The Filipino painter Joey Velasco has given us his solution to this existing problem. He got a canvass and painted pictures of real street children sharing the last supper with a Carpenter from Nazareth, Someone we all know and love.If you look at their faces closely, you will notice that they are real people, children who's lives have been torn apart not by fate but by our arrogance and greed. Arrogance, because we believe that their plight is not our problem, and that we are not responsible for them. Greed, because we put our selfish wants above the basic needs of these children.
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Mr. Velasco, through his masterpiece, makes us realize how far we have fallen away from God's love because we have abandoned the least of our brethren. For to remain in His love, we should follow His commandments.
Yes. The plight of our street children is our problem. It is a manifestation of a an evil so perverse that the sin of Lucifer himself pales in comparison to it!And yet we have ignored the fact that to protect their rights is a mission that we are obliged to accomplish not only as individual Christians but also as a Christian nation.
Purchasing a Ferrari worth millions of pesos, bragging about it to your friends in the internet, and then going to church and worshiping God while doing nothing about the plight of the street children in your neighborhood is utter hypocrisy. Waging war against our Moslem brothers and sisters in Mindanao without providing food and shelter for the street children of Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao is not only self righteousness, but also incomptence and stupidity.
How can we even dare live lives of comfort and prosperity when we allow these boys and girls to suffer hunger and poverty each passing day? How can we dare say that we are a Christian nation when we harbor 1.4 million street children in our country? Ultimately, how can we dare say that we have faith in Christ if we do not put our faith into action?
On the other hand, the plight of our streetchildren should be the priority of not only the Philippine Government but also the priority of every Filipino.
" Article 15 Section 3: The State shall defend the right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development;" The 1987 Constitution of the repulic of the Philippines
" Article 15 Section 3: The State shall defend the right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development;" The 1987 Constitution of the repulic of the Philippines
If the primary law of our land recognizes and promises to defend the rights of children, shouldn't we first provide for the the basic needs of our streetchildren before we invest in costly roads, invest in costly government rest houses and costly government buildings, and spend fat pork barrels on costly state visits?
Is is sad that most Filipino solons would rather donate Basketball courts to well to do subdivisions than provide shelters for thousands of street children that roam the streets of our country. These politicians would rather spend fortunes suing one another and killing one another than helping these children improve their lives.
What a waste!
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