Edukasyon ko Inang Bayan, kaya mo pa bang tustusan?

Ngayong gabi, nasadlak ako sa kalungkutan ng marinig ko ang pagpapakamatay ng isang labing-anim na taong gulang na estudyante mula sa University of the Philippines - Manila (UP-Manila).  Freshman siya ng dating kolehiyo ni Aiko, parehas na Behavioral Sciences ang kurso.  Pinakita siya sa akin ng kapatid ko sa iilang Facebook pictures na naka-share sa page ng kolehiyo nila. Marahan siyang nagkwento.  Madalas na tumitingin ang kapatid ko ng mga pictures ng underclassmen niya at palaging sumusulyap sa landas na hindi niya tinahak. Natatandaan niya daw na representative si Kristel ng mga freshman sa isang aktibidad ng kolehiyo. Nabanggit niya nga minsan, sa aking paggunita, na madami daw siyang gustong "i-bully" sa mga first years.  Tulad daw ng mga ginawa sa kanila noong isang semestre niyang pag-aral sa UP.  At heto daw, hindi siya makapaniwala na merong nagpakamatay sa kinasasabikan niyang mga underclassmen. Dahil sa kahirapan ng buhay.  "Paano kung nandun ako?", tanong niya sa akin habang nagpipigil ng luha.  Wala akong naisagot.

Si Kristel ay panganay sa limang magkakapatid.  Taxi driver ang trabaho ng ama at simpleng maybahay lamang ang ina.  Isa lamang siya sa maraming kabataan ngayon sa Pilipinas na naghahangad ng edukasyon ngunit nahahadlangan ito ng kahirapan.  Nitong nakaraang dalawang dekada, hindi makakaila na lubhang bumaba ang budget ng gobyerno sa edukasyon sa kabila ng mga pangako nila na pagtutuunan ito ng pansin. Ang unang naalala ko nung dekada nobenta ay ang pag-allocate ng budget sa iba't-ibang sektor ng gobyerno para ilagay sa "pork barrel".   Isa ang kagawaran ng edukasyon sa kinuhanan ng pera upang mapuno ang kaban ng mga kongresista.  At sinong makakalimot sa milyones na tinanggal ng administrasyong Arroyo sa PUP?  Isa yan sa mga ibinato ni PNoy sa nakalipas na administrasyon at kakatwa na isinambalik niya sa pamumuno niya ngayon.  Mas malala pa nga kung ikukumpara dahil isang bilyon mahigit ang tinanggal niya sa edukasyon at kalusugan nitong taong 2010.  Sa dami ng mga kinaltas ng gobyerno, lumipad ang halaga ng edukasyong hirap na ngang abutin ng mahihirap.  

Isa sa mga naunang artikulo na lumabas tungkol sa trahedya mula sa The Manila Collegian

Natatakot ako para sa mga kapwa ko Pilipino, lalong lalo na para sa mga kabataan.  Tila ba unti-unti nilang ginagawang mang mang ang mga sumusunod na henerasyon.  Tumatarik ang tatsulok at ang edukasyon na dapat ay karapatan ng bawat isa ay nagiging pribilehiyo.  Mayayaman na lamang ang nakakatamasa ng disenteng edukasyon at ang mga sadlak sa hirap ay nagkukumahog sa maliliit na silid-aralan.  Nasa awa na tayo ng mga oligarko sapagkat hawak nila ang utak ng kabataan. Nitong nakaraang dekada, meron nang mga artikulo at iilang mga aktibista ang pumuna sa pamamaraan nila.  Natatandaan niyo pa ba ang "Study now, pay later" program noong 90s? Isang mabuting programa na ginagawang paraan ng mga oligarko para maibulsa ang pera ng masa.  Halos isang daang estudyante din ang nabigyan ng umano'y "loan" ang hindi masingil ng Commission of Audit (COA).  Naglaho na parang mga multo. Ha! Tapos sa tuwing may mga problemang darating (tulad ng kay Kristel) ay pinaiikot lamang nila tayo sa mga hintuturo nilang di matigil sa pagturo.  Sinisisi ng gobyerno ang UP-Manila ngunit sila ang tunay na may hawak ng kapangyarihan upang mabago ito.  Madaling magtaas ng tuition ngunit hindi madaling ibaba.  Madaling magsibak ng estudyante kaysa sa gumawa ng paraan upang makatapos sila.  Yupian na nga talaga ang UP kung ganun.

Tila nga malayo-layo pa ang tatahakin natin para maabot ang Pilipinas na ipinaglaban noon ng ating mga ninuno.  Ayokong matulad ang mga Pilipino kay Boxer (ng Animal Farm) na buong buhay nagkayod para sa demokrasyang hindi totoo at namatay ng hindi namulat sa katotohanan. Masipag at matiyaga ang mga Pilipino at di hamak na may potensyal upang harapin ang mundo.  Huwag tayong magbulag-bulagan at magbingi-bingihan sa isyung ito! Edukasyon ang susi sa pag-ahon mula sa kahirapan kaya huwag tayong pumayag na tanggalin ito sa ating mga anak. Sabay sabay nating pasanin ang bigat ng buhay na kinitil ng mga oligarko at ipaglaban ang nararapat.

Imahe ng kasipagan at tiyaga

Sa ngayon, ang pagtustos ko sa dalawang bata mula sa World Vision ang tanging magagawa ko upang makatulong sa sitwasyon.  Maraming tumutulong sa atin mula sa iba't-ibang bansa kaya't tulungan din natin ang isa't-isa.  MERONG PAG-ASA ANG PILIPINAS!  

Isang World Vision sponsored child dati, Order of Lakandula and CNN Hero

 Sana ay makita ko ring magtagumpay sina Clarence at Lyka sa buhay.  Sa ngayon, hahayaan ko muna silang maging bata.

OTepp First Week

As I am currently in line for the November 2013 National Occupational Therapy Certification Examination here in Canada, I have decided to enroll in a program funded by CAOT called OTepp.   It is a program ran by the McMaster University in Ontario that assists internationally educated and returning occupational therapists integrate into the Canadian practice.  It consists of five (5) modules that started this January 2013 up until June, just before the July examination. I was a little late to register because of the status of my papers so I joined in the third module.

Interested in the program?  Click the link

We are currently studying evidence -based practice in which we are taught how to critically appraise articles to be used in practice.  In a virtual classroom!  I am so fascinated by this new experience that I can hardly contain my smile every start of the session. (Not that they could see my ridiculous smile though)  It really surprised me as well just how many Filipinos were engaged in the program.  And yes, it is perhaps one of the main reasons why I am happy with the classes.  Hearing a familiar accent calms me down and it reassures me (somehow) that we are one in the same.  We are seeking help to re-enter the world of occupational therapy.  Striving hard to re-ignite the flames of passion for the profession in a highly unfamiliar setting.

 Truly, support groups like this for internationally educated health care professionals like us is truly a blessing!      Can't imagine starting from nowhere.  Next week, I'll be posting about the process I underwent to apply for eligiblity to CAOT.  

To my friends who are taking the PTOT local boards

Let me tell you my friends, the fact that you are sitting for the exam tomorrow is an achievement worth telling.   That seat could have been someone else's but you took up the courage to take it for yourselves. That seat could have been empty, but now it is heavy with your hopes and dreams for the future.  A future in which the world will be shaped by your burning passion and great determination.  If you look back to it, you'll see how humble your beginnings were. Some of you must have been just persuaded to take it. Some with just the curiousity in their minds. Some must have taken into account that nursing has a surplus.  And in rare cases, some who actually dreams of becoming professional occupational and physical therapists. It took just the simple choice of enrolling the course and whatever happened after that is credited for your regal choice to stick to it.  

I want you to take just a little while to remember how you got there - to the seat where your future will be built.  Remember the first day of school?  Who do you talk to? You ask yourself.  Then you made a simple choice of who to be-friend.  Remember the next few weeks when you ponder if you are just going to copy that physics assignment given by the professor?  Then you made the simple choice not to.  Remember your first anatomy class?  You wonder whether your seniors were right about how you'll not have the appetite to eat after seeing a cadaver for the first time.  Then you made the seemingly silly decision to eat chicken fillet at McDonald's afterwards.  As the days progress however, the simple choices weighed more - like stones thrown over your back. You never realized how those simple decisions could lead you to marching on that stage with the friends you thought were the weirdest bunch you've ever met during that first day of algebra class.  Now, you are going to take the local boards.  You must realize that it is that heavy not only because of the intense review you have undergone the past few months, but of the five or more years you have spent making simple choices.  Remember that it is in our moments of decision that our destiny is shaped.  And that fate is going to be built tomorrow.  You have been working hard and I believe that you will be rewarded!  Your determination will shake that exam until you claim that license!

