Changing Mentality at the Mental Hospital

As I was getting into the cab, "boss, to the mental hospital."

The driver laughed at me. "Inside or outside?"

"Inside." I was not laughing. I said mental hospital, not Mandaluyong.

He literally turned to look at me. I laughed back at him then got serious.

"Inside. I'm not kidding."

He kept quiet and started the engine.

Not everyone in that hospital is mentally ill. Some are marginalized children needing attention. I wish I can post their happy smiles.

The above was the caption of my FB photo album that came out as memory reminder from eight years ago and I thought of sharing it here.

Mandaluyong City in Metro Manila is where the National Center for Mental Health is, or plainly "mental hospital" as most people would refer to. It became a common joke that when someone says he or she is from Mandaluyong, people would reply by asking "Inside or outside?," which is a question whether you are from the mental hospital or not.

When I was working in a corporate world, one of my previous employers had this corporate social responsibility program wherein they encourage their employees to log at least 10 hours of volunteering per quarter and they will match it with a voucher worth US$ 150. The voucher does not go directly to the employee. The company will donate it to any charitable organization of the employee's choice.

When I learned about the program during my orientation, I thought "Ten hours per quarter? That's easy! I will make sure I will get that US$ 150 voucher every quarter." And I did until I left the company.

After my orientation, I was thinking of how or where I should volunteer regularly to keep my promise. I turned to the internet and found the website https://www.ivolunteer.com.ph/. There are a lot of volunteering opportunities here. It has been my main source of volunteering activities since then.

I signed up on the website for Interactive Games and Gift Giving for National Center for Mental Health hosted by U! Happy Events. I had a bit of hesitation going to a mental hospital because that will be my first time. I did not know what to expect and how I should react. But how will I have my first time if I don't go? Besides, the activity that I signed up for said it is an activity with abandoned and abused kids, not mentally ill patients. And so I went...

The other volunteers came as a group as they knew each other. I went alone so I just blended in. We were oriented on what to do with the children and what are prohibited. First DON'T: share photos of kids' identifiable faces on social media!

The kids were ages 7-12 years. We were paired with a child whom we will assist. The task was easy: guide the children to do their artwork. Before started their art work, we were guided through knowing each other with the child we will coach. The host distributed a profile exchange form where we wrote a few things about ourselves and a short message then we exchange with our partner. Here is what I got.

Child's dream: to be an attorney, doctor and a teacher. (That was a load of dreams! I did not know what I wanted when I was her age.)

Her message to me: Thank you. God bless. You are so kind. I hope you have more children to help.

The materials were distributed to each pair. We took our spots on the floor and started working.

The project is for each child to create an artificial plant. I thought that was easy at their age and I happened to have been partnered with one of the oldest so I let her be. I just watched and gave feedback from time to time to encourage her. Indeed it was easy. She knew what to do and kept working.

The finished products:

I do not remember at what point of the activity did we volunteers get together for a quick get-to-know-each-other chat. I thought it was at the end of the childrens' activities. It was and still is heart warming to see a circle of volunteer strangers who come together for the care of the children.

P.S. Next time you hear about mental hospital, do not automatically think that patients there are mentally ill. Some are marginalized children needing help. And you can be part of it.