That ‘McDonald's boy'
ICHOSE not to write about the “McDonald's boy” not because I didn't sympathize with his predicament but because I thought I could no longer add anything to the paean netizens heaped on him when his photo went viral. Besides, local and national media outlets were scrambling to get a piece of him. Meaning, I just let everybody be.
By “McDonald's boy,” I mean 9-yearold boy Daniel Cabrera whose photo, taken by medical student Joyce Torrefranca showing him studying on a sidewalk using a stool for a table and the light from a McDonald's branch in Mandaue City, went viral in social networking sites.
The last we heard, the boy was given full college scholarship, that is if he gets there, by the Professional Academy of the Philippines (PAP) headed by Dr. Artemio Panganiban Jr. The awarding rites were held at the Mandaue City Police Office. Daniel had said he wants to be a cop.
The college scholarship complements the other scholarship given by the charity of McDonald's Philippines called the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Philippines. That scholarship is for Daniel's studies from now until he graduates from high school.
With the other “blessings,” like money from a fund-raising drive to cover the cost of his schooling, free dinner every day for the Cabrera family, school supplies, even a battery-powered lamp, etc., suffice it to say that Daniel is set for life. It now depends on him and his family if they could match the expectations that people have in them.
But Daniel's story didn't stop at the national level. A rappler.com report said that Britain's former prime minister Gordon Brown picked up Daniel's story. That's something. Brown is currently the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education.
No, Brown is not about to give Daniel a scholarship. Rather, he is articulating what some netizens have been complaining about regarding the reactions to the viral “MicDonald's boy” photo.
"Against the odds, Daniel is fighting hard to get an education. At school he is considered a lively, studious and inquiring pupil and is clearly driven to continue learning outside the classroom, no mat- ter what the conditions. But are we doing enough to help him and millions like him?” Brown said.
The stress there is on the words “millions like him (Daniel).” Brown ticked off global facts: 59 million primary-age children are not in school and many never enter a classroom; annual aid for basic education has fallen 22 percent in the past four years from $4.5 billion to $3.5 billion; 90 percent of all children in sub-Saharan Africa are in primary schools without electricity. Etcetera, etcetera.
Indeed, there are still many Daniels out there needing to be photographed and to be set for life. But I say this without prejudice to the help being provided to Daniel, after all, he deserves the windfall. But the reminder needs to be mentioned.
Which brings me to an article written by Carl Cederstrom and posted in theguardian.com. The title is a giveaway: “Beware inspirational online images— they may be more insidious than you think.” Cederstrom's line is that inspirational images, like that of Daniel studying on the sidewalk, may blind us to the reality that the cause of poverty—and the lack of education for many--is systemic.
As the article concluded, “Serious discussion of external circumstances-– including a proper understanding of inequality–-is not helped by the suggestion that the only thing holding a person back is (his/her) attitude.”