he gathers plastic cups and bottles in the streets of manila to help his family....barefooted. Junjun, 10 years old, is the 3rd among six siblings.
i followed him for a while and found a chance to talk to him
"saan ka nakatira?" (where do you live}, i asked.
"kung saan-saan lang po kami nakatira" (we live anywhere sir)
"magkano kinikita mo sa pagkuha ng plastic? (how much do you earn from getting plastic bottles?), i inquired.
"minsan po P60, minsan po P80...depende po" (at times 60 pesos, at times 80 pesos. it really depends sir - *about 2 dollars*.)
i invited him to have a burger with me and we talked about other things. after finishing up his burger, he bade me goodbye.
"sige po. thank you po sa sopdrinks at hamburger" (ok sir, thank you for the softdrink and hamburger)
"ok, ingat ha." (ok be careful). i smiled at him. with a heavy heart i looked at him as he went his way.
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