So in dedication to you guys, I have a short poem to share and the video of "Best Times".  Oh and a picture from 9gag that will remind you of your love for your course.

Finding Strength

by Kris Akemi Job

To you who is weakened

This I pray...

That if now you're suffering

May tomorrow, God bestow you strength

To face the dismay

And in years henceforth

You shall look back

And be grateful for the stones

For they have paved way to the dreams

You once held "nay"

(August 20, 2012)

ALWAYS REMEMBER WHERE YOU STARTED AND WHY YOU DID IT

In a few months, it's going to be my turn.  

Thank you donorworx and World Vision!

I could still remember the bright orange glint of that tiny World Vision booth at our event, OTzibit 2011, almost three (3) years ago.  The trifold brochure with a little boy really piqued my interest. Pretty soon, I found myself grabbing one from the table.  The kid that looked around 8 years old in the brochure said that he wants to be a driver and nothing else.  I remembered thinking, "Man, an eight year old kid...wants to be just a driver like his dad? The cycle of poverty is trapping a lot of people in its course."  When I was eight years old, I dreamt of becoming EVERYTHING!!!  A doctor, a scientist, a singer, an actress, an astronaut, even becoming president!  My dreams were limitless!  And yet, that little boy in the brochure and perhaps quite a lot of other Filipino kids don't even have the permission to dream high.  How truly sad it is. At that time, I had to reject the idea of sponsoring a kid for fifteen (15) pesos a day because I can't even fend for myself.  

The second time I encountered World Vision was at Metrotown.  I saw this guy stopping a couple of people who were walking by.  I was in one of my "enlightening strolls" that day and I decided to stop by the booth as I loved that familiar warm color.  I, of course, having no job yet, refused the opportunity to sponsor a child.  But, mind you, I had always wanted to.  One autumn morning, World Vision came knocking in my door again. I saw an ad in the newspaper about a hiring as a fundraiser and I applied with much hope.  (Please refer to this post)  Holy guacamole!  I got accepted and by the end of the campaign, I was given the "WHY" award.  It's for new people like me who does a great job in the field. 

Sweet!  I was excited to open this when Kirsten gave it to me

Aaw...such a sweet card

TADA!!!  Free 10 dollars to spend in Starbucks :)

 I am so touched.  I didn't really expect it because it was hard enough to get people to stop in Guildford mall.  My teammates and I were really challenged to work those stops and break those objections to pulp.  Thank you Chris Ghieuw, Korina Manaloto, Odette Pinto, Sam Bones, Katharine Heaster, Melanie Scharfe, Brendan for the amazing fundraising days.  I give my special thanks to Kirsten (TL) and Stephanie (CFM) for picking me as a winner. You are such wonderful people and I wish to work with you guys again.   And of course, I just wanted to say thank you to donorworx for giving this once in a lifetime opportunity to work with World Vision. If you hadn't given me the opportunity, I wouldn't be posting about this.  My words are not enough to express the gratitude I feel.  I deeply wish for summer to come soon!

LDAFS volunteer

I am, in perspective... a teacher at heart.  Maybe that is why it seemed hard for me to part with the kids I handled for the past fall in Learning Disabilities Association Fraser South (LDAFS).   I remember when I took the National Career Assessment Exam (NCAE), I had been classified as a "social".  One of the careers listed there was being a teacher.  I didn't really think that I have potential for that stuff though.  I mean, for four years in highschool, I was an introvert and not to mention an extremely gullible person.  It wasn't until I got into college that I slowly changed my ever-so passive self.  I have slowly acquired a skill that most people, even in their own native language, do not use effectively.  That is assertion.

