PLUS Project, 2008
Philippines
� Learning, Understanding, and Service
After
returning from two weeks in the
Philippines
,
people usually ask me, �How was your trip?��
This year, without much hesitation, I can honestly reply, �Exhausting
but successful.�� This was a record year
in a number of ways.� With eight of us
traveling together, six of whom were SU students, this was the largest group
I�ve taken.� We also raised a record
amount of money this year for our charitable work, roughly doubling what we had
raised in the past.� Such numbers are a
blessing in terms of the work we can accomplish, but a real challenge to manage
wisely and effectively.� I believe I can
report to you that we did our best and accomplished a great deal of good for
many people who struggle daily to meet their most basic needs.
Just last
week, I came across a news article which discussed the effect of the rising
cost of rice on people in one southern Filipino town.� In order to feed themselves and their
families, more and more people are turning to begging, theft, and
prostitution.� While I cannot say I
noticed an increase of such things in the areas we visited, I know very well
that poverty pushes people to do things they otherwise would not.� There are the dirty children I often see
waiting outside of the malls in Manila, hoping to be given a shopper�s loose
change, or the 19 year-old prostitute with two children who told me she does
what she does for her children, who she hopes will not have to travel this same
road.� Of course, as I mentioned before,
I know we cannot save everyone.� We do,
however, impact the lives of individuals in very real ways.�
A boy selling toys on
the streets of
Manila
After years
of hearing about a community of workers outside of Lipa
city, we finally made a trip out to the
batuhan, or rock quarry, where nearly a hundred families
live.� They make their living by
extracting rock from the mountainside and breaking it up manually with
hammers.� While their meager homes can
hardly keep out the elements, and their salaries leave family members with
significantly less than $1 each per day, what left the most lasting impression
on me was the sight of children working alongside everyone else.�� On our first day visiting with them, we
spent a little time carrying bags of sand up a steep hill where it was being
mixed with cement.� We would dump the
sand and return down the hill with the empty bag to have it filled again.� At some point it dawned on me that the boy
who was shoveling the sand into our bags was 5 years old, the same age as my
oldest son.� While my son has chores,
this boy has already begun his life of hard labor.� I suppose that what we do for a community
like that is never enough, but I am pleased to report that because of the
generosity of so many friends in the U.S., we were able to distribute rice to
every family there, bags of either 55 or 110 pounds.� Given the fact that rice has nearly doubled
in price over the past few years, it was gratifying to be able to do so
much.� Including the families at the
sugarcane plantation, and a number of people living in town, we delivered over
9,000 pounds to people who live on very little.�
(That brings our grand total over the years to about 30,000
pounds).� Again, thanks to so many of
you, at the end of that rather long day it was good to know that hundreds of
people were going to bed with full stomachs, and would continue to do so for some
time to come.
At the batuhan, with
some boys working (and posing) in the foreground and one of the larger homes
behind
Those of you
who have followed this program over the years may remember the name Aivan Rapirap.� This year, on our second day in the
Philippines
,
I grabbed two of my students and headed off to visit Aivan
and his family.� Since they lived in the
same neighborhood as the house we were rebuilding, it was a short walk of
several blocks.� When we arrived at his
house, however, they were no longer there.�
I was told by one of his neighbors, a woman named Lita, that the family had
moved back to
Quezon
Province
in
search of work.� While a bit
disappointed, I knew this was not uncommon for the squatter families who live
in this area.� This same neighbor,
knowing of the work we do, proceeded to tell me about another family a few
doors down that she wanted us to meet.�
And so we walked down the street and through an alley to meet the
Santos
family.� While I never met Mr. Santos, who was out all
day working, I did meet Mrs. Santos.� She
and her eight children live in a house that is 5�x11.�� They have a small cooking area outside, where
they do their washing and bathing as well.�
I never discovered where and what their toilet is.� As I stood there, doing my best to smile and
chat with Mrs. Santