Smile becomes a gift for two Maguindanaoan children

When eight-year-old Norpiya Tami came to Manila for the first time last October, the city was still reeling from the onslaught of ‘Ondoy.’ Yet, this didn’t dampen the excitement of the shy but charming little girl. At that tender age, she had already seen worse. After fleeing armed conflict in their village, Norpiya and her family had been living at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp at the Datu Piang Elementary School in Maguindanao for the past year. Besides, she was told the trip to Manila would give her a new face. The girl with the smiling eyes couldn’t really smile. She had been born with a cleft lip, or harelip. Norpiya’s mother Bidalaya Alay went with her on what would be a life-changing journey. They were accompanied by their fellow evacuees Tarhata Midzcael and her four-year-old son Al-Yasher Emblawa, who was born with a cleft palate. Norpiya and Al-Yasher were both expected by their parents to live their entire lives with their facial deformities, hidden mostly from public view and kept away from school. But after experiencing mostly misfortune in their young lives, the two kids were handed a new lease on life by accident. Blessed serendipity Back in September, freelance writer Rossana Harper Alonso had been commissioned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to do a story on the education of children living in IDP camps in Mindanao, including Maguindanao, the provincial bastion of the notorious Ampatuan clan. It was during this assignment that she met Norpiya at the Datu Piang Elementary School. “Photographer Mark Navales and I were wrapping up our interviews and tour of the camp when we heard voices from under the schoolhouse," recalled Alonso. “We checked it out and discovered an area that was as dark as a cave. There were about 15 families living there. I spoke to parents and some of their children. Then, I noticed a young girl hiding behind some sacks. I asked whose child she was. Her mother came and dragged her from her hiding place. She was shy about showing her face. That was the first time I saw Norpiya." Alonso didn’t write about Norpiya, but her heart went out to the little girl with the harelip. She revealed, “I really felt so bad she had so much to deal with at such a young age. [On top of being displaced from her home due to conflicts between armed groups and the military], she had to endure the cruel teasing of other children. I wanted to help her have a semblance of a normal life."

Generous strangers Alonso asked Bernie Abdul, a Muslim teacher who was also an evacuee, to tell Norpiya’s parents about her plan to find a way to have Norpiya’s cleft lip operated on. “It was Bernie who asked if I could include Al-Yasher, a little boy who was born with a cleft palate," Alonso said. Alonso told her husband, pilot Juan Miguel Alonso, about wanting to find a way to finance the kids’ operation. Equally moved by children’s plight, he asked his fellow Air Hong Kong pilots for assistance. Fellow Filipinos Raul Cabrera, Alfredo Dulay, Eric Dulay, Luis Labrador, Antonio Pablo, and Indonesian Atila Taran immediately pooled their resources for the cause. The Singapore-based pilots, a mix of Muslims and Catholics, donated practically the entire amount needed to finance the kids and their parents’ airline tickets and accommodations in Manila. Personal friends of the Alonso couple also made donations to cover other direct costs. “The pilots and our friends were very generous. They asked no questions. Nor did they require any receipts. They trusted me and simply gave me the funds needed for the ‘medical mission,’" said Alonso. Next, Alonso got in touch with Operation Smile, an international children’s charity treating facial deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates. Operation Smile’s Philippine president Bernie Manzano and coordinator Gian Trebol immediately responded with an offer to perform the surgeries. “They were so supportive and encouraging," related Alonso. “They worked really fast to make the [children’s surgeries] possible." Once everything was in place, Alonso asked Abdul to talk to the kids’ parents. She explained: “Bernie was my messenger. Because of him, the kids’ mothers trusted me. He explained everything to them and relayed all the details about the flights and the schedules for the kids’ check-up and operations in Manila." Fr. Eduardo C. Vasquez Jr., OMI, better known as “Father Pon-Pon" in Datu Piang, likewise helped the group get ready for their trip. Meanwhile, in Manila, the Islamic Medical Association of the Philippines (IMAN-Phil), a group of Muslim doctors headed by Dr. Randy Abdullah, were awaiting the kids’ arrival on October 7, 2009. The doctors had pledged to provide halal meals for the children and their mothers during their stay at Frederick’s Apartelle in Mandaluyong City. A day after their arrival in Manila, Norpiya, Al-Yasher, and their mothers visited the Managed Care Aesthetic Center on Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City to undergo their pre-operation work-ups. Then, on Friday, October 9, 2009, the kids went in for their operations courtesy of the doctors from Operation Smile—Dr. Willie Go, Dr. James Joaquin, Dr. Edwin Del Rosario and Dr. Rodelo Valera. While changing into their surgical gowns, Norpiya and Al-Yasher were as excited as kids in a toy store. Their shy smiles and giggles belied the fact that they were about to undergo surgery. Norpiya’s mother, Bidalaya, who could only speak Maguindanaon, spoke through Tarhata, Al-Yasher’s mother. “Si Norpiya raw ang saya-saya. Kasi hindi na raw s’ya makikilala pagbalik sa amin," Tarhata said as Bidalaya smiled. “Si Al-Yasher nga sinabihan