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Death of a child makes reporter reflect on his work


Clarimel or “Imet" had big dreams despite the life that she had been born into in an impoverished sitio named “Banacao" in Bangued, Abra. She lived in a simple house with her parents and siblings nestled at the foot of a mountain near the Abra River. It has been a year since I last saw her. I met her when we did the “Biyaheng Totoo" series for television on the top ten poorest provinces. My primary case study was her older brother, who had to go to school on an empty stomach every day. But I found her story to be so compelling too that I had to include her.

Imet on Biyaheng Totoo
Imet at that time had been suffering from a kidney disorder that made her face swollen. Her younger brother Eric, also was afflicted by the same disease. A (young) lifetime of feeding on an unhealthy diet of boiled talbos and cheap junk food was perhaps the cause of the disorder. Imet’s family could barely make ends meet, they ate whatever they could gather from their backyard garden or buy with whatever little money they had (perhaps instant noodles or coffee). While I was interviewing her,what struck me was the rosary she wore around her neck. I asked her, “Why do you wear a rosary?" In between sobs, she said she wanted to get better.
Clarimel or "Imet" (right) in a file photo sent by Kara David's Foundation in September 2010.
I felt a lump in my throat. Having grown up in a province and having also faced some hardships (although not on the same scale), I knew what that meant: when every hope seems to have been extinguished, the last thing you hold on to is faith. I knew Imet was running on empty. The last photo I saw of her was the one sent by Kara David. Kara’s foundation was kind enough to take her in (Imet and her brothers) after the story aired. For quite some time, Kara’s foundation had been providing for Imet’s and Eric’s medical check-ups and medicines (through the help of generous donors). Unfortunately, Imet’s circumstances were a little too complicated. To begin with, Imet’s condition, as we were told by the doctors in Bangued where we first brought her, was hard to reverse. Kara told me the bad news. Imet succumbed to pneumonia. Her already frail body, ravished by a kidney disorder, was further weakened by pneumonia. One night, she coughed up blood and then she was gone.
Imet in December 2010
I remember telling Leah Llamoso, our director for that segment, that Imet was the kind of person who would grow up to be strong. You wouldn’t need to tell her to study because she knew the value of education. Imet would not be the type of person who would cower in face of life’s challenges because she had to face them early on as a child. But alas I was wrong. Imet would not grow old. Imet would not have the chance to feel the diploma in her hand or a graduation cap on her head and feel at that point, her life, their lives, had reached a turning point for the better. Alas, life’s challenges were far too great for her frail body and her circumstances. In an attempt to wrap my mind around what happened to her, I asked Kara, “Why did Imet die?" It was not an easy question to answer. It is also not an easy to explain why there are those who go on living resigned to their fates, as though the days were there to live out in darkness, without hope; a slow, lonely march to a sorry conclusion, as though life, their lives, did not matter.
Imet and her brother Eric in April 2010
I’m tempted to think that Imet’s story is a painful reminder of what has become of us, of our society; a painful reminder, that in this day and age, in this country, to have hope, to have the will to survive, to have a dream simply may not be enough. But Kara countered it succinctly by saying that part of our job is to show people like Imet that maybe it is; that it is okay to dream about changing your destiny. Somewhere in my conscience, I feel as though I failed Imet. I might have told her story but failed to change her circumstances. I’m sorry, Imet. Rest easy now. You are in a place far better than we could dream for you. It was an honor to have met you. Had I lived in your circumstances, I would not have had the amount of courage that you possessed. Rest in peace, strong child. POSTSCRIPT: Imet may have passed on but Eric, fortunately, is recovering. Thank you to Kara’s foundation, "Project Malasakit," for their generosity. There are many more Imets out there, find out how you can help Project Malasakit.
'Biyaheng Totoo' explores RP's ten poorest provinces In late 2009, GMA News reporters traveled to some of the most impoverished places in the country to produce a series of reports that could be viewed as one version of the "state of the nation," a prism through which candidates could see the nation's poverty.
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