REFLECTION

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do a photoshoot for BabyAnne's Mansion or BAM, a Home for Children in Bulacan. I arrived an hour and a half later than I had planned. I wanted to get there by 8, to catch good light, but traffic (even though it was well anticipated) still ruined my well-laid out plans. I got there at 10:30. Golden hour was over. Any photographer would understand my disappointment. But you gotta do with what you have, right. I had six hours more and didn't need to ruin it because of this "loss". Also, there is the later golden hour to anticipate.

So I got there, was met by Jenn, my host and the manager of BAM. I got introduced to some of the staff who were already getting lunch ready for the kids.

And so it began...

Shrieks.
Doe-eyes.
Bare feet.
More-than-willing models to my delight.
I barely held the camera to my face and they were already showing off their best poses!


Every kid wanted a chance to preview themselves on my cam. One instantaneously swiped the preview screen like a cellphone.
I had to laugh.
The oohs and aahs when they saw themselves were priceless.

They loved my assistant, Miss Scrunchie (yeah, a scrunchie that I attached eyeballs on and a ribbon too, and placed around my lens).

One shy boy didn't want to lend me his smile, so I played peek-a-boo with him. He was all over the place after that.



It was too cute that, even though they didn't have a television, they constantly gave me their "pabebe waves" ala Yaya Dub (yes one of the staff also pointed this out).

These little ones captured my heart. Their smiles showing no trace of the life they represent, the sad and heart-wrenching situation that brought them here and the uncertainty of their future.

Jesus once reminded his followers to "let the little children come to me and do not hinder them. The kingdom of heaven belong to such as these." (Matthew 19:14). It surely does. I can already imagine it. I would even want heaven to be all children. Being with all 36 of them for an afternoon...well, for a moment I wished that I had the power to eradicate everything that is evil in this world, for their sake.

I once wrote about LEGACY, and what kind of legacy are we leaving for the little ones like these little ones? What kind of world were we building for them? What kind of life were we preparing for them?
Trash or treasure?
Garbage or gold?

As I took my last shot,
I was physically tired (a harsh reminder that I was not as young as I would want to believe),
my leg muscles began to ache (from climbing up and down stairs, platforms and doing all those acrobatic stuff to get the good shots)
and I needed 5 shots of espresso just to get me back in the van.
But on the drive home, as tired as I was, my mind was still in BAM thinking about the kids, and their stories: how their young mom left them for another man or has been from one husband to another, how their father ended up in prison, how their relatives just gave up on taking care of them.
My mind was still in BAM, of the brothers and sisters that have no one else but each other, praying that when they get older, they will not let go of this love and bond they have now. I pray that they will still care for and look after each other.
My mind was still in BAM, admiring the story of how BabyAnne's Mansion began, with 5 young ladies who weren't taken seriously then, but armed with the passion to make a difference in their community. Look what their passion has led to...because they did not give up.

What a day.
What a day!