Folding Bikes, A Birthday, and Sharing with the Shelterless

Most people celebrate their 50th birthday by throwing huge parties or at the very least treating friends and family to an evening of wining and dining. While this in itself is not bad at all, it takes a special kind of person to take a different path. Bel Paz is such a person, and for her birthday she decided to spread cheer to people who arguably need it most - the people who live in the streets. How do I know Bel? Well she is the partner of Baba Guerrero, who happens to be a grade school classmate of my wife Ethel. I don't know Bel all that much to be honest, but if what I know is an indication, her character stands ten feet tall in my book.

Let's have a little psychology lesson first. In 1943, the renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs of the human individual, and among the most basic necessities that we need is shelter, along with other physiological needs. Without this, we simply cannot progress to our fullest potential, and sadly, this is the plight of the shelterless among us. It is this sector that Bel thought to help or cheer on her birthday. She said "my friends are quite capable of feeding themselves, anytime they choose to. Homeless people do not have that luxury". Well she didn't exactly say it that way, but the gist of the message is there.

The call for volunteers at Tiklop Society of the Philippines' Facebook page. 

Before we rode out.

Briefing before ride out.

So the plan was to fill 150 earth bags with food, each enough to sustain a family for a day (two if you're on a diet) and distribute them to the homeless found in QC. This is where Tiklop Society of the Philippines comes in - it is more effective to distribute these packs by bicycles. There were 10 of us cyclists, on our folding bikes who answered the call. So we all met up with Bel and her friends, on the evening of October 12, her birthday, at McDonald's behind QC City Hall. The plan was for the cyclists to load up with 4 or more goodie packs each and  distribute them to the homeless as we bike along. A couple of vehicles tagged along, carrying the rest of the payload: the cyclists will replenish their load when depleted.

Ethel with two TSP newbies, Jo and Jane.

Vito heading out.

We headed out towards East Avenue and into BIR/Agham Road, where we expected dozens of homeless families. Though the area was full of depressed settlements, there were very few truly homeless people; in fact we only found three recipients. They didn't have their makeshift lean-to shelters like they usually do. Instead they were sleeping on the sidewalk, on cardboard mats. They woke up as we sidled along them and as we explained that we were doing this as a birthday celebration, they looked at us with distant eyes, as if they were still dreaming. They thanked us profusely, their lips morphing into a grin, as we pulled away.

All set? Let's go!

The way is dark, but we have lights.

Happy recipients.

So on we went to Quezon Ave, towards Manila, in the hopes of 
finding more homeless. To our surprise, there wasn't a whole lot as compared to say a month ago. We were disappointed, but then we said hey, this is a good thing right? Less homeless. So we were sort of happy about the idea until someone mentioned that they may have been relocated to Rizal province. And I thought, well, just in time for the APEC Talks .. and then we got depressed again. Nevertheless, there were still a few recipients - an old lady here, an old bearded guy there, several families sleeping under the eaves of bank buildings (this we noticed as a favorite settling spot for them).

Birthday Girl Bel giving a food pack.

Rock and roll to the world!

There were a lot less recipients than we expected, thus we still had a lot of packs to give this late at night (it was nearing 10pm). We were nearing the Welcome Rotonda area, and Ethel suggested that we should try to go to the Philippine Orthopedic Center at Banawe Street. This is a 700 bed hospital that caters to those with skeletal-related conditions (i.e., broken bones), and as a government hospital, many of the patients come from the poorer sector, and as we found out later, they have traveled far and wide just to be treated. As we entered the hospital grounds, the guard (who was very friendly and helpful) told us to head towards what looks like a waiting shed on the right. The wall-less structure was full of people lying down on makeshift mats, with their belongings neatly strewn around. These are the relatives, the support system of the patients, and the rather squalid conditions reflect highly on our health care system. We talked to the people and found out that many came from the provinces - Batangas, Zambales, Pangasinan, Bicol, Masbate - and coincidentally the one from Masbate was a classmate of my first cousin. They were all happy when we handed them the food bags. After that we entered a small 2 story building beside the shed, and it was packed with people as well. We went towards the entrance of the hospital, and there on the darkened walkway there were more people sleeping. More people! They were clearly weary and tired, but when they saw us they cheered up, especially when they received the packs. There were 4 men who were quite wary and refused to accept the donations until a guard said "libre yan"(it's free)  and that's when they broke out into smiles and accepted the goodie packs. These were people who were at the end of their resources, being so far away from home, being at the hospital for days, some more than a week. These are people who sorely need help and upliftment from the tragic misfortune in their lives.

Ethel, Baba, and Bel at the second floor of the waiting area of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, with recipients.

At the darkened walk of the hospital, where smiles reside.

The team at the Philippine Orthopedic Center.

Most of the 150 packs have been given away, but we still had around 30 left. It was approaching the 11th hour of the evening, so we decided to head back to Diliman. We managed to give out a few more when Bel told us to stop at Lugawan Republic at Timog Avenue, where she treated us to a simple yet satisfying dinner. Lugaw never felt this good!

Banawe intersection.

At Lugawan Republic.

After recharging, we headed down to East Avenue, where we saw several children sleeping at the foyer of a row of closed and locked storefronts. We tried to wake them up so that they could receive the packs, but most would not even stir. It became apparent that they were either very tired, or drugged somehow. We heard a shout from the other side of the road and we saw around a dozen other kids running towards us, slaloming though moving traffic and jumping over the island barrier. I sensed that this could escalate into a hairy situation for us, so I barked "Let's go! Move out!" and in seconds we were moving again, and in our wake we saw that the children were fighting over the packs that we gave. What a sad wake up call to the plight of many children in our society.

The government should really do something to uplift the lives of our countrymen.

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We reached East Avenue Hospital, another government institution, and we distributed all of the remaining packs at the people waiting at the emergency room. We ended the ride a few minutes later, back at McDonald's where we started. We were tired, yet happy, and each one emerged richer from the experience. Happy Birthday Bel!

At East Avenue Hospital. There were lots of people sleeping outside the Emergency Room.

Riding home, I pondered on what we just did - did we really make an impact? We distributed food packs that could tide the recipients over for a meal or so, and after that it is back to the everyday grind they have to face. So, was this beneficial at all, in the long run? I believe it is. More so that the satiation that they derive from consuming the food, it is the fact that someone gave them something at all - that is what really counts. The audacity that a total stranger would take the time to prepare and distribute these packs, that is the true essence of this gift. It lends the hope that there is someone out there that cares, and this is a powerful thing. It tells everyone that we are all human after all. 

Here's to more random acts of kindness in this world. Let us all be agents of goodwill, and make this earth a better place to live in.

 

Photos by Pio Fortuno Jr. and Ethel fortuno