Why do I use the name “Castillo”?

Thank you for your kindness and sincere support. I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

Meanwhile, I have been receiving many questions regarding my Facebook last name “Castillo”, so I would like to answer this question with the story of how I got it.

In November of 2014,

I went to Cebu Island, for 3 months for the first time, to study business English.

At first, although I was amazed to experience scenery outside of Japan for the first time, I felt I was in solitude due to cultural differences since the infrastructure was so underdeveloped.

And one day, one baby appeared before me in the arms of his mother.

His name is Xander Castillo.（Facebook）

He just popped up like an angel.

And for the first time in the Philippines, he gave me something special; I felt healed by him. Ever since then, I went to see him everyday, and he became like my real brother.

He brought out the human side in me, due to the affection that he gave me and the love that I felt. It was a hidden part in me and he gave me the real sense of life and to be a better person.

If I had not met him then, I probably wouldn’t have been interested in people and would not have enjoyed my student life in the Philippines. Clearly, this baby made me the person that I am now.

July of 2016,

I was in Japan and I was preparing to go to see my brother, Xander.

First, I sold my digital camera, and I bought the camera that I liked the most in the entire home electronics store. It was expensive camera (about three thousand dollars).

I was supposed to go to Manila first, the capital city of the Philippines, then head towards Cebu.

However, an unexpected incident happened and I had no choice but to change the plan.

When I was walking down the street in Manila, one guy started approaching me, and we ended up in a nice restaurant and we were enjoying alcohol and live music.

I was little drunk from the alcohol, and it happened when I returned from washroom.

It turned out the guy that I was I was having a good time with was just there to rob, my expensive camera, my bag and my wallet.

I was speechless. I could not believe what happened, however the situation suddenly changed.

A stranger, sitting just next to us, asked if I am okay because he saw me panicking.

To be honest I was terrified of him at first, because he was gay.

His name is Joemel M. Buendia.（Facebook）

I explained to him the situation and he immediately called the security of the restaurant, as a result a police investigation took place.

At this point, rather than lamenting about my camera, I was more fascinated by his words and actions, and to me, his actions outweighed the losses of my belongings.

He stayed there with police until the next morning of the incident, just for a foreign stranger (me). I have never met anyone nicer than him.

I do not want to justify the robbery, but at the same time I am glad that this horrible incident brought Joemel into my life.

Me supporting street children in Philippines was motived by the "essence of human," which Xander and Joemel made me realize.

Human nature is based on diversity and it can be either good or bad. I was supporting children not only because of the injustice of the world, but because I do not want to ignore challenges facing us in life. That made me brave enough to stand up against wrong situations since no one is there to do it.

In the Philippines, there are many innocent children who have no idea of what’s good and what’s bad yet are getting involved in crimes.

Therefore, when you are entering the Philippines, you might see a warning which looks like the following.

In certain areas, there are increasing numbers of reports regarding street children stealing others’ belongings, so please be aware when visiting those areas.

If such warnings were to become normal, then don’t you think those street children would be the same for the rest of their lives?

I simply couldn’t stand just watching such a thing because it makes the street children look bad, but the reality is, those children are also victims of society. The society makes innocent children turn into thieves.

Filipinos that I know, are extremely sincere and genuine, and I do not even need to mention that the Philippines is a great country for tourists.

However, I regret to see such a negative side on the rise due to economic reasons.

One's values and perspectives can be greatly influenced and altered by the people they meet and the circumstances they are in.

If you see something wrong with the actions of the person in front of you, there is a high chance that the problem may be within you.

Because what we see in others it is only the reflection of ourselves.

I love to give people around me chances, and I would love to discover someone who can make the best of them.

There are many things in the world that cannot be easily solved by making them look pretty.

But before you give up and list the reasons for not solving them, you have to think of a way to do something about it.

Otherwise. everything will be the same. Nothing will change.

You cannot change others nor the past, but you sure can change yourself and the future.

And you can brighten the future of others.

If the eyes of a child are not shining, it’s simply because they haven’t met the right adult.

Before a child becomes independent, they watch the actions of others and add on what they can.

What I want to be is not just a volunteer who distributes goods.

What I want to do is to provide youth a “chance” to maximize their "potential.”

What’s important is that we stand on the same ground, and lead them to think and act on their own.

If you give them a seed, it will bloom to give out fruits that can be shared with everyone.

If you simply give them something temporarily, they may overlook what is really important.

It’s not who shows up at their own convenience, but the people who stay close to you when you are in trouble, and the strength of their presence, that is important.

I would like them to understand this.

Pursue what will become fruitful in the future, not the immediate fruits.

This is my vision, and the new world that I’m trying to achieve.

Thank you for taking your time to read this.


Takashi Shiki(Castillo)