the Story of Janette

A couple of weeks ago, Pro-life Philippines launched the “Best of Life”, a Commemorative Magazine to mark its Silver Jubilee as a Foundation, that is, when it was formally declared an organization last 1983. The magazine contains chosen articles from the past issues of the Pro-life newsletters and magazines published through the years. Long time volunteers, staff and members found joy in reading through the pages, recalling the many activities that they have been a part of. I am now quoting here the story of Jeanette, one of our “pro-life heroes” who, after 25 years, continues to give her time and commitment to our pro-life mission.

A Pro-life Hero

“You seem to have a problem. Allow us to help you. Here is a telephone number of someone who will assist you in your situation now.” Janette Ealdama gently speaks with a young woman buying abortive tablets from a herbal vendor in Quiapo.

Jeannette has been an active volunteer of Pro-life Philippines for the past twenty years. Having ten children to raise has not deprived her of time to counsel in one of our crisis pregnancy centers or to lecture on pro-life values to teens and couples in depressed communities. She attends pro-life seminars and conferences for her own growth and for encouragement because, according to her, she needs warm bodies to keep her zeal going. Otherwise, she will give up.

A few years back, Janette would go around Metro Manila removing billboards and posters on “Delayed Mens? Call…”. She knows that these places offer abortion. She brings along a can of paint and long brush in order to cover the numbers if the billboard is beyond her reach. She says she never encountered anyone objecting to her endeavor. Passersby probably thought she was responsible for putting up the billboards and had every right to remove them. She has certainly saved many lives by that courageous mission.

Lately, she has been going from one herbal vendor to another in the Fiesta Mall area in Alabang, where many of the herbal vendors in Quiapo have transferred ever since former Mayor Lito Atienza arrested many of them for selling abortifacients. Once released from detention, they set up their stalls again right there in Quiapo or transfer to Baclaran or Kamias sidewalks.

The vendors can get very nasty and they shove her aside when she begins talking with the buyers. She shows the woman or boyfriend the model of a three month old fetus, photos of the development of the unborn baby, and gives them hotline numbers and addresses of maternity homes. “Some of them listen attentively to me,” she relates. “You can see the desperation in their eyes. But once they receive the materials I give them and I see a sense of relief in their faces, I know that my time out there has been worth it.”

Pro-life needs volunteers to do what Janette has been doing - to confront the herbal vendors and buyers of the abortive pills. If you wish to join Jeanette in this vital work of saving babies and their mothers from abortion, call our Pro-life office for orientation and training and assignment. (911-2911, Sr. Pilar 0920-945-5494)

You, too, can be a Pro-life Hero!