Kim’s Dream Orlan Ravanera
Lovingly Caring Has Come of Age
It has been said that humanity now lives in the most turbulent of times where poverty continues to plague communities and families, when in time of abundance, there is deepening inequality, where there is so much veneration to the profit motive as the world is now buried deeply in unbridled materialism and consumerism. Worse, the climate crisis has put humanity in the state of planetary emergency. Amidst the denigration of spirituality, morale collapse and religious apathy, it has become imperative to reflect on the biblical lines in John 12 – 14, “to love one another as God loves us.” For love to flourish, let the divine purpose of the universe to unfold which is the oneness and interconnectedness of all of God’s creation which is in fact, true love.
Deepening inequality and sacrificing the people and Mother Earth to the altar of greed has emanated from the mindset of the “survival of the fittest.” There is now an evolving consciousness that Darwin’s theory of Survival of the Fittest is flawed and must be debunked, a wrong concept that has given way to a roadmap of paradigm that has justified the gross inequities and social injustices in a world where a few oligarchs are in control, that is, if “fittest” is equated to the strongest, the most aggressive who will defeat anyone who dare to challenge to dominate.
That dictum only applies to a jungle-like existence like hungry wolves competing who is the one who will eat a cornered prey.
That mindset of the strongest controlling everything has worked for the beasts in a world where the name of the game is survival. It should not be the case now where the name of the game should be sharing, cooperation and service.
The spirit of sharing, cooperation and service is now being exemplified by the Bright Horizons Caregiving Training Hub and Technical School founded by no less than an amazing registered nurse and midwife as President, Gregoria “Maam Neng” Salon and assisted by her awesome husband, Engr. Teodorico Salon.
As envisioned by the founder of the caregiving herself, “I believe that perpetuating the cycle of aspiration, trust and empathy, our value will lead to meeting the needs of the people regardless of their educational qualification. Importantly, they showed respect and believed that positive attitudes led to their desire to improve living quality.” Indeed, Ms. Salon is correct in underscoring the importance of developing one’s potentials not for instant pursuit of wealth, fame or power but to serve the least of our brethren. The Bright Horizons Caregiving has shown concern for the children as their team distributed new pairs of slippers to the children of less fortunate selected areas here in Mindanao, which they received wholeheartedly. It is aimed to foster child social, intellectual, creative, and physical development.
Maam Neng is highly motivated to respond to the needs of the hungry based on a study of the Food and Nutrition Institute that “85% of the Filipino children are malnourished. Feeding programs are beneficial for the physical, mental, and psychosocial development of school-age children and adolescents, particularly those in low and middle-income areas. Wholeheartedly, the Caregiving Team conducted a supplemental feeding program to improve the nutritional health especially the children of select areas. The Caregiving Team will soon touch base with the one thousand families in Butong, Quezon Bukidnon who have been living under shattered tents in the past 6 years because they were ousted from their Ancestral Domain by a rich and powerful corporation.
The Manobo-Pulangiyon Tribe is now living in extreme poverty, eating only “kamote” once a day and where the children are swimming in a nearby river, it is there where they are drinking, the reason why the children are all sickly and malnourished. In fact, their legs have to be tied-up at night while their parents are sleeping because five children have already been hit by running cars.
Sila po ay TAO HINDI BASURA KAYA KAILANGAN TULUNGAN. That’s how amazing the Bright Horizons Caregiving Team is in liberating the poor and the hungry out of their passion to serve the least of our brethren.
Indeed, Maam Neng Caregiving Services is more for service not for profit. The tuition fees of the trainees is just one half of the tuition compared to other caregiving technical hubs but her outpourings of knowledge on caregiving, as I’ve been observing, is so excellent as can be attested by the trainees themselves as recently some 55 graduated from 4-month course on Caregiving.
They are the Completers as attested by TESDA amazing examiner, Mr. Andrew Padilio. It was so amazing to attend the graduation ceremony on April 29, 2023 as Guest Speaker and hearing no less than Fr. Kim Rei Cabingas firmly saluting the Bright Horizons for its amazing accomplishments of empowering the Completers to be capacitated to serve the elderly, the children and the sick with lovingly care.
To you Maam Neng, our firm salute! Indeed, there is no greater grandeur sight on earth than a service-oriented nurse whose amazing life of service is to make life better to those in dire need of caregiving not only through medical assistance but through loving services which is inherent in the culture of the Filipinos.
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