Mel packs to return home from Manila

Mel is      a  young Filipino man  from a very  poor provincial family     who  has, in recent    years, been attempting to make it in the big city.

While surviving, during the  final examination period, on one meal a day, Mel   succeeded in completing the first year of a computer course at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).

Funds were insufficient for him to continue at the university, however.

With some assistance Mel undertook, successfully, a coffee-making (barista) course.

Casual employment followed, with Starbucks, Jollibee (the Filipino equivalent of McDonald’s) and then, until now, a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant in Asia’s largest megamall: the Mall of Asia.

Now Mel’s employment with McDonald’s is coming to an end. He had decided to return home to be with his mother and close relatives.

At 12:49 a.m. today Mel used his rooming house mate’s laptop,  to send me a message via Facebook.

Oh Bern, I’m going home tomorrow in the morning.

We can chat when I’m in Magdapio; there's a computer shop there for sure.

I don't wanna waste time and days here in Manila: when I’m in Magdapio I will find [an] internet cafe so we can chat and chat.

I’m sorry we didn't make it to have a chat. When I’m in Magdapio I’ll promise we can chat.

I miss you Bern and thank you for being there always; I love you and goodbye for now, I will need to prepare my stuff for a trip back to Magdapio.

Bye bye

Love

A boy in Magdapio with a carabao: Image by 333junction via Flickr

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Filipinos join call to end hunger

Image via Wikipedia

Filipinos will join thousands of people around the world in the campaign to end hunger, the United Nations’ World Food Programme announced on 1 June.

The WFP, together with its global humanitarian partners TNT, Unilever and DSM, will hold its yearly campaign, dubbed "End Hunger: Walk the World 2010," this Sunday in ”Bonifacio Global City”, an exclusive, luxury corporate real estate development within  Taguig City. Guards patrol the grounds 24 hours a day.

The theme of the fund-raising activity is "Isang Hakbang! Pilipinas 2010."

The fun run and walk will start 05:00 a.m.

Location of Taguig City, venue for "Walk the World", Sunday, 6 June 2010

 

TNT is a global mail and express delivery company serving more than 200 countries. Since 2002, TNT has been an active partner of WFP and to date has invested over $50 million in the partnership.

 

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong local roots in more than 100 countries across the globe. Unilever joined forces with WFP in January 2007 for a three-year partnership to improve the nutrition and health of poor, school-aged children around the world.

 

DSM Nutritional Products Philippines Inc, based in Makati, Manila, is a subsidiary of Royal DSM N.V., a Dutch transnational corporation.

 

Sources

 

End Hunger: Walk the World: World Food Programme campaign

 

Helen Flores, ”Filipinos join call to end hunger”  (philstar.com), updated June 01, 2010 12:54 p.m.

 

Walk the World — Hakbang Pilipinas 2010

 

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Christmas Eve food delivery for volcano evacuees

High-energy biscuits for flood-affected Filipinos being unloaded from a WFP helicopter last October.

Nearly 50,000 Filipinos evacuated from their homes in the shadow of the Mount Mayon volcano received some welcome assistance from the United Nations World Food Programme on Thursday, when packages of high energy biscuits arrived in evacuation centres set up by the government.

Mother takes daughter to hospital; funds unavailable

Image via Wikipedia

Text messages, 10:00 a.m. to 10:13 a.m, GMT + 08

From 10 a.m. onwards, from Kalayaan in the Philippines, Tina sent several text messages requesting help.

She was preparing to go to the Laguna Provincial Hospital in the town of Santa Cruz with her 4-year-old daughter Bernadeth - Joe ("Little Bern") who had a high fever, wounds on the head and face and white fluid exuding from the right ear.

I was really sorry, I replied. "I'm financially and emotionally exhausted."

Tina replied that she understood, but needed to give first aid to Little Bern. Last night the child had hardly slept because of an itch and around 1 a.m. she had become feverish.

The situation was more difficult because Bernadeth's kindergarten had selected her to appear on a float in a parade next Friday celebrating Nutrition Month, together with her cousin Zedric. The float would need to be decorated and the children dressed in traditional Filipino clothes; but money for this was also lacking.

Furthermore, the Philippine Training Authority (TESDA) had requested Tina to have her roadside diner prepared to receive an additional 50 customers for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea today, so at 3 a.m. she had traveled to a market to purchase provisions.

Now she had been notified that the extra trainees would not arrive until tomorrow.

