EDITOR’S NOTE (Updated April 24, 2017): Recent postings on social media suggest that the following story of the alleged sick 14-year-old boy is all but a scam. As there is no way to prove that as of now, we would just like to ask our readers to stay alert and aware during these encounters, but still give when there is a capacity to. We never know whose life we’re changing for the better, anyway.
This article will be updated should we get new info on the story.
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The Philippines is a beautiful country filled with wonderful and amazing people. While we may be a 3rd world country with high poverty and crime rate, it would also be wrong for us to generalize. It’s funny how sometimes those who have less act more educated than those with tons of money.
Check out this story shared on Billy Crawford’s FB page about a 14 year old boy, seemingly sick, but still does the right thing.
“Eto pong batang ito ay nakita namin sa Market! Market! noong July 5, 2015. Habang kumakain kami sa labas ng isang restaurant, lumapit siya samin at nagbenta ng kamote. Since hindi po kami bibili, tumanggi po kami sakanya. Tapos napukaw yung atensyon ko sakanya kasi umupo siya sa isang upuan at parang may masakit sakanya. Noon pa lamang ay awang awa na ko sakanya dahil parang nasasaktan talaga siya. Sinabi ko ito sa ate ko at bayaw ko. Pagkaraan ng ilang minuto, lumakad siya papalayo, at konti pa lang ung nalalakad niya eh agad ito umupo uli. Hinala namin na hindi siya makatagal sa paglalakad dahil sa iniinda niyang sakit. Tumayo siya muli at lumakad pero pinatawag na namin siya sa isang server ng restaurant na kinakainan namin dahil kami ay naawa na at gusto na namin siyang tulungan.
Pag dating niya sa amin, nalaman namin na may TB siya sa buto. 14 years old na siya. Binibigyan siya ng mommy ko ng pera bilang tulong sa kalagayan niya pero sinabi niya na “Nagtitinda lang po ako.” Hindi niya tinanggap ang pera, kaya bilang tulong binili na lang namin lahat ng kamote na tinda niya. Pinakain namin siya. Binigyan siya ng bayaw ko ng pabaong tinapay at pera pamasahe pauwe. Matapos kumain ay nagpasalamat siya sa amin at umalis na. Nakita ko na panay pa din ang upo niya sa isang tabi habang papalayo sa amin. At hanggang sa huli ay nagawa pa niyang kumaway sa amin sa malayo para magpaalam.
Bihira ang taong ganito na hindi nananamantala ng kapwa. Nangangailangan siya pero hindi niya nagagawang magnakaw bagkus ay gumagawa siya ng paraan para kumita ng pera. Maayos ang itsura niya, ang pananamit niya, kaya siguro napapasok siya ng guard sa loob ng mall, pero kung makikita niyo ang kalagayan nia sa personal, kayo man ay maaawa din sakanya. Hanga ako sa kanya dahil kahit gaano kahirap ang pinagdadaanan niya sa buhay sa murang edad, nananatili siyang mabuting tao. Kapulutan ho sana natin ito ng aral.
Kung sakaling makita niyo po itong batang ito sa Market! Market! Maaari lang ho sana na tulungan niyo din ho siya. Kahit bumili lang po kayo sakanya ng binebenta niya, malaking tulong na po iyon. Maraming salamat po. God bless us all.”
Rough English Translation:
We saw this boy along Market!Market! last July 5, 2015. While eating outside a restaurant, he approached us selling some sweet potato. Since we had no intentions of buying, we politely rejected his sales. But then he caught our attention when he suddenly took a seat as if something was hurting. We felt much pity because it seemed as if he was really in so much pain. I told this to my older sister and brother in law. After a few minutes, he walked futher away, and after just a few steps, quickly sat down yet again. We assume he couldn’t walk too long or too far because of the intense pain he is feeling. He stood up one again and walked away until we asked one of the servers to call him because we really pitied him and wanted to help out.
When he got to us, we found out he had TB in the bones. He is only 14 years old. My mom wanted to give him some money to help with his situation but he politely answered, “I am just selling.” He didn’t accept the money so we opted to just buy some of his sweet potato to help him out. We gave him some food. We also gave him some bread to take home and a little transportation money. After eating, he thanked us and left. We saw that he still kept sitting down as he walked futher away. Until the very end, he still turned around and waved goodbye.
It’s rare to find people like this who do not take advantage of others. He is in need but he still did not turn to theft to get ahead, instead, he found ways to earn money. He looked presentable with clean clothes, that’s probably why the guard let him in the mall. But if you personally see his condition, you will pity him as well. I admire him because even if he’s going through a lot at such a young age, he remains to be a good individual. I hope we all learn something from this.
In case you see this kid along Market!Market!, please do not hesitate to help him out. Just buy what he’s selling, it would be of much help to him. Thank you very much and God bless us all.”
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This is inspiring. As of the moment, this is all the information we have on the boy, however, if you know him or know how we can help, please do not hesitate to leave a message.
What do you think of his story? Were you inspired?
