Charity from A Distance
Posted on Thursday, 6 November 2014
Charity
from A Distance
(…story of Perla Buhay-Howard)
By Apolinario Villalobos
Charity knows no distance. That is how I
understood it, and did more so, when I met Perla Buhay-Howard via the internet.
She lives in California, USA, and a follower of my blogs.
The initial link between us was her comment
about my blogs in one of my sites about the random sharing that my group was
doing in Baseco Compound, a depressed area n Tondo. I considered her comment as
just one of those that are posted to tell bloggers that they are being viewed.
Until, one of her comments said about books for the kids and perhaps, a school.
The intention was appreciated but it gave me a problem because my group does
not “record” our deeds by taking photos while extending help to others, so there
would be no way to tell her about our using her donations. We do not even give
our real names to the recipients. It took some time before I frankly told her
about the way we are doing our own kind of sharing. As a compromise, I
suggested that small reading materials would be for the kids, aside from other
things, but the “bigger” reading materials- encyclopedia, dictionary, and
others should go to the National Library of the Philippines which could
officially acknowledge receipt of everything she would be sending. I was glad
that she readily appreciated the idea.
The first batch came – a big box that
contained encyclopedia, dictionaries, reading materials for children, and other
items. While the rest of the items were shared among the “friends” at Baseco
and those who live in pushcarts along Recto near Divisoria, the books went to
the National Library of the Philippines.
I thought that the box I received was the
first and the last. I was surprised when her subsequent messages mentioned
about more boxes for shipment. She also expressed how she enjoyed picking up
books from friends and an outlet which she herself, packs. One time as she was
driving to her friend’s place to pick up books, she figured in an accident that
smashed her car, while she suffered contusions. I was further touched when she
told me that she sets aside money for materials that needed to be purchased.
As she began to develop trust in me, she
confided that her advocacy to reach out to others, especially, on the aspect of
education, resulted from her own experience as a young girl who could barely
afford an education. She hails from Nueva Ecija. She practically had to toil
her way up to the last year of a college education. When she made it to
America, she strived to help her siblings and relatives left in the Philippines.
She did not waver in her effort even until she found herself a lifetime partner
who showed her not only love, but gave her full support and understanding of
her advocacy. In California, she is also a member of a group that extends help
to the needy.
She sends me photos of her potted cherry
tomatoes, kulitis or amaranth, even sweet potatoes, young leaves of which she
regularly cook. She has not forgotten that she is a Filipina, from a country
where live many countrymen who need help, to which she looks back always, and
share in a way she could best afford. She personifies charity…extended from a
distance.
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