A hospital doctor will almost certainly order pathology tests for Little Bern, for which there is no money available, and if that is achieved he or she will write prescriptions for an antibiotic and other medications, for which, again, money is unavailable.

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Receipt of remittance fraught with difficulties

Bern (08:48 GMT+08): Janice, please advise: have you received any message from PesoEpadala.com or Globe G-Cash yet?

Janice (08:52): Good morning, Bern.

Bern: Good morning. I trust you've received the question I just sent you.

Janice: OK! Bern.
:
Bern: Please advise: what messages, if any, have you received from PesoEpadala.com or Globe G-Cash?

Janice: I'm sorry BERN. What question BERN?

Bern: Have you received any messages from PesoEpadala.com or Globe G-Cash? And what is the result?

Janice: I receive - but I can't read bcoz my cellphone is can't open.

Bern: Please explain.

Janice: Hang I think Bern. I'm sorry for that.

Bern: I think that if you take the battery out of the cellphone then put it back in again you may find that the cellphone will work. It is possible, though, that the date and time will need to be reset. Of course, also, you need to keep the battery charged.

Janice: Yes Bern, already full charge. Bern please send it to my email.

Bern: You please try what I have requested. If you don't know how to do it, please try to get advice from someone who understands cellphones better.

Janice: OK Bern! Wait for 2 min. I try to get advice [from] someone.

Bern: You may also find that there are too many SMS text messages stored in your cellphone and that you need to delete some.

Janice: Bern, it's OK now - I can read the message from Globe G-cash already pick-up.

Bern: Are you saying that you have already picked up the money?

Janice: No, Bern, [they] said that the remittance is ready to pick-up.

Bern: I see. So I suppose you will leave immediately to go and get it?

Bern: Hello! What's the situation?

Janice: I can't receive the remittance #.

Bern: Please explain why you can't receive the remittance number.

Janice: Not in my message I receive this morning from G-cash. I receive the Yahoo message what the Yahoo message?

Bern: I suggest that you try to send a text to Globe saying you have not received the number. Then ask them to please send it again.

Janice: She saying Bern. I go to my email or what? Bern, I think to Jason's email he send. I look to Jason['s] email Bern - wait. Wait Bern. I open Jason['s] email.

Janice: From G-cash: "You have remittance ready for pick-up since yesterday afternoon: pick it up from Globe outlet where you used to pick-up your remittance. From friends@pesoepadala.com." This is the message I received.

Bern: Janice: this morning I phoned Peso Epadala in Sydney but received only a recorded message on an answering machine. Then I phoned their manager Annie on her cellphone and received only another recorded message. I'll have to go offline and try them again. But I can e-mail them.

Also you could e-mail them: I'll give you some addresses. Set the e-mails as high priority.

Janice: OK BERN, thank you.

Bern: Try anna ... That's Anna, one of the managers. There's also Annie... And Boyet, And the Processing Department ... Shirley's e-mail address ... The New South Wales office e-mail address ... You could send a single e-mail to all of those addresses simultaneously by using the CC method.

Janice: OK Bern.

Bern: I trust you are sending an e-mail or two without difficulty?

Janice (12:45:34): Yes! Bern, I send already some message of them all.

Bern (12:46:57): Good. I'll try to phone PesoEpadala.com again soon and after that I also want to send them e-mails.

Janice (152): OK, I'll will wait for her message.

Janice (21:29:09): Good evening, BERN. Thank you very much; I get money at 2 p.m. I buy Jayson vitamins and some fresh fruits - and also medicine. Thank you, Bern, and always take care. We love you. [Received at 22:10:05.]

Health in the Philippines

The Filipino families I know have experienced a variety of illnesses including recurrent pulmonary infections, malnutrition, anemia and vitamin deficiencies. It is no coincidence that these are cited in the Encyclopedia of the Nations' entry, Philippines - Health:

Pulmonary infections (tuberculosis, pneumonia, bronchitis) are prevalent. Malnutrition remains a health problem despite government assistance in the form of Nutripaks (consisting of indigenous foods such as mung beans and powdered shrimp) that are made available for infants, children, and pregnant women. In 2000, 32% of children under five years old were considered malnourished. Protein malnutrition, anemia, and vitamin A and iodine deficiencies are commonly found in children. The goiter rate was 6.9 per 100. Heart disease is the third most common cause of death in the Philippines.