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Ben  Contreras

SOME five or six years ago during a media tour in Misamis Oriental sponsored by the provincial government, we dropped by the Mantianak Botanical Gardens and Zoological Park.

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I was so fascinated with the sight of Bantam chickens and asked if I could buy a few: one rooster and two hens. I was told to drop by on our way home.

Indeed, although I almost forgot, I got what I wanted, free of charge. Compliments of the management, I was told.

I lost one of the hens to a dishonest neighbor when she wandered outside home. But the other one had a few chicks. I lost the hen and the chicks to a chicken disease but one chick survived. Much later, the rooster died when its head got entangled between two bamboo sticks. The last one, the great survivor, is still with us but is now in our little Libertad farm, laying unfertilized eggs but never hatched.

She roams around during the day and comes home at night, dutifully. But it’s such a lonely sight like my lonely Basilan rooster. So I thought, why not try my luck again at Mantianak?

We went there last Thursday with my wife and nieces. While they enjoyed the sight of different animals, I talked to the manager, Stephen. I never got the chance to say “thank you” before.

The truth is, it was former Sugbongcogon Mayor Jerome Lagbas who instructed Stephen to give me the chickens. So to Bro. Jerome, thank you very much.

I got a young rooster at P500 and another rooster from my wife’s friend in Salay. They were our neighbors on Corrales Extension before.

Kindness deserves another kindness. If I will be successful with my Bantams, I promised Stephen that I will bring a few for their animal park.

Feeding the poor is not just Boy Sia’s forte. Many are doing it, too. Soon, some of these people who have gathered together will launch what they called Duterte’s Kitchen with the slogan “Walang Matutulog na Gutom.”

At the forefront of this project are the members of the Eagles Club of which Boy belongs, Dadat CDO led by Dadat Balaba, Myrna Ramos and several others whose names I cannot recall since I have met them only once.

Suffice it to say, these people are willing to share their blessings, their time, money and effort to help the hungry.

This project is very ambitious that would require huge resources. As such, they are reaching out to kindhearted people for donations in kind like kitchen utensils, food ingredients and manpower.

If successful, this will be replicated in other areas or whoever would like to do the same.

To all of you, may God bless you, and congratulations!

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