ASK & they shall receive
There are tens of thousands of street children in Metro Manila — as many as 85,000, according to one estimate. Majority of them are boys.
As government and several charitable institutions race against time to reverse the deterioration of the “father of the man,” as William Wordsworth called the child, a group of ladies (with a gentleman or two) have stepped forward to help in the battle against child hunger, armed with pots and pans and ladles. It may not be a lasting solution to the complicated problem of street children (throw in the issues of over population, corruption, urban migration and you have a Gordian knot of problems), but hey, one peaceful tummy at the end of the day makes for a good night’s rest.
Mayenne Carmona could not stomach the hunger she saw in the children that would roam the streets of Metro Manila so, in 2011, she expressed her wish for a feeding program for these children to Taguig’s Kaye Tinga. Kaye then pinpointed the areas in the city where they could be of most help. Mayenne recruited her Baclaran Church prayer mates Len
Olbes, Suzette Lopez, Linda Ley and Ruby Tiong Tan and they marched into the slum areas with food packs. No, not one of them was running for a government post, not even for kagawad.
“We have not covered enough ground, actually. There is just so much poverty around us that I feel it is a sin not to share what we have. God has blessed us abundantly and I feel I have to pay it forward, even if, I must admit, the organizing takes a lot of time and effort,” she added.
Aside from Taguig, where slums exist beyond the Bonifacio Global City, Mayenne and her group (society belles, mostly) have had feeding programs in Mandaluyong, Manila (Tondo and Intramuros), and in a Gawad Kalinga site in Bulacan, in Novaliches (with the assistance of Jojo Zabarte of the Sacred Heart School there), Makati and Quezon City.
In the beginning, Mayenne mobilized her two house helpers to cook and then pack meals for 150 kids. Her kitchen was the commissary.
“No matter how humble the meal, you can see the joy in the children’s eyes. We usually give them a balanced meal of rice, chicken or beef, egg, dessert and juice. Or burgers from McDonald’s or Jollibee, which excite the kids. Goldilocks also donates meals, which are sponsored by its executives.”
Mayenne’s group grew and in 2012, they decided to call themselves, “Angels for Street Kids,” or ASK. According to Mayenne, on their third week, Suzette brought in Mia Cruz; Len brought Emma Pante and Linda brought Mia Reyes. Today, the “angels” have spread their wings to more communities with Ito Curata, Bob Miller, Taj Curata, Francis de Leon, Rachel and Sitoy de Guzman, Hera Geriene, Nikki Tang, Yoli Ayson, chef Jessie Sincioco, Cheryl Gatmaitan and Gina Mohnani. It has been seven years now, and yet the angels of ASK continue their feeding programs. Their desire to help was no whim — they have sustained it, virtually week after week, month after month, year after year. No one suffers from donor fatigue, and everyone gives more than just money — they give their time, which is often harder to donate than a check.
“We also have to look for sponsors for giveaways like soap, shampoo, slippers, T-shirts. Suzette Ayson’s daughter who works for P&G supplies us occasionally with the basics,” Mayenne adds.
Last Saturday, the members of ASK had a feeding session in BASECO in Tondo, where Fr. Matthieu Dauchez holds catechism classes.
Eventually, ASK hopes to set up a soup kitchen in Tondo that will offer soup to hungry children daily, except Sundays. Nourishment for the children’s bodies, nourishment for the donors’ souls.
One of the ASK angels is Chef Jessie, who had the rare privilege of being Pope
Francis’ personal chef when he visited the Philippines in 2015. People who frequent Chef Jessie’s in Rockwell would quiz her about the dishes that she served the Holy Father, till she decided to offer them in the restaurant. The special menu was called, “Holy Father’s menu” and consisted of Beef Consomme with Herb Dumplings, Roast US Black Angus Beef Au Jus or Pan-Fried Chilean Sea Bass and flambéed mango with mantecado ice cream for dessert. According to an article written by Büm
Tenorio Jr., Pope Francis wanted his steak “alive” (meaning “rare”).
Jessie gave all the proceeds from those who ordered that menu to a Catholic charity. For a couple of months this year, the proceeds from the menu will go to Bantay Bata.
Sometimes, the fastest way to a person’s generous heart is through his stomach.
Advance Happy Easter to all!