In Praise of Mothers

Today is Mother’s Day. The sky is blue and white. It seems that even nature wants to pay homage to the mothers who feel unhappy because they can’t realize the desires of their children.

Carolina Maria de Jesus and children

The sun keeps climbing. Today it’s not going to rain. Today is our day.

Dona Teresinha came to visit me. She gave me 15 cruzeiros and said it was for Vera to go to the circus. But I’m going to use the money to buy bread tomorrow because I only have four cruzeiros.

Yesterday I got half a pig’s head at the slaughterhouse. We ate the meat and saved the bones. Today I put the bones on to boil and into the broth I put some potatoes. My children are always hungry. When they are starving they aren’t so fussy about what they eat.

Night came. The stars are hidden. The shack is filled with mosquitoes. I lit a page from a newspaper and ran it over the walls. This is the way the favela dwellers kill mosquitoes.

Source: Diaries of Note

Melting Pot

There is no escaping the traffic. One has to learn to be an aggressive and defensive driver. It seems to be the louder and longer you blow your horn, drivers will allow you to  converge.

Traffic in New Delhi, India

As I look out from the comfort of the bus, I asked Padre what is this area? “Is this the flea market.” The short response was that this is the slum area.

Slum area in New Delhi, India

On the other side of the coin, this is what most people prefer to see, an illusion of history past. This area did not bring any emotional sensation from me in comparison to the traffic and the slum area.

Taj Mahal, India

At the end of the day, our group, all 20 of us from Canada, Philippines and Austria gather for a meal to give thanks to India for opening their doors and converge with them.

Meal time prepared at a Catholic diocese

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Converge.”

The boy who reads: A story of hope

“One would think that the last place to find a starved and unkempt street urchin is in a book store.” 

He is 13-year-old Mark Jayvee “MJ” Mojon and he frequents the store to beg for money or food. But on some days, he also stops by to read. 

At age 13, MJ is just an incoming Grade 2 student. MJ’s mother says financial struggles forced MJ to drop out of school for several years. 

But poverty hasn’t stopped MJ from wanting to learn.  When he wasn’t begging, he would visit the bookstore to read.  Even in his house, MJ has a small corner where he keeps books borrowed from neighbors.  

This story has a happy ending. 

To read the full story, visit these links:

• Story from GMA Network
• Story from Book Patrol