhere. How about the children? There are millions of them all over the country.
That was how the VoxPop feeding last November 19, 2016 came to being. Of course the project could not feed all the malnourished children of our Barangay 23, where our office is located, and the neighboring Barangay 21.
The aim was to create awareness on the plight of our malnourished children.
Kind hearted friends from Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD), CdO Blue Eagles Club Batch Matatag, Gamma Beta Sigma Fraternity and Sorority helped the VoxPop Oro Inc. staff feed more than 100 children plus their parents who trooped to the Young Men’s Christian Association basketball court along Julio Pacana street in Licoan.
It was a morning of fun for them. We organized games and then give snacks and lunch from our sponsors.
Our sponsors included Kathryn’s Bakeshop, Jollibee, Smart, Isuzu, Alma Villahermosa, Adonis Ragasi, Goldport Customs Brokerage, Philq Manpower Services, Mark Chiongbian, Vice Mayor Kikang Uy, Wadhus Quality Store, Boy Sugba, COWD, Aboitiz Power and Steag.
Giving food to children and watching their parents feed them felt good. But it would feel better if we share our blessing. (l.biantan@gmail.com)