This month's Chair's Report is something different. I will not talk about what happened on ROTI, although much did, or provide statistical data that shows what a great organization Rotary is. I will not talk about difficult decisions that were made by the board. But rather I will talk about a personal occurrence. Each of us has had things occur during our time as a Rotarian that moves us emotionally. Last week was one of those for me.

Angeles City, and others in the Philippines as well, have a large number of young children that may be classified as street children. Some are without a place to live, while others sell goods on the street to earn money to help support their family.

Their kind exists throughout the world and may be seen in other 3rd, and even some 1st world countries. I have given them money, bought trinkets, fruit, and other items, but had never spent more than fleeting moments with them; never did more than smile to them when they said "thank you." A need to take photographs and do a story on street children led Gloria and I last week to an area where many gather. The photographs led to an opportunity for her to talk to several children. The synopsis of a 45 minute talk follows; and several pictures may be found at the photo section of our ROTI group. When you open your ROTI email, go to the column n the left and click on photos and look for Street Children, or simply go here: ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rotarians/photos/9a59.

Interview with the Angeles City children . Gloria interviewed the young girls in Tagalog, which has been translated to English. Her question are in (….)

(How old are you, where are your parents?)
Jessica : "We are 10 in the family, I am no. 8. I am 8 years old. Annalyn (the other girl) is my sister, and 10 years old. Our father is dead, our mother stays at home and takes care of our 8 brothers and sisters."

(What do you do? Who feeds the family?) Annalyn: "I and my sister are the only ones who work because the others are still very small. We make our living by selling sweet potato. One bag is P20. We get P10 per bag. If business is good, we make as much as P100 a day and give the money to our mother to buy food." (100 pesos is about $2.50 US dollars)

(And…if business is not good?)
Jessica: "People are very kind to us. They give us coins, and we have enough to buy food. Sometimes, it takes us the whole day to get enough money. When we return home, our mother goes to the small store to buy the supper."

(Where do you get the goods to sell?)
Precy (cousin, 8 years old): "Our fathers plant and harvest the kamote (sweet potato). If there are no harvests, we sell for others."

(Why no harvests? Why plant kamotes only?)
Jessica: "Kamotes are the easiest to plant and grow. Would need not much water. Water is very precious. We buy the drinking water at P2 a pail from a nearby family who owns a deepwell and generator. Sometimes, the fathers cannot plant. The ground is very hard and their bolos are not sharp enough."

(So, if the fathers cannot plant kamotes, what other work do they do?)
Annalyn: "They work as construction workers in Fontana. But only for a month or so only."

(Are there others who work in your family?)
Jessica: "My grandmother used to work, but not anymore. Someone accidentally stepped on her foot and it got swollen and got very bad. She could not walk anymore. My sister and I buy the antibiotic medicine for her. The medicine is very expensive. P10 each!"

(I will come back here on Wednesday and give you medicine for your grandmother. Don’t you go to school?)
Annalyn: "Yes, we go to school in Macapagal Elementary School. I am in Grade 3. My sister and Precy are in Grade 2."

(When you are in school, who work?)
Jessica: "We also. We get out of school at 2pm, and come here at the DutyFree to sell sweet potatoes and other vegetables that we can get from others. Then we go home at about 7pm to give the money to our mother."

(I hate to think what your mother and 8 brothers and sisters eat while you are here working. You are all very young children. You should be just studying and be safe at home.)
Precy: "We go home in a group. When we see bad drunk men along the way, we run. And we run very fast."

(Tell me what you do from time you wake up……)
Jessica: "We wake up, then put away the sleeping mat. Then we take our bath, sometimes in the water pond near the mountain. Then we brush our teeth, go to school, if there is no school, it is vacation time now, so we go direct here to sell our crops."

(I did not hear you mention, eat breakfast or lunch…..)
Precy: "We do not have time. We have to be at school or be here in DutyFree (local stor) very early. If we are not early, we might not get anything to sell."

(Sigh.... what do you wear in school?)
Jessica: "What we are wearing now. This was clean in the morning. Can I ask a question?"

(Yes…)

Jessica: "Do you give food to children in school?"

(Yes, we have a project called Supplemental Feeding. We feed malnourished children in school every day for at least 4 months until they are strong and can concentrate on studying. What is the name of your school?)

Annalyn: "Macapagal Elementary School. Do you think you can give us food in our school this June? That will help us work afterwards and earn more money."

(I will work on it. I will also ask my friends to give you notebooks, pencils, crayons. Would you like that?)
Jessica, Precy, Annalyn: "Yes! Our school is located in………."

(I’ll find it, I’ll find it.)

At this moment, two ladies approached. They said they recognized the Rotary logo Ron’s shirt and knew that it is the group that provides Medical Missions. I asked about the problem. The lady named Mila said her mother was going blind and would need surgery on cataract. I gave them directions and how to avail of free surgery from the Rotary Club of Mabalacat. The lady was very thankful and would keep in touch.)

(Back to the kids….. I will be back this Wednesday, sometime in the morning. I will have some clothes for you and schoolbooks and medicines for your grandma. By the way, do you beg???)
Jessica: "No, ma’am. People get angry when we beg. What we do is just sell our crops. People sometimes just give us coins. They call us “baluga."

(Baluga is crude name for Aetas, lost natives)

(Well, don’t mind them. Don’t beg, because that will turn off people. Sell your products in very nice and friendly way, always smile. You are all pretty when you smile. That is good for business. Try to look neat because it is very hard to buy food crop from a dirty seller. For talking to me so nicely, I am giving P100 for your grandma’s medicine, and P20 to each of you.)
Jessica, Annalyn, Precy: "Thank you, thank you. Take care of yourself, ma’am, so that you can come again and talk to us……. Is he your husband? He is very nice."

It was a very moving experience. Looking through the camera lens was really an emotional experience; reading the transcriptions of the interviews, even more so. Tomorrow we bring the clothing, medicine, and a few special things for four very special young girls. And one last thought: When you do Rotary work, wear a Rotary shirt, "Show Rotary Cares." You might be surprised how many folks recognize that gearwheel that drives us forward. Some of the photos may also be found on our website.

Ron