We had two experiences this week that reminded us of the main charge of the humanitarian effort of the Church, which is to care for the poor and the needy. Of course, who isn’t poor and needy in some way! We all have our needs and we all need to rely on the arm of Him who is worthy to save! Now for the report…. on Tuesday, we met the Manila school division people that we met with the previous week at a school in Tondo. This is a different section of Tondo. Actually it felt nicer than Happy Land or Aroma districts. They had recently cemented streets and the barangays were much tidier. We met at the “mother” school of the two annex schools that they wanted us to visit. They are building a brand new building that will house the current school population of 6,000 students. So right now, they only have 16 classrooms for the 6,000. Impossible! They have the students come only two days a week for two hours at a time. The rest of the time, they do their schoolwork at home (supposedly).
For the students who are really struggling, they have set up tutoring areas in front of the school. They utilize every little spare space! It was an amazing thing to see. The teachers here are so dedicated and resourceful. One teacher noticed my name tag and came running over to us. “Sister! I am a member!” Then she went and gathered the other church members who are also teachers. It doesn’t surprise me that there would be church members as teachers here. It takes true service and compassion to teach in these circumstances. When we first turned the corner to drive down the narrow street to the school, it was like parting the red sea! So many students in the road!!! We did manage to park, though, and had a good visit with the principal of this school.
After a bit, we found a vehicle (can’t remember what they called it) that could handle the narrow streets to get to the two annex schools. It was our first time to ride in this type of vehicle. Check! As we were going down the super narrow streets ( can you even call it a street?) I thought of the quaint narrow roads in European cities. Well… this isn’t Europe, that’s for sure, but the narrow passage ways reminded me of it. Except on these streets you have chickens (in coops and tied up), little sari-sari shops, open markets, kids everywhere, lots of stray dogs adding their feces to the mix, motorcycles, tricycles, and all kinds of action. At one point, a little boy was walking and urinating as he walked, making big loops with his urine. I tell you! You will see women washing their clothes in plastic tubs and kids getting bathed in plastic tubs. There is no shortage of action on these little streets through the barangays.
The two schools were tucked away so hardly knew they were schools. They were in two story buildings, attached to all the buildings around them. The rooms were so tiny and full of old wooden desks/chairs. The teachers have done their best to make the rooms inviting, but there is only so much you can do to these rooms. These schools only have grades 1-3. They try to bring the schoolroom to them, so they don’t have to walk far to get to school. I am sure we will be getting a request from these schools soon. After we left the Tondo area, we went back to our car, then followed them to a large school in Manila where they are finishing a resource school/center for SPED students. This is where they will have their flagship SPED program and host students from all over the National Capital region. They showed us around and we saw a room where they have dug a pool for the hydro therapy room, a room for visually impaired students, a room for physical therapy and some rooms that will specialize in livelihood training and life skills. It will be an amazing place and was so different from the little annex schools in Tondo. Let’s just say that not everyone has access to a quality, equal education.
Moving on to Thursday! Another great day! We had the MOA signing with Caritas Manila at the area office. Haidi in communications handled this one, since they were also handing off a check to Caritas Manila from the proceeds of the Vocal Point concert earlier this year. Caritas Manila is the charitable organization of the Catholic Church. They are so incredibly organized and we were so impressed with their feeding program. The church is donating around $70,000.00 to provide needed funds to feed 1,000 children for six months. The malnourished children come in 6 month cycles, or 120 feeding days. They weigh them, assess them, then also provide nutrition and financial education for their mothers so hopefully the cycle can be broken. Father Anton was a delight to get to know. He has been in charge of this organization for many years now, and has such a good heart. He shared with us some of the products they make in their livelihood department. This part is actually a for profit arm that then gives money to their non-profit activities. Smart! And sustainable! We had a lovely time with all of them.
Later that day, we were asked last minute to go to Mabuhay Deseret to help “judge” their staff and patient talent show. It is always a treat to go to Mabuhay Deseret. The talent was mostly videoke and a couple of dances- not fantastic, but surely a fun time. There were two young “influencers” there as well. One of them, who calls herself “Twinkle”, is an ambassador for Mabuhay Deseret. At the end, they had a photo booth. They also had a vision screening at Mabuhay , which is a first, I think. This was all to help celebrate their 35th year of helping people. Such a great organization.
Last but not least is the Makati 4th Ward chili cookoff/Halloween party. I love this ward for so many reasons. And one is, they know how to party and have a good time! They had over 12 pots of chili to sample. Including mine, but we got there late due to terrible traffic! It took us an hour and 20 minutes to drive what normally takes 25 minutes. Ugh! And this was after we drove in terrible traffic to go out close to the airport to the Alian warehouse to check on the literacy supplies. We were so tired of traffic by the end of Saturday! Anyway, back to the Makati 4th ward. In Sacrament meeting today, we started the meeting by singing “Come, Come Ye Saints”. I got quite emotional as we sang this hymn. Not only was I thinking of the early saints who sacrificed so much to help the church get established, but also I thought of the saints in the Philippines, and in our ward, specifically. Week after week, we are so blessed by speakers who have really had trials – serious ones at times, but find their way to Christ and to faith. They have interesting stories as to how they got here to the Philippines. So many different reasons and stories! We feel uplifted and edified and remain humbled by the faith of the Saints here. So blessed!
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