|
A R T I C L E S
| REFLECTIONS
GK Ray of hope experience by Ann Jumalon
by RP Tesoro
|
April 26, 2009, Maa City Jail, Davao City -- When we first informally planned the immersion at GK Ray of Hope Village Ma-a City Jail, I know it`s going to be a different GK experience for us especially to those who have been serving or visiting Gawad Kalinga sites doing sun basking house build or facilitating SIGA, SAGIP and SIBOL kids.
We are 30 SFC`s went there with excitement in our hearts. Indeed it was a very different experience for us all. The perceptions and what if thoughts of jail break and riots we`ve pictured out from the movies and televisions are far impossible as we first set our eyes to the jail.
When we entered the gate I can`t help my self in awe and can`t believe I`m actually in a jail. Defining a jail for me definitely I would pictured out the dark, hot, dirty cell with hopeless faces behind bars. But as the colorful structures of houses, the smiles of ate and nanay`s and the gloomy environment welcome us, that old picture of a jail in my mind are gone.
Our goal in going there is not only giving them small gifts out of what we can share. But part of our task is to interview or to have one to one conversation with one of the Bakasyonista` s specially to those who have not been visited by there families for a long time.
At first I hesitated to pick one bakasyonita to talk to. Maybe because I am shy and don’t know how to start a conversation with them, thinking I might throw questions that might offend them or they might don’t want to dig anymore their traumatic experience to us to save little side of pride left in them. But I was wrong, Nanay Thelma is too generous and without hesitations she open her life story to me. Nanay Thelma is a fish vendor, selling one bucket of fish house to house at Bucana Blvd. She told me that the incident happens so fast when their place was raided by the authorities assaulting group of teenagers who were drug users. She was just one of the curious neighborhoods who were just wanted to grasp of news regarding the commotion. But to her surprise she was also been handcuff by an officer for she was pointed by one of the users as involved in drug selling. She kept telling and begging to the authorities that she was innocent, but with the officer’s famous line "sa prisinto ka na magpaliwanag".
While Nanay Thelma recalls what happen during the interrogation, it was like I am watching a movie with the scene of corrupt policemen planting evidence to an innocent one, insisting that she was involved in a drug selling case. With her =P=170.00 she gain from selling fish which was found by the officers in her pocket, to her shock it became a bundle of money with one small pack of shabu and the police insisted it is in her possession. With her world turns upside down she thought of ending her life. But God is still good and merciful. He let her think of her children left in their own.
It`s been almost 4 months she has not been visited by her children. It`s her joy to see like us taking effort to visit them and spent a little time with them. She missed her children very much, but she understands why they were not visiting her. She knows her children don’t have any job, out of school and don’t have the means to visit her because of financial difficulties. Her eldest son at early age of 19 got married and the one took care of the others. Her fear was that her children will be also influenced with drugs and end up also to worse cases, knowing that there placed was surrounded with bad elements in the public, such as drugs and notorious gangs.
Despite of her situation, Nanay Thelma remains a strong person. Amazing enough she has still high hopes and faith that God will never abandoned her and her family. She looses hope of the justice system of our government, but she clings on for God`s justice and mercy. That one day she will walk out of prison free and can start a new life again.
She still considers herself fortunate enough to be place in a GK embraced prison compared to the poor situation on their neighboring jail. She acknowledge the discipline imposed inside are for there own good. Truly GK Ray of Hope is designed to give hope to the hopeless and gives them the strong vision to change their life for the better.
Our feeling is overwhelming that we are able to bring smiles in their faces and even for awhile we made them forget their problems. We didn’t expect for any returns when we visited them, but unknowingly they also packed for us a "baon" of teachings in life. From their life stories my life is still fortunate compared to them. I`m still lucky to have problems that are not as huge as their problems. I still have my family with me whom I can see, touched and talked. I have the education able to find a descent work. I still have the freedom that others are deprived of. Most of all God loves as all, that even the hopeless people felt hope to rise again through the unselfish works of Gawad Kalinga. How wonderful it is if all the jails in the Philippines are like the GK Ray of Hope Village. Date added 2009-04-28 04:11:13
| C O M M E N T S | Add Comment |
No comments yet for this article. Be the first one to add by clicking here.
|
|
