“Enjoy life, make people happy!”. Best advice in the sunset of life

By Carlos A. Arnaldo
Manila
July 10, 2015




A very dear friend greeted me on my birthday, "Enjoy life, make people happy. Enjoy life always and everyday."

The message is from a young Filipina girl with multiple sclerosis, a titanium rod holding her spine in position as she adventures around northern Europe to isolated mountain peaks, lakes full of fish, forest paths little travelled, discovering the world as it originally was. She treks these lost edens with a friend with whom she shares her feelings, her wonders and her questions.


“I’m bringing you some new ates and kuyas to help do the baking today, then we have merienda.”

And immediately, the kids warmed up to their new ates Bernadine, Rica, Lorraine, Christine, Mavil, and  kuyas Geyo and Andrew. They would pommel them with questions, ask to see their cel phones, know the songs they download and the magazine photos they capture.

The girls, 13 to 19, played games like rubic cube, dominoes, scrabble. A few tried their luck on the flute, one or two quite seriously until they could play ‘Happy Birthday.’ And a few caught on with clean notes!

All told, there are about 200 street children in various homes of the Virlanie Foundation, but since the beginning of this year, donations fell below expectation, and Virlanie closed one home early this year. Another is scheduled to be closed soon again. This means 40 less street kids can be accommodated.

Even those that are accepted for residence, all are aware of the short term support the Virlanie homes offer, for once they are 18 and have finished high school, they are independent, and must find work and a place to live. So graduation for these kids is a graduation to the hard realities of life!

Meanwhile, we on the outside help in our small ways, providing back packs for school, notebooks and ball pens, gym uniforms, rubber shoes, tsinellas, T-shirts. Everthing is appreciated.

And for your birthday, try making others happy. You’ll enjoy life more!