There are things in life that, in our hearts, we just know to be true even though we don’t see them happen. We just know.
Take the recent gift-giving at Robinsons Place to underprivileged children from the hinterlands, for instance. The night before the event, Baby Jambora, the heart and soul behind Wish Upon a Star, commented at how excited the children must be to be fetched from their homes by members of the Philippine Army for their trip to Dumaguete. Having spearheaded this event since 2010, she knows of their excitement and joy, and of the lasting memories that events such as these create in their hearts and minds.
Those of us who sponsored one or more of the children, and bought them the simple gifts they wished for (rice, toys, food, school bag and supplies, clothes, etc.), also knew of the happiness these gifts would bring. Having come from among the poorest of the poor, we probably kind of anticipated that for some, if not most, Christmas as we know it was something they never knew.
But I guess most of us will never know how lasting these good memories would be.
I have had that privilege.
And here lies the difference between merely knowing, and actually seeing how a small act of kindness could remain a cherished memory through the years.
I have forgotten how six years ago, I took some of the girls from Casa Cittadini (Home for Girls) to Robinsons Place, and dressed some up in Halloween costumes, and others as princesses using my daughter’s old gowns, and for the older girls, borrowed some from Mrs. Cristina Chua. Pictures were taken and that was that.
Fast forward to this week. I visited Casa Cittadini again. They’ve all grown. Some of the girls I knew have graduated from high school, and even college, and have moved on.
I hardly recognized them but they remembered me. Rochelle came to me with her picture wearing a green gown, looking very much like the princess that she was that day. And she had that picture laminated to preserve it. Others followed, also bringing their own pictures to show to me.
I have long forgotten. But they remembered.
My daughter takes these moments for granted. She has had so many of them. But the girls did not forgot that one magical day when they got to look and feel like the princesses they see only on TV. I could not help but cry.
Yes, no matter how small, every act of kindness does matter. In a life where there is so little, they have this one glow from a distant past to go back to, to remind them that there’s something out there, something better, just waiting.
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Author’s email: olgaluciauy@yahoo.com
