Time has the answer.

A little earlier this month, I was suprised with my thought that "Oh, there's a 31st in August!". Had I become so insensitive and naive or had the sad feelings and cloudy thoughts erased the memory?, I do not know. August had given me a wave of emotions, until it has given me happiness in its last day. Anyway, this is another side of my life. I'm just happy that the empty space inside, has been filled again by an old puzzle piece, coming back home.

In that short period of time that I have been not updating you my dear journal, so may things happened. I felt that I shook the world more than China when I suddenly bid goodbye to being full-time staff of ACCESS, to be a Project Development Officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Believe me, it was a heartbreaking choice to do too. It was saying goodbye to your home for two years, from family and from the comfort zone. It felt same as I was entering the unversity, taking a big leap.

DSWD's program aims for 0 street children in 10 priority areas of Metro Manila. This aim and program has been "hot" and "controversial" as with the doubts that it could be achieved. The program includes 6 projects, namely:

1. Sampaguita planting project
2. Resettlement for homeless street families
3. Liberating Indigenous People from Indignity (LIPI) for empowering Bajaus
4. Activity Centers
5. Day and Night child-minding centers
6. Camping Project

I am currently assigned to facilitate technical assistance and resource augmentation to the cities of Pasay and Makati. However, this is easier said than done. I am a neophyte still in working under a government office, and everyday is still a hard learning process with regards to how the administrative, finance and operating systems work. After a month of wokring with DSWD, I got the hang of it, nevertheless, there are so many rooms for improvement for myself in order to do the job well.

Our busy, Special project Unit Office gets way of people clatter by lunch time. ^^

My co-staffs busy in their profiles of street children.

A realization I have while staying on the streets is that... the problem of street children, street families and indigenous people is not a separated matter with the problem of the urban poor, of rural-urban migration, of poor economic management leading to lack in job opportunities. Therefore, I feel that there are so many things to be done before 0% incidence in whole Metro Manila could be achieved. Not unless, centers and institutions would be upgraded to accomodate all of the street children and street families. It is a great challenege! It is known to all that the proliferation of children in the streets should be acted upon, yet we should also ask ourselves to take a look at it with a bird's eye view to understand how it relates to the other problems proliferating in our society.

Next.... From August, I've restarted being a volunteer of ACCESS again for the simple reason that I miss the debates, the hard-working volunteers and my passion for Japanese culture and language. Now, I feel more free to do what I want, with limited pressure. I could say to myself that I am very happy to where I am now in my life.

With Yuri and Macha, on a train ride to Ayala, after the VOA meeting. :)
Just enjoying the ride. たのしいかた。^^

After months of mourning for a love that I thought was lost, and after weeks of tiredness, confusion and unhappiness in the current job that I'm doing, I've finally passed upon it. And realized, what Kuya Archie said was true "only time has the answer".

P.S.
私はあなたが私の人生に戻ってくれてうれしい。