On treating children

A group of children was recently invited by an organization to sing during a US$75/person high profile dinner at a 5-star hotel in the city. One would expect that the kids and their teachers would be treated properly and given the same food as those served to the guests. However that was not the case. Especially as there was no talent fee given to the children. They were instead given some unhealthy food and soft drinks, with ice, and only after some strong arguments. The children were starving before they performed. With the junk food and drinks, they were able to stave off their hunger for a short while. Then after the performance, they had to travel back to their homes and they arrived hungry and weakened. Now is this child exploitation or what?

What should schools and parents do when their students and children are requested to perform at events such as these?

I think they should have a set of guidelines to be followed by the one who invites the kids so that the health of the children will not be endangered, and their self-respect will still be intact. There are times when adults forget the fact that children are human beings, too, and they also need to be respected and treated properly. In this case, when they are invited to sing or do a presentation, proper nutritious food should be given to them, in addition to providing proper protection and safety. If they are not treated properly, it can be a traumatic experience for them, one which could have a detrimental effect on their consciousness, who knows. As they see the discrimination between them and the VIP guests, who knows what kind of thought processes are going on inside their minds, for better or for worse.

Thus it is important to consider these things, such basic stuff as the type of food to be given to them as well as the actions of adults on how to treat people. If we want our society to be better in the future, we should be teaching our children the proper way to do things and of treating people.

Hopefully the next time the kids from the above-mentioned school get invited by the same organization, or by anyone, these guidelines will be followed. The kids deserve to be protected and cared for. The school and the parents should insist on it. If there is no assurance that the guidelines will be followed, then they just have to say No.

LP: Almusal

Masarap ang aming almusal nang pumunta kami sa Sorsogon noong nakaraang Marso. Espesyal ang aming pagkain dahil galing ito sa gobernador at sya rin mismo ang naghatid ng mga ito sa aming otel.

Ang nilagang kamote, biko at isda ang mga pagkaing galing sa lugar na iyon. Ang longganisa naman ay galing sa Iloko.

Parang gusto kong kumain uli ng mga ganito, lalo na ang isda na preska at ibinilad ng isang araw lamang. Walang mga ganyang pagkain dito. Hahanap na lang ako ng medyo pareho pero iba talaga ang sariling atin!

Marami pang mga kuwentong almusal doon sa
Litratong Pinoy.

LP40: Pula (Red)

Mapulang istroberi ... matingkad ang kulay at nakaka-engganyo. Parang gusto kong kainin. Masarap. Kinuha ko ito doon sa Amerongen, Netherlands kung saan may isang trak na umiikot sa mga bahay-bahay upang magbenta nga mga prutas, gulay, at kung ano-ano pang mga pagkain. Kaya yong mga tao hindi na kailangang pumunta sa palengke at maglakad na lang upang makabili ng preskang produkto. Menos gastos sa gasolina at oras.

Red strawberries ... the color is so bright and inviting. I feel like eating it. Delicious. I took this photo in Amerongen, Netherlands where a truck moves around the housing villages to sell fruits, vegetables and other food items. So the people in the area don't have to go to the market; they can just walk a few meters to buy fresh produce. It saves fuel and time.

I love Christmas!

Photo by Leilani G.

Merry Christmas to all!

I love Christmas because it gives me a perspective of what love really is. Christmas eve last night Key & I spent singing Christmas and praise songs, reading Luke 2:1-20, meditating on it and praying & thanking God for His gift and His many blessings. Earlier at lunch time we had an end-of-the-year party by the lake with my officemates. Each one brought a dish or two so we had an international menu (Filipino, Thai, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Indian, Vietnamese, western, fusion). We had an exchange of gifts and also carol singing. It was good fun and we enjoyed the camaraderie as it is not often that we can get together in this informal way. By 2 pm it was back-to-office time. When evening time came, in the midst of cooking spaghetti (for a 10pm get-together party that never materialized) I remembered that I still have not called home. I was planning to call earlier but I got busy with cooking. I know my parents would be waiting and would be disappointed and sad if nobody called. So I called and had to try many times. The networks were busy, as usual. This is always the case calling the Philippines at Christmas time and new year! Finally I was able to get through and talked to my parents to greet them and give some encouragement.

I have found the internet to be very useful especially when I want to listen to Christmas songs. So for many days now I have been listening to them through imeem.com or watching them through youtube. I had a post on Christmas songs last November here which I go back to as well. Below is really very good! Thanks to Pinay Ads for the link. Happy viewing and listening!

Do you fancy any of these?

A few weeks ago we went to the Agricultural Fair at Kasetsart University Kampangsaen Campus, Nakhon Pathom. Key was so excited to show me around as he was part of the organizing group for his faculty. It was kind of nice to be with people and to see many nice things, such as orchids, fish and other aquatic animals, vegetables, and many varieties of plants. It took us about 2 hours to get there as we stopped along the way for breakfast. We had a Thai style breakfast at one of the popular local restaurants. What I had was so different from the ones I usually have in the office.

The orchids were so pretty and I was quite tempted to buy a few but then I was thinking that what happens after the flowers are gone? Although some have bulbs ready to bloom but I do not have the skill and time to take care of them. I remember buying them before and after a few months I had to give them away to friends who are better at taking care of orchids. So I resisted the temptation despite the fact that the colors were so attractive.

Of course we spent more time at the Fisheries booth. The main attraction was the whale shark made from fiberglass material. They had to transport this from the Fisheries Museum in Bangkhen-Bangkok campus where it is normally displayed. Nearly every visitor wanted to take photo of the shark as well as to pose with it. I also did the same as hey, I've never seen the real one. Gotta go to Donsol, Sorsogon for that where they have a Whale Shark Ecotourism Program. I had to wait for my turn, of course as there was a small queue forming. There were other samples of fish and aquatic organisms which were preserved from the real ones.

At the fair, after moving around the booths we went to see the food stalls. They were selling all kinds of food stuff. Some familiar ones and some not so familiar ones. Do you fancy any of these crispy creatures for your snack? Maybe down it with some ice cold pop soda? This is a delicacy here and now they are being packed in cans so anyone can take them anywhere. I did not dare to try to eat them. Would you? Or have you tried them before?

100th post (yehey!!)

100th post in this blog, for updates. Come and visit my soaring and dreaming blog. Have some tacos while reading. I have since written the following:

Glad to be away (when things get tough here, time to take a break and do something else)
Time for some funny stuff (when you can't get away, find some funny things to laugh about)
Field trip to Chiangmai (part 2)(wish we could stay longer)
The Philippine Blog Awards 2 (some really nice blogs here)
My bad dream experience (when this happens? wake up and pray...)
Fun during aerobics (trying to find humor in everything)
Out of Order (still on being humorous about things and life)