RAMIREZ
The old adage that no one is too poor not to be able to give on Christmas became a reality among the shoe repairers and T-shirt printers along Junquera Street who are members of Kalambuan sa Junquera Pinaagi sa Kugi ug Panaghiusa more known as “Pundok Kadasig.”
Last December 24, the group awarded medals to the most improved players of the Kamagayan Football Club and turned over eight pairs of football shoes and other gears to make the children more equipped when they join another tournament.
Marvin Villavenda, the president of Pundok Kadasig, said that they also launch that day a campaign to urge the public to donate used children’s rubber shoes so that it could be distributed to the soccer players who belong to the poor families in the barangay.
The public can donate shoes in any condition and shape as long as it can still be repaired and put back to use. The members of Pundok Kadasig will repair the shoes for free before it will be given to the players.
Any kind of children-sized rubber shoes can be donated and not only the spike shoes that is designed for football. The players will use the ordinary rubber shoes for their practice games usually held on a concrete improvised soccer field in the barangay and the spike shoes for their formal games on an actual grass soccer field.
Pundok Kadasig initiated the project after they witnessed several players hurt their feet during practice games because majority of them play barefoot.
The sapateros saw the need that children should be protected.
Pundok Kadasig was organized less than a year ago in order to facilitate the rebranding effort in Junquera Street to change the public perception of the place from being a red-light district to a flourishing hub of service catering to the need of the public for shoe repair and shirt printing. Junquera Street is the only place in Cebu where the biggest number of shoe repairer and shirt printer converge to do business.
In less than a year, the group has achieved more than what was expected of them starting from organizing themselves, policing members from unethical business practice and collectively promoting the place as a source of low-cost service for shoe repair and shirt printing.
The members of the group, who used to bicker among themselves and fight over who will serve customers, have outgrown their old self and has evolved into a group that is capable of caring and giving back to the community as payback for the grace and kindness they receive from the public for patronizing their small business.
Caring for the well-being of the children is an important advocacy; and providing gears and inspiration to the young football wannabes is a move towards insuring that these children will learn the values of innovation, sportsmanship, dedication and pursuing their passion despite being materially disadvantaged in life.
In an area where there are residents who express willingness to change and to help the young ones, there is no doubt that one day Junquera Street will change its notoriety as a red-light district to a microcosm of hope and care, things that the society need to build a strong nation.
For the children of Kamagayan, football is not only a sports and temporary preoccupation but the much-needed diversion, physio-rehabilitation and psychotherapy after having been exposed and raised in a community where all kinds of vice abound.
The creation of Kamagayan Football Club has raised the question: Can a place located in a concrete jungle and that does not have their own soccer field form a team? The answer is, why not? Just show love and care for the children not only on Christmas but whole year round. Indeed, no one is incapable of giving.
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