To be an effective teacher, you must be assertive.  You do not disregard, you acknowledge.  You do not force, you persuade.  It is also what an occupational therapist needs to learn.  For OTs are teachers as well. We teach about everyone's daily business, we teach about life.   We assess what areas in daily life do people have trouble in and we find what factors hinder them in doing it.  Like how I did with the two kids I have tutored in LDAFS.   By the end of the tutoring, I can proudly say that they have improved a lot.

Freebies from tutoring :)

In hindsight, I may have been looking for a little bit of OT in the tutoring program.  It put me in a tight situation once when the supervisor questioned my methods of tutoring.  My expectations were far off from what they had in set.  It just isn't the same.  I found that, the more I engage myself with different kinds of work, the more I realize how much I love being an OT.  I observe it in the simple things people do everyday but observing alone do not suffice.  I miss being an OT.  I envy those back home that are engaged in their reviews.  Everyday, I feel that my knowledge is fading.  I pray that my application in CAOT will be an okay!  I'll be good, I promise.

My little kid's writing :)

There is perhaps no saddest moment than saying goodbye to something you have come to love. My volunteer work in Learning Disabilities Association Fraser South has ended after 3 months. And now, it's time to embark on another adventure!

Red Cross, here I come!!!

If I were to die... (Simple Clean Version)

Death is perhaps the most appalling subject I could ever discuss with anyone.   Still, I believe that it is also the most attractive topic I could ever pick to dissert.  Why is death so repulsively beautiful?  That is something I keep wondering myself.   I assume that at one point in time all of you have thought about death  in various ways and yet came down with the same dreadful conclusion - we all die.   It's a sad truth we have to take.  And no matter how indifferent we may seem about the fact, we still do worry and wonder.

Death in plain and simple words - the cessation of all the cells that supports an organism's life force.  How complicated is that?  Six feet under the ground, we'll all be rotting away to join the lifestream once again.  Same as our ancestors that came and lived before us on this bountiful earth.  That is how I thought of death before I turned fourteen.  Easy peasy really.  It's by the book and well supported by science.

All of that changed in an instant...

My bestfriend Melanie Avila died in January 11, 2005.  (If you are a close friend of mine, you probably know about this fact.) I have, in truth, adapted quite healthily in coming into terms about her death. Although, at the other side of the truth, I have not quite forgotten everything about her death.  Adaptation is not forgetting.  It is acceptance.    In a span of seven years, I slowly learned to accept the painful truth - she is gone.  But there never was a day that I wouldn't think about her.  I always do.

Just wanted to share a magnificent artwork about life and death I found on 9gag

When death falls near you or your loved ones, you'll perceive it differently.  At the age of fourteen, I learned about it.  Isn't that a reality check too early?  Heck no!  Think about a 9 year old boy who has seen his mother close to dying two times in a freak accident.  Now that is a wake up call to mortality too early.  That same boy, believe it or not, came up to the World Vision booth and picked a child to sponsor.  In turn for the ordeal, he has developed empathy and compassion at such an early age.  That is something only a person who has met and/or glanced death before their eyes can understand.  

So if I were to die, and die very young, I would like to bring with me memories of happiness.  That in every smile I give, I touch a heart with sincerity.  That in every word I mouth, I bless a soul with kindness.  That in every action I do, I move a person into action.  Life is short, I have learned.  I don't want to waste my time in nonsense.  I don't want to wait in a corner and mutter endless excuses.  I will do, not brood.  If I were to die, and die very young, I would like for my friends to talk not only of good things about me but as well as my faults.  For I am not a god, I am human and err I do.  I am nice to the point of bad but I am not perfect.  I am not a messiah who will save humanity - I am just plain Akemi.  Same as everyone else.  If I were to die,  and die very young, I do not want any awards of any kind.  I have always thought of that as silly.  You can't take that to your grave nor can you proudly say you have earned it.  If I were to die, and die very young, I'd like to apologize to those I have left.  I can imagine how hard it would be for you guys.  Especially for my two little sisters whom I love dearly.

Lastly, if I were to die...I would like to be remembered.  Just that.


And no I don't want to be sent away with words of a love song :)

Do we still sing Paraiso?

