Journal of a Simple Soul

From the Molave Youth Center, I drove yesterday to the Reception Action Center (RAC) somewhere between Cubao and Quezon City. Specifically, it’s located in a narrow road right after the Quezon City Police District if you’re coming from Kamias Road.

Kuya Joel (from the youth center) referred me to the RAC because the toys I wanted to donate to their youth center would be better appreciated in a place where there are children. The RAC does not only have children, but there are also a handful of young women and senior citizens.

The RAC is meant to be a temporary shelter. At the moment, it has 23 residents. Six are senior citizens. Eight are young women, the oldest of whom is 16 years old. The rest are children. They were referred to the center by social workers because they either ran away from home or are orphans. They don’t have a place to stay, and it’s much safer to be there than to roam the dangerous streets of the metro.

One of the lolas I met there, for example, told me she’d rather be “here” than sleep under a stairwell somewhere in the city. She shudders at the very thought of being left alone. New in the center at barely a week, she hopes that one of these days she can go back to her hometown in Negros.

On the other hand, Lolo Berto has been in the RAC for “one year and four months already. No wait. Pretty soon, it will be one year and five months,” adds the chatty and very friendly lolo.

Lolo Berto is single, and used to work in a “talyer” (a car shop) before he had a stroke. Unfortunately for him, the shop where he worked for a long time also had to close, leaving him without a place to stay. He said he tried to be independent by looking for an apartment, but nobody wanted to take in an invalid. Lolo Berto, a practical person, allowed himself to be brought to the reception action center.

What I like about this place is that the younger ones have taken it upon themselves to take care of the senior citizens in their midst! They’re young yet so responsible!

I was there yesterday to bring the toys. But because I didn’t have anything for the girls and the lolos and lolas, I went back there again today. It was during the second visit that I found out who takes care of who, how long the children have been there, what it is that they need, where they come from, where they will go from there, etc.

One girl, Jane, kept an eye on a lola while I was talking to her. Jane is only 13 years old, and is the fourth of nine children. She comes from Palawan, and her family was made to believe Jane would be brought to Manila to study and be a part-time helper. Nothing like that happened. Jane did become a helper, AND her second ‘employer’ maltreated her. (Thankfully, I don’t think she was abused).

So Jane and the other young ladies are waiting in the RAC until such time that they have money to go back home, or until their parents have money to bring them back to ‘safety.’

It was half past three in the afternoon when I finally left the RAC. I had actually stayed longer than I planned! I wish there’s more that I could give, but Lolo Berto and one of the lolas kept telling me, the surprise visits are more than enough.

[If you live in Quezon City and near the Kamias area, you might want to visit the reception action center. They will accept donations of any kind. Even your company will suffice.]