I was busy taking photos of the Church’s façade for the cover of our parish souvenir program when a barefooted little beggar came near and started to ‘pester’ me. She’s one of the street kids hanging around the Church regularly. When I saw her for the first time, I was a bit apprehensive, she looked different from the others. Her face and neck was scarred and they looked weird. Part of her head has no hair. I learned later that her name is Angelica. At three months old, she was left in their burning house, and wasn’t rescued immediately. That tragedy left her severely burned, but fortunately she survived.

For a little girl her age, it must be tough to look unusual and different from the rest. And how she must have endured the teasing and ridicule from other people considering that this world we live in readily takes a person at face value.

If only she can have her normal self back. Well, who knows, somebody might sponsor a reconstructive surgery on her. Aside from helping people wanting to look their best by enhancing their physical features, reconstructive surgery (also known as plastic surgery or cosmetic surgery) can also help repair deformities, scars and burns caused by accidents. Yup, it’s not all about having a more prominent cheekbone or a nose lift. I learned more about this from a website on cosmetic surgery in Toronto, Ontario, and I was enlightened by the information I got.

After all, there’s still hope for Angelica.