WHY THIS COUNTRY IS POOR

I am approaching four years as a returning resident in Manila this August. End of May this year must have been an all-time low for me in this country. Back to back experiences made me shake my head in hopelessness. I am beginning to seriously doubt that the Philippines will ever rise above its current levels of deplorable poverty. Hate to break it to you, our people are stuck in a poverty trap. A “live for today and take what you can even if it’s not yours” mindset that keeps them poor and even poorer over time, if they don’t change. That’s on the side of the poor. On the side of the rich, there is a lot of apathy because it doesn’t really affect their lives whether there is no poverty, some poverty or a lot of poverty. They are already rich and will probably stay that way.

I had the experience of being a first-time business owner and employer in the Philippines with a small household staff of one (I have a studio apartment) and a few employees in my upscale 24-hour “sari-sari” store that caters to a 24-hour Karaoke/TV business. At the same time, not to pat myself on the back, I have and continue to support my church and other charitable organizations with my modest personal money as a way of giving back to the universe which has been incredibly kind to me.

Those wealthy philanthropists can throw large sums of money to organizations to help the poor. I had a better and more affordable idea of helping those few people whom I employ through empowerment. My strategy towards lifting my employees out of their socio-economic status was three-fold: pay them a good salary, give incentive compensation in terms of commission and extras and create opportunities for them to move up in my mom & pop organization when I recognize talent, loyalty, integrity and hard work.

The salary is what I owe them in exchange for the work they have rendered to my company; an even exchange, a quid-pro-quo transaction. Anything above and beyond that is extra. It is given out of the goodness of my heart, in my desire to share whatever I have with them. With this thinking, I was in shock at how a number of employees whom I have helped tremendously, especially the ones who had been with me a few years, had an attitude that can be summed up in one word: UNGRATEFUL.

In the end, they behaved as though they were doing me a favor by working for me and that I owed them for that privilege, even after I paid them their salaries. Additionally, that there was no need to be thankful for my generosity because that was nothing short of the ordinary. And please don’t even get me started about the ones who stole from me…..

Allow me to share an anecdote. I thought it most bizarre because one of my employees earnestly prays on bended knees every Wednesday in Baclaran Church for abundance. Did it not ever occur to her that the money bag was not just going to mysteriously fall out of the skies and land on her lap? That maybe the financial blessings would be coursed through an instrument perhaps like me, her employer?

I was the one who sincerely wanted to help them make a decent living and I turned out to be the bad guy for expecting any kind of appreciation from them. This kind of reciprocity made me angry, sad, appalled, perplexed, disheartened, disgusted, disappointed and regretful. With these experiences, what incentive do I have to continue the mission that I’m trying to accomplish? Absolutely none.

Fast forward a few weeks later, when things are in much better perspective. Like everything in life, you cannot give up because you encounter a few bad eggs, a few rotten tomatoes, a few bruised apples. There will always be people who fall short of expectations. When my emotions calmed down, I refused to be deterred by the task at hand. A task which I imposed on myself when I came back home to the Philippines in August 2003 – to change the lives of people around me by changing how they think. That what and how they think determines the actions they take and as a result, the kind of lives they will ultimately have.

If only because of my stubbornness in accomplishing this goal, I am able change one life, THAT IS ONE LIFE THAT IS BETTER OFF TODAY THAN YESTERDAY. I can go to bed with a feeling that I have done something worthwhile, even on such a tiny scale.

I leave you with a verse from Scripture with a promise, a promise that comes with an exhortation that we will have to help the Creator help ourselves.

“Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Tina Vitas
Makati City