My journey sa Bahay ni Maria

(First published online on July 18, 2008)

Despite the problems in our transportation, time allowance, lack of participants and others, is one of the greatest lessons that I've learned outside the four corners of my classroom. Memories that I've had in the Home of the Aged were amongst my most treasured ones.

July 12, 2008, I was blessed to be part of the team of the Academic Scholars Alliance of Adamson University that conducted a religious/outreach activity at the Bahay ni Maria, a shelter for the aged and street children located at Calamba, Laguna. At first, I thought that it will be a boring experience for I knew nobody in the team but when I started to step foot on the site, I realized that it will be a fruitful one.

At the place, I met the elders which some of them had an Alzheimer’s disease that they acted like children who do know nothing about themselves. There were also some street children, physicians, intern-caregivers and helpers in the place who are looking after the elders.

The mother-superior who happened to be the head of the foundation warmly welcomed us and after eating our lunch, we immediately proceeded to our program and started to act as adopted grandsons and daughters of the elders.

That time, I was thinking hard of the challenges that I've been facing and in a way, that event gave me time to escape my reality and think of what I can do for the elders to somehow remember me even if I leave their place. I was assigned to look after one of the naughtiest elders and since that was the first time that I took care of an aged woman, at first, I didn't know what to do but I just let things happen and the program ended quite well.

Ate Inday, the elder that I took care of has an Alzheimer’s disease so I knew that sooner or later, she would forget me but at least, for a single moment, I made an impact to her by making her laugh with the drawing that I presented to her. I thought that what I did was the most important thing to consider.

I went home tired and ragged but the fact that I had made some body laugh even for a little time was what matters to me. I had fun during my stay at the place and the idea that I have conceived there was not all the time, I have to carry or think of all the difficulties or challenges that I've been facing at the moment for sometimes, we need not to be selfish and think of what is beneficial to others. I successfully escaped but I made an impact to somebody.