"Looking back" is a bowl of hot soup and paying forward can be size 4 or 5.

It all started a few years back with  my sister Elvie’s noble idea.  She wanted to start a feeding program at the Santo Cristo Elementary School, which most of us attended; it is located  in the barrio where we were born, in the province of Nueva Ecija, Central Plains of Luzon.  My family has a strong connection to the school – our Inay, (mom) or Ninang (godmother) to Elvie and our cousins was the first principal of the school.

I have memories of playing under the pomelo tree with a huge bell hanging over my head. That bell is rung to herald the start of classes.  In my child’s mind, the ringing reverberates in the whole province of Nueva Ecija.  I attended “pre-school,” “kinder” “saling-pusa or saling- cat” (I was in the class but I was not graded)  and first grade in this school.  I was a kid whose interest was not easily contained so I would ask to be excused to chase dragonflies in the open fields behind the administration building.  My Inay would embarrass me and my sister EM by taking us out of the classroom to be fed a bowl of rice porridge in the hallway, sometime there would be rice cakes and a glass of water.  We would still be wiping our lips as we head back to the classroom! I was told by both my sisters, and my former classmate who is now a teacher at the school,  that when the kindergarten teacher was out, that I, all of five or six years at that time, would teach the class.  My parents moved to Manila where I continued my education until I left in 1975.

At some point , I decided to join the feeding program.  The team of principal and teachers picked the most needy kids from all grades and came up with 35-37 kids.  Each week, the teachers use the funds we donate and incorporate the harvest from the school vegetable garden into the meal preparation.  They cook lunch and serve to these needy kids.  There is now a total of three regular sponsors and others who give a one- time contribution allow for a fourth lunch for the kids. 

Last December, they sent me photos of the kids taken during a Christmas spaghetti lunch I sponsored. I also decided to distribute goody bags.  The wisdom of the principal prevailed and instead of toys, the kids got a t-shirt each.  When I examined the photos, I noticed that some kids were wearing flip-flops that seemed too big for their tiny feet. Ergo, I decided to give tennis shoes to the kids during my visit to the Philippines in January.  The children were made to trace their feet, write their name on it. My nieces Nerry and Joy facilitated the procurement of the shoes.  Fast forward to Monday, January 28, 2013.  My niece MaryJane drove us to Nueva Ecija.  It was a three hour drive going  through the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga.  The scenery is much more pleasing and relaxing the farther away from Manila one gets. The Arayat Mountain was at attention and the sun was out and beaming.

We grabbed a quick bite of the lunch the brother sister team of Willy and Nery prepared and then we rushed to the school.  They have homes in our ancestral land in the barrio.  Always good to walk on the grounds where my parents and ancestors walked on; where the stately santol tree watches over us and where the mango trees of my ancestors bear witness to the family history. 

The kids were called and I got to see the faces of the little ones. We started to distribute each of the shoes, calling each by  name.  I gave each kid a hug—all of them smelled clean; looked  groomed; but oh so skinny.  Some of them are 14 years of age,  but it was rather obvious that malnutrition stunted their growth.  Most have 3-6-8 siblings and are children of poor farmers.  They were shy but grateful.  My attention was caught by a pretty but very pale girl. Her eyes downcast and I did not see her smile throughout the whole time, even when she was handed her "package."  I learned later that Lyka is an orphan, taken in by her poor peasant grandparents.  I asked her how old she was, "Porteen po."  I asked her what grade she is in "Grade One po."  I gave her a hug. 

We spent the next hour conversing with the teachers and the principal, discussing the kids’ life stories and partaking of their hospitality of ripe mangoes and steamed sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves. We left feeling good for the kids.  Some of the kids lingered behind trees and under the canopy inspected their loot – a pair of shoes, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste.  We did not give away cell phones, computers, money. What we gave away is a gesture of kindness, hopefully a lasting thought that kindness can come from strangers.   

At the moment, we are  addressing the immediate need for nutritious meals and clothing for the kids.  They do not need toys; they have the sun and the rain and the garden and each other and their loving teachers to interact with. However, they need to know that others care about them and they need colors that they can put on paper to paint their thoughts and hopes and dreams. That means I will be sending crayons and papers.  If you read this and you and I socialize in person, bring a box of crayons next time we see each other, along with a coloring book (CVS, Thrift Store, Dollar Store –partly used is fine).  I will send them a box of the goodies; you will make a tiny heart swell with joy!

Epilogue: I left funds to get Lyka a medical examination, some clothes, vitamins, etc. We will invite her to help with my niece's Nery's flower garden, a pretext for her to earn a stipend. If this works out, Lyka, in my view can become a teacher or an engineer....I have opened my heart and other places to give a chance to a shy little orphan, who at 14 must know and has all the reason to know that her opportunies are nil to nothin without a fairy godmother to pave the way...

 This was my first grade graduation photo, I finished at the top of my class with a ribbon that said, "First Honor" - take note of my new dress made by my sister Linda, shoes cleaned and spit shined by my brother Rev. Ernie and my socks, trying to hide my bird legs.  Oh, and my handkerchief! My Dad pinned my ribbon onstage and later on, he had to deal with the "Intelligent but very talkative in class." or "Very, very, very, talkative in class," ADHD-hello?