Some spare change would definitely help
November was a busy month for everyone- late midterms, Thanksgiving, and miscellaneous things that could keep them occupied. "Good afternoon, do you have any spare change for local refugees and Filipino children in the Tambayan's Center? Any amount of money would definitely help them!" - This was Working Group on Displaced Populations (WGDP) members' usual line as we stood for hours hosting a table in JC. Most people walked away, either pretending that we did not exist in their universe or looking away shamefully and apologizing that they did not have any money with them. We always preferred the latter group, at least they did not ignore us. Yet, like any story with a happy ending, we attracted a lot of people and they were willing to donate a dollar or two for our cause. After a week, WGDP received about a meager amount of about $350. We smiled widely at our efforts and decided to split the money into half for two different organizations: Catholic Charities and Tambayan's Center in Philippines. April was a busy month for everyone- late midterms, preparations for finals, and miscellaneous things that could keep them occupied. "I want to be a police officer so I can help children and women in my neighborhood." Said a little girl, around the age of 12. Such a simple dream, but it is especially hard for her to achieve. Being in the Tambayan's Center means that she comes from a broken home living below poverty line. It means that she sometimes does not have access to public education. It means that there are high chances that she was domestically or sexually abused. It means a lot of things that make your heart hurt, your eyes well up in tears, and it makes you wonder why the world is so unfair.
In April, WGDP hosted a skype chat with the girls in Tambayan's Center. We all decided that we would start at 7 p.m., which meant that the girls needed to wake up before their chat with us at 7 a.m. the next day due to time difference. For the next hour and a half, we talked excitedly about their new plan as now they have received money that we collected in November. "We will use the money to buy big plastic cans so we can make trash cans out of them. Then, we will put them around our neighborhood to raise awareness about environmental issues. This is a collaboration between Tambayan's Center and local schools around here." Their Director, a kindly looking woman around the age of 50, explained to us about what their plan was in heavily accented English and through weak internet signal. But the message was clear, they did not intend to use the small amount money that they received from us to purely help their organization. Instead, they used it for the benefits of the local area where they live and perhaps are not necessarily welcomed. The girls waved goodbye and wished us to have a nice day as we ended their chat with them. We sat there and were overwhelmed by their kindness as they wished to help others even though they are in difficult situations themselves. It took them a lot of courage to speak to us and tell us about their dreams and hopes for the future. We were honored to speak to them and also were ashamed that we could do only so little. $175 is not that much of a big amount. In United States, with that amount of money, some people can buy two pairs of shoes or a new dress from Urban Outfitters. In Philippines, $175 helps Tambayan's Center and their girls raise awareness of the environmental impact of littering. So if next year, you see a group of students asking for changes with a sign of WGDP, please stop by. Some spare change would definitely help.