It has been two decades since Ryan Cayabyab has written the song, "Paraiso" and today it still stands as controversial as it was when it first came out in the 90's.  As the song continued to ring truth around the world, the people have yet to find and utilize the hope they have long been searching for amidst the trash.  Last year, I had a chance to volunteer for Aspiring Citizens for Community Empowerment (ACCE) for a short while and although the head of the organization told us that Smokey Mountain has changed a lot from what it was before, you can visibly tell that it's still far off from actually improving.  Some houses have been built with concrete but had cardboards inside as mats and a thin blanket for windows and doors. That is for only a little part of the place. If you go further, you will see houses built with thin plywood on top of trash. The supply of water is also scarce - only certain parts have it.  They deliver it via a long hose duct taped together to reach the place.  Guess what the hose travels to?  Yes, garbage. People there get sick from diarrhea and typhoid.  These are all preventable diseases really and yet the Filipinos there get infected and much worse yet, they die.

During the interview with a local household there, the Japanese students and I found out that a family survives with only five hundred pesos (Php 500.00) a week at maximum.  That is around seventy - one pesos (Php 71.00) a day. With the current minimum food requirements attainable at a doubled price of a hundred and seventy-two pesos (Php 172.00), I think it is very apt to say that they barely "eat".   And for that amount, the government expects five members of the family to eat the following meals for a day:

BREAKFAST

An egg plus rice 

Coffee with milk

LUNCH

Mongo with malunggay

Latundan Banana

Rice

MERIENDA

Pandesal

DINNER 

Tulingan fish

Boiled Kangkong

Rice

Then what of those who live of with lesser income?  Must they rely on picked up food from the trash?  Or must they only offer their children noodles and rice for breakfast until dinner?  Must they continue to think that everything with a "Sangkap Pinoy" seal is healthy enough for them to eat everyday?

Supplements are good but not enough to keep people healthy

What's more shocking to me is, the government is actually using this food bundle price to measure the poverty rate.  "It was never our intention na pababain ang poverty incidence.  Siguro dapat lang ma-stress na ginawa lang tong refinement so that we can more accurately identify the poor.", Jessamyn Encarnacion, the Director of Social Statistics Office stated in a news interview with GMA.

Seriously?  They got away with it for almost ten years?

Really?  How low can oligarchs go?  There are so many dimensions to scale poverty and they only choose this?  Saddening.  Truly saddening.  Having worked at public hospitals during my time there as an occupational therapy intern, I met with the sad truth that poor people are getting poorer.   There even used to be a "free" classification for those who can't afford being treated at hospitals but now, there is none because of the millions of pesos cut from health.  On top of that, the government can boldly tell people not to worry as they suck their brains dry from the budget cut on education as well.  The government is raising a generation of people to be dumb enough not to question them with their corrupt ways.  And by being ignorant, we, in turn, are raising them as well!  

The news about food bundle for 2011

Apathy is what keeps us from reaching paraiso.  In twenty years, everything has changed and it had turned for the worse.  I don't mean to put the blame on anyone but in all sense, we make ourselves.  We did it to ourselves - the past generation and the present alike.  Keeping track and just watching isn't making a difference at all.  It just makes you part of the problem too.  And in all honesty,  for the past few months that I've been staying here in Canada, I am saddened by the mindset of those who have fled from the Philippines.  Not that I can blame them though, most of them had really tough lives when you hear them out.   But it's heartbreaking when you hear how they just plan to live off their lives peacefully here because the condition in the Philippines is really bad.  You always hear them talk about how bad it is there, how lucky that you're here and things like, "wala na tayo magagawa".  Coming from the mouth of a fellow Filipino tsk tsk tsk!    Yes, we are the lucky few who did get here!  Yes, we are the Filipinos who have more power than those back home!  Yes, we can do something!  

YES!!!

YES!!!

YES!!!

I'm sick and tired of people who say NO!  If we truly care about the land we were born in, we would look back.  And we will act now!  A later or an "I'll think about it" is a chance for things to turn for the worse.  And although poverty is far off from disappearing, together, we can start the change.  Together, we can make a difference.

Don't let the next decade sing "Paraiso" still.  

For the next generation, let us make a stand today.