Misplaced ‘charity’

When large numbers of Manila squatters were relocated to Sapang Palay, Operation Brotherhood (OB) set up a station there. Medical and other health services were dispensed to the settlers. The personal services of the OB physicians, nurses, medical technologists and other personnel were given free of charge, but medicines and other supplies were given in exchange for some token payment. The "payment" was nominal: A few centavos for medicines costing very much more. If anyone could not afford to give any money, they could earn the supplies by doing some work, such as helping to clean the premises or helping in the distribution of goods.

The reason for this was a principle laid down by Oscar Arellano, the general manager of OB, that the poor, no less than the rich, have a dignity that deserves respect.

A self-respecting person who values his personal dignity would not accept handouts. He would insist on paying for what he got or earning it by his work. To give handouts to the poor would be to destroy their dignity and make them beggars.

For a while the OB work at Sapang Palay went well. The people appreciated the services and cooperated with the OB team.

Then a foreign priest accompanied by wealthy friends made weekly visits and gave out free of charge large quantities of foodstuffs, medical supplies, cigarettes, and other gifts.

In time of emergency, like floods or earthquakes or fire or famine, when people are homeless and hungry, to distribute food and clothing and medicine and other supplies free of charge would be a necessary act of charity. But in normal times, it is not good to accustom people to getting something for nothing. The free handouts of the foreign priest and his wealthy friends undermined the work of OB. After all, why should people pay even a few centavos or earn by their work supplies which they could get freely elsewhere? OB decided to withdraw from Sapang Palay, leaving the field to the newcomers.

In an earlier column that I used to write for another newspaper, I wrote about an afternoon that I spent at a lonely seashore watching poor fishermen hauling in their net. Seated on a log, I was soon surrounded by children who asked me for money. A generous foreign priest made several visits there and on each occasion distributed coins generously.

Years ago, when I was still teaching in Manila, I used to come to Cagayan de Oro to teach in the summer school. In the afternoons I would go out for a walk in the quiet streets. Cagayan was then a small town with hardly any traffic and it was still possible to enjoy an afternoon’s stroll through the streets. Then a foreign priest came who went out walking every day, freely distributing money. After that, it was impossible for any priest to go on the streets without being surrounded by children demanding money.

In all these cases (and in many others), what the foreigners did was well-meant. But it was misplaced kindness. Kindness can be constructive. By their "charity" they were making our children beggars.