“Dati nung wala pang CAPIN (Child Abuse Prevention and Intervention Network), malaki na problema namin sa child abuse cases. Immediately after magkaroon, biglang dumami lalo. Pero normal lang yun.”(Before CAPIN, child abuse cases were a big problem. Immediately after we established it, the figures bloated. That’s normal.)

“Normal” would not be the appropriate term for it if one did not know the whole story, but Ms. Lucille De Leon, Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer (MSWDO) of Sta. Cruz, Laguna, was quick to move on to the next sentence:

“Normal kasi biglang naging aware sila na may masusumbungan. Kaya dumami. Ngayon kumonti na kasi takot na silang gumawa ng mali sa mga bata. May masusumbungan na, alam na nila na may nagbabantay.” (It’s normal because there was a sudden awareness among the community that there was a place to report cases to. That’s why the figures increased. The number of cases now is not as high as before because they’re afraid to abuse these children. They’re aware that there’s a watchdog now.)

Let’s face it. Everybody needs money. You have to have money before making money. No matter what the overused cliché says, it isn’t love that makes the world go round. It’s money. If it was love, then everything would be free and we’d be more overpopulated than we already are.

But why the constant arguing about money. In perspective, if everyone pays their taxes and dues, then that would be the income for the development of the country. The government would be able to allocate the budget fairly and improve our roads, facilities, hospitals, schools, drainage systems and waste management systems. Furthermore, government would be able to improve our living conditions. The unemployment rate would go down; everyone would be literate; poverty rate would diminish. It seems like a perfect world. But then again, does the Philippines really lack money?

Take a child and you will see a carefree spirit, always smiling and laughing, not a trouble in the world. Kids are naturally cheerful and happy, the image of pure innocence. But the other side of the story is a dark world. Despite what the common notion says that kids do not have problems, they do. And when a child is deeply troubled, he or she has no idea where to turn to. Especially if their troubles are caused by adults.

Since its establishment in 1991, the Open Heart Foundation has been giving priority to children and the youth to make the world a better place for them. The Bi ñan division of the foundation has shaped Laguna to give a listening ear to the kids, not limiting to providing their basic needs but also to listen to what they have to say and understand where they are coming from.