By Mary Joy Cavañas
Christmas is a season of love that unites people. This is despite many of us having been dealing with different difficult situations.
Amid the holiday bells ringing, Panay News patrolled Iloilo, looking out for children on the streets whose wishes are unique in their own ways.
The team crossed paths with siblings Ivan and Samsam roaming along Iznart Street in Iloilo City Proper, looking for ways to ease their hunger.
They have been roaming around, changing areas, for years.
Ivan and Samsam wished their family could have a permanent shelter and a place they could call their own to stay.
Meanwhile, Reynald, from Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao district, is far from home for a 13-year-old. He was in Jaro Cathedral working as a parking boy.
Reynald has no mother and was raised by his father, who is a pedicab driver.
“Waay na ko mama, ang papa ko ara sa Bakhaw gabiyahe sikad,” Reynald said.
Reynald has been running errands in the cathedral since 2020. The money he earns will not be for himself alone. Reynald said he would buy rice for his family with it.
“Gusto ko man tani nga may ara kami mga bugas kag mga sud-an kag mga kagamitan,” Reynald said.
He also wished for a complete family, as his two younger siblings were in Manila. Only he and his one other sibling are in Barangay Bakhaw with their father.
Another child in Jaro Cathedral was Jowela, who wanted a simple Barbie doll this Christmas.
The five-year-old was brought along by her family to ask for financial help from the people going in and out of the church.
The team also chanced upon Kyle Matthew, eight, a grade two pupil, along with his younger sibling, John Michael, seven, a grade one pupil.
The two were accompanying their mother in selling watermelons near a public plaza in Pavia, Iloilo province.
In their shy remarks, the two wished for a cell phone.
Levi, a seven-year-old from Pavia, hoped to be with his father, whom he has not seen since.
And nine-year-old Dave, whose mother is a street vendor near the Central Market, wished to help his family, too.
They may be young, but their hope for something that will make a big difference in their lives truly showed how selfless they are and aware of life’s harsh realities./PN
