Then, there’s Buboy (not his real name). His addict father had tried to kill him by tying wire around his neck. Marks of bruises are still visible in some parts of his body. He too, sports a sad look even as he tries to mingle with other kids, abandoned like him.
JM is only two years old. The police found him begging in the streets and brought him to the DSWD Center for safekeeping. “Where’s his mom?” I ask. The social worker does not answer me. I look at JM and my heart interprets his forlorn look: “Yes, where’s my mom?” He busies himself by crawling under the chair like a puppy.
How does one show compassion to kids like these? We cannot take away the hurt because it is embedded in their psyche. We cannot even wipe away tears because they have no more tears to shed. So, we give LOVE, expressed in little concrete things, like fried chicken, candies, telling stories about their friend, Jesus, the great King, and a little cuddle from lay missionary Mila Ongsiapco, herself a mother and a lola. A little love, but the kids will keep that memory in the depths of their heart.
Pope Francis says this: “Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor and for enabling them to be fully a part of society. This demands that we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and to come to their aid” (Evangelii Gaudium, #187)