My lola became became handicapped because of a simple
accident of slipping in her bathroom. Just a minor slip caused her the next 5
years of her life, even until death, to stay in bed most of the time. She was
transferred from Bulacan to our home in Las Pinas so hospitals are more
accessible and visits from relatives will be easier. I was able to see her
perseverance with a physical therapist to get her feet up and try to walk again
on her own. After 2 years of physical therapy sessions, we accepted the fact
that she won’t be able to walk anymore and use a wheelchair instead. She was sitting
in a wheelchair when God decided it was already her time.
Handog Tungkod Project’s mission is to give a cane to every
elderly person in the Philippines. It may sound quite simple as a service
learning activity but it is very close to my heart. With their vision “To honor
God by serving and caring for the elderly”, I was suddenly reminded of my lola’s
experience. All she ever wanted was to walk, and it’s a simple blessing that I’m
sure almost all of us don’t even appreciate. Giving canes to the elderly will
help them reach that simple goal again, which is to walk normally.
I admit that when my groupmate suggested Handog Tungkod
Project as our CSR activity, I was not really excited about it at first. I was
looking forward to teaching financial literacy to children in the most rural
places since teaching is my passion, especially in the field of finance. But
due to schedule, resource, and location constraints, we were not able to push
through. But after realizing the value of the project’s intent to the elderly,
and relating it with my grandmother’s experience, I suddenly got excited about
the activity. I hope our service to the elderly in November will not only help
them walk, but also give them a positive outlook in life.
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