ako na magpapa-picture daw s’ya bago operahan kasi paggising n’ya mamaya di na n’ya makikilala ang sarili n’ya. Iba na ang mukha n’ya mamaya." (“Norpiya is very happy. It’s because she says nobody will recognize her when we go back to our place. Al-Yasher also told me that he would have his picture taken before the operation because he won’t recognize himself when he wakes up later. His face will be different.") Bidalaya, who had wanted to shield her daughter from being teased by other kids, had decided not to send her to school. This pained Norpiya, whose fondest wish was to go to school. “Hindi n’ya pinayagan kasi naawa s’ya," Tarhata explained. “Tinutukso kasi ng ibang bata. Ayaw n’ya na masasaktan lang si Norpiya. Ngayon siguradong matutuwa na ang bata kasi makakapag-aral na s’ya." (“[Bidalaya] didn’t let Norpiya go to school because it was heartbreaking to see her being teased by other kids. She didn’t want Norpiya to just get hurt. Now, Norpiya will surely be very happy because she can go to school.") When the nurses arrived to fetch them for the operations, Norpiya appeared frightened but went willingly, while Al-Yasher cried and tried to cling to his mother. Both mothers appeared worried but hopeful as they watched their children disappear behind the operation room doors. Bigger picture Though obviously happy that their children would be given the chance to smile, Tarhata and Bidalaya were not oblivious to the fact that the opportunity and the means to have such operations came their way out of sheer luck. “Imposible talaga kung kami lang. Walang-wala kami at wala kaming mapupuntahan. Mabuti na lang nakita kami ni Ma’am Ross. Kung walang mababait na tulad n’ya, walang pag-asa ma-operahan ang mga bata," Tarhata said. (“If we didn’t get help, it would’ve been impossible. We have nothing and we have nowhere to go. It was a good thing that Ma’am Ross saw us. If not for kind people like her, our children wouldn’t have been given this chance to undergo the operations.") The two women then revealed that their situation was made worse by the fact that they had been in the evacuation camp for more than a year. “Sanay na kami sa bakwit," Tarhata said matter-of-factly. “Parating may mga armado tsaka mga military na nagbabanggaan. Pero ito lang talaga yung pinakamatagal. Sobra sa isang taon na kami sa evacuation center. Di na namin mabalikan yung mga bahay namin. Wala na yung mga pananim namin sa mga farm namin. Yung anak ko nga dahil parating nakakakita ng mga sundalo, alam mo ba yung una n’yang natutunan i-drawing ay bala? Ganun na ang buhay namin ngayon." (“We’re used to evacuating whenever armed groups and the military have skirmishes. But this time is the longest that we’ve been displaced. We’ve been living at the evacuation center for over a year. We can’t go back to our homes. Our farms have been neglected. We don’t have crops to harvest anymore. Do you know that since [Al-Yasher] always sees soldiers near the evacuation center, the first thing he learned to draw was a bullet? That’s how our life is now.") Tarhata said, “Nakakatawa nga dahil wala kaming kaalam-alam na may bagyo pala dito sa Manila. Wala kaming TV, walang radyo, at walang dyaryo… Gusto lang talaga namin umuwi. Yun lang. Gusto naming umuwi. Hindi madali ang buhay sa evacuation center." (“It’s funny because we didn’t even know that a storm hit Manila. We don’t have access to TV, radio, or newspapers. We thank those who’ve been helping us. The United Nations and the Red Cross give us relief goods. But we really just want to go back to our homes. That’s it. We just want to go home. It’s not easy to live in an evacuation center.") Despite the tough circumstances they’ve been forced to deal with, Tarhata has remained levelheaded about the chaos in Mindanao. Though she did not have any statistics or scholarly observations to quote, what she said probably made more sense than the declarations made by politicians and analysts. “Palagay ko, wala naman tayong away talaga," she stated. “Mga Muslim at Kristiyano, dapat irespeto lang ang isa’t isa. Marami din kaming kaibigan na Kristiyano. Wala naman kaming problema. Siguro yung may away talaga ay ang mga armado at ang military. Nadadamay lang tayo. Kaya kami nagdadasal na lang na sana tumigil na ito dahil kawawa talaga ang mga bata. Hindi lang naman kasi ang mga anak namin ang nangangailangan ng tulong. Kung parating magulo, kahit may pera man kami hindi pa rin namin alam kung saan pupunta para mabigyan ang mga anak namin ng kailangan nila." (“I think Muslims and Christians don’t really have a conflict. Muslims and Christians just have to respect each other. We have many Christian friends. We don’t have problems. I guess the only one fighting are the armed groups and the military. We just get caught in the middle. This is why we keep praying that this would all end. It’s not just our children who need help. If there’s always conflict, even if we had money, we still won’t know where to go to get the things that our children need.") Joyful recovery The group flew back to Mindanao the day after the operations. After a few weeks, Norpiya and Al-Yasher were already showing off their smiles. They were no longer afraid to mingle with other kids. But life goes on at the evacuation center. They are all still waiting to go back to their homes. Someday soon, Norpiya and Al-Yasher’s mothers hope that their children, and the children of others in their province, will have more reasons to smile. For now, they do their best to survive and celebrate the simple—if not accidental—joys that come their way. Despite being displaced, they count themselves lucky because they’re alive and, every now and then, kind strangers go out of their way to help them. - GMANews.TV