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Tin Tin was at the gate when I got home 2 days ago, and she wasted no time in visiting. Right after I closed the door, I heard the unmistakable pitter patter of small feet running towards my door, followed by a gentle knock and her courteous " Hello po."
Her visit is so unlike that of other kids'----ragamuffins from the neighborhood--- who come daily at mealtime to ask for "basura" (garbage). I gave a boy some old newspapers a few weeks ago---normally, I wouldn't do something like that, but somehow, I took pity on the kid who was always knocking and begging for refuse. Now, it went down the grapevine that a certain door gives newspapers to these beggars, so they started coming daily, asking for newspapers. That's something I failed to consider, especially when my parents return home. We are simple and quiet people who prefer to keep to ourselves. But the thought of having urchins coming daily for garbage and the possibility of bad company joining them is a potential problem particularly because there exist people who specialyze in preying on others. I don't have to enumerate the countless types of groups who belong to the "akyat bahay" category.
Tin Tin and our friends are always welcome to visit anytime, though. I only regret that I cannot allow people to continue to come and believe that we will give them somehting, specially when it seems to be fostering a certain kind of dependence. I'm sure the parents of these kids will find other ways to make their children work, without having to train them to beg daily from households.
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