Only a dad, but the best of men

Photo of the Day: March 27, 2017MANILA, PHILIPPINES: Jhunnel Sarajan, a real estate agent, took this powerful photo in a fast food restaurant, Jollibee. The father, Ryan Arebuabo, unable to afford a meal for himself, watches as his two daughters enjoy their meals.

From Jhunnel Sarajan via Facebook:

“I can’t contain my emotion when I saw them in Jollibee. This is a photograph of a father’s love. A depiction of genuine selflessness.”

In 2015, it was estimated that 26 million people in the Philippines live below the poverty line, while 12 million of these live in extreme poverty. In 2011, the government initiated the Philippines Development Plan (PDP) with the goal of taking poverty levels down from 33.1 percent to 16.6 percent. Unfortunately, as of 2015, poverty rates in the Philippines rested at 21.6 percent.

UPDATE: If you want to help this man, you can click here.

Also, you can visit the official page of Tatay Ryan to monitor the activities of the developmental program.

Only a Dad

BY EDGAR ALBERT GUEST

Only a dad, with a tired face,

Coming home from the daily race,

Bringing little of gold or fame,

To show how well he has played the game,

But glad in his heart that his own rejoice

To see him come, and to hear his voice.

Only a dad, with a brood of four,

One of ten million men or more.

Plodding along in the daily strife,

Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,

With never a whimper of pain or hate,

For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,

Merely one of the surging crowd

Toiling, striving from day to day,

Facing whatever may come his way,

Silent, whenever the harsh condemn,

And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad, but he gives his all

To smooth the way for his children small,

Doing, with courage stern and grim,

The deeds that his father did for him.

This is the line that for him I pen,

Only a dad, but the best of men.