Charity Travel: A Rare Christmas Treat

Sheldon. A nice name indeed. Very contemporary. Very novel (reminds me of Sidney Sheldon). Hmmm- very American?

But when you see who Sheldon is (he is the solo kid on the picture), you will be surprised he is one of the recipients of a feeding program in Banawa, Cebu City. I mean- with that name, he must be having a complete meal everyday, has modest clothes to wear, lovely skin. Well- I guess I am just being narrow-minded and very good at labeling people. But reality is-- he is nutritionally-imbalanced, a new term I’ve heard just today. Is this the politically correct term for a malnourished person?

Anyways- what I really wanted to convey is the benevolent act being facilitated in by Marketman (he prefers to be called that way) to Banawa Elementary School pupils and Sheldon.

When Market Manila (http://www.marketmanila.com/) suggested they will print shirts for readers to wear and readers hungrily responded, an idea came up from Marketman (he owns the site by the way) to sell shirts and tote bags and part of the proceeds will fund a feeding program in Cebu. (I bought one shirt that has I BEAT MY EGGS TO MAKE MAYONNAISE on it and wish I could have bought more so I can donate more. Sadly I am financially-incapable of getting more shirts and totes. In three words: I am poor! That’s another story.) The response was overwhelming as Marketman told us. Market Manila would have to “deny” donations from outside the country because of legal impediments.

But sadly only seventy-five pupils qualified to be fed. Because Marketman would have to make a painful decision to feed the most malnourished, uhmm excuse me, the most nutritionally-imbalanced among the hundreds of school kids in Banawa. My heart was bleeding when I see the more healthy kids trying to see what was happening inside the library. I know my heart will be broken more when they knew the kids inside were eating a load of rice, fried chicken, sinabaw nga baka, pineapple as dessert and fruit juice. The chosen few also received a fantastic toy after eating. (The child in me could not resist the temptation so I also asked one for me. The toy is actually a hybrid of the spin-top I used to play when I was a kid. This one is equipped with lights and music as you press them to spin. Very cool. Thank you, Marketman.)

The feeding program started today and will be done three times a week until March 2008. Imagine how much funding is needed for that. And I can imagine what Sheldon would be like after March. I want to make a visit and see his progress.

(If you want to make donations, please drop a line or two, explain your intentions at Marketman’s website http://www.marketmanila.com/. As of now, Marketman is still finding ways to accept your donations. So far, the best way is to purchase the marketmanila shirts and tote bags.)

.