A Humbling Christmas Experience...away from home

I always make sure that I am home for Christmas but it was not possible this year since I am only 3-month old in my work and besides taking advance vacation leave, I wanted to have it for a longer period of time in mid-2014 back in the Philippines. Determined to make the most of being away from home I decided to spend it in a remote village without electricity, out of mobile network and no internet connectivity. Nonetheless, it was a very humbling experience.

Midnight Mass

Christmas Day Mass

No fancy clothes, no expensive gifts, no festive meals but it showed the real meaning of the baby Jesus who was born in a manger. While attending mass, I couldn't help my mind from wandering off and, comparing and contrasting Christmas here and in the Philippines. I remember when I was a child; I would always feel bad if I don’t have a new dress on Christmas day. I feel sorry for myself if I don’t receive a gift, and I feel bad if we don’t have jamon or quezo de bola on Noche Buena. Christmas was more exciting not because of Jesus Christ’s birthday but because of everything ‘new’ during this season. These sentiments are not only mine but also of countless Filipino children. I outgrew all these things as time passed by, but I knew that a significant percentage of the Filipino children and even from other countries have the same expectations.  In this village, children and adults came barefooted, clothes without distinction if these are for everyday use or for special occasion. Nonetheless, they all came to pray and worship the reason for this celebration. In my own perception, they might be deprived of so many things but there are no traces of these on their faces. It’s difficult to fathom what’s in their hearts and minds but what I witnessed touched me in a very special way. Indeed we should always feel blessed and be thankful of what we have.

Gift-giving

Gift-giving

This year, I was not able to do my Share of Thanksgiving back home which was the annual party I throw for my family but I am glad to have done it for these children. I didn't pack much but the happiness from the children as they received the small gift, the pride in wearing the name tags from the Child Rights workshop until the Christmas Eve and Day masses and the smile as they took pictures with me was more than enough to show how the small gesture made them feel special. Surely, I'll never forget this experience!

Picture-taking with some of the kids

Traditional dishes- the share from the community...

Extending "World Peace" Beyond My Organization

Rather than entertain homesickness and the longing to be with my family this Christmas holidays, I decided to spend it in a village in PNG. Kubuna, which is part of Kairuku District in Central Province is a 2 ½ hour-drive from Port Moresby. The Parish of Mary Mother of the Church is located in this place where my friend is assigned as a priest.  We conceived this idea of doing something for the children in the village during my off from work.  Violation of Child Rights is a common issue in PNG. Given its complexities in this country, we decided to have an orientation just to raise the consciousness of children about their rights without aiming for something big.  

The participants 

Children between 8-12 years old were mobilized in the community to participate in the workshop. Coloring of photos illustrating Child Rights was used as a methodology. It was derived from a workbook of UNICEF which I found online. The activity may not be appropriate for their age but given the context, it’s the simplest and easily comprehensible method. Basic rights from the long list of articles in the Convention on Rights of the Child (CRC) were reduced to eight as the most relevant. The fifty-three children were divided into nine small groups and given a set of rights which they have to color and interpret. Each group took turns in the plenary presentation describing the picture. There was also a raffle of gifts during the interval of each presentation. The children pasted their drawing on the wall after each presentation and they were also requested to chant the rights repeatedly for memory retention. At the end of the activity, each child was asked to select their favorite right and wrote them in a colored paper that was folded into a boat, initially planned to be floated in the river but due to time constraint, they were told to keep them instead.  

Children busy coloring the pictures

The raffle draw in between discussion...

My favorite right is...

You should write your favorite right in colored paper and make a boat out of it...

The seriousness of the issue was confirmed when a mother stopped by the venue and interfered into one group that was busy with their work. Whatever the children heard from the mother had offended and caused them to be wary that they decided to move away from their corner of the room. This caught the attention of the head teacher, my co-facilitator who talked to the mother and requested her to leave. Instead of leaving, this woman accused the group of children for negatively interpreting her comments, and started lambasting and beating her child on his back using the dull edge of the bush knife, to my dismay! That was the point where I felt so helpless for fear that she’d turn her attention towards me, so I let the teacher handle the situation.   Shocked, I had to continue the discussion but before I proceeded as planned, I had to process what I have seen and what the children had witnessed! I asked, who among them experiences physical beating or corporal punishment, all of them raised their hands, some even mentioned parents using the sharp edge of bush knife to beat them. Parents hit them physically using any thing within their reach unmindful if it's dangerous or not. What a relevant way of synthesizing the workshop. It struck me though, how the children reacted. There was no fear, nor embarrassment on their faces. They remained focused with their task. Probably, what they have witnessed was not unusual for them. Something to ponder upon!

Checking their group work

This is what I meant with the ‘complexity’. Despite what happened, I didn't feel discouraged.  Culture is one of the biggest factors in this country but knowing the right approach, there can be an improvement. It may take long. Change does not happen overnight. Development is a process. 

At the end of the day, the teacher expressed her appreciation to me and said “I learned a lot today, I didn't know that beating a child and using corporal punishment is a violation of child rights. Starting next school year, I won’t do it any more to my students and even to my own children”. I may not have achieved much but surely it made a difference. It may take long, but there is a tiny flicker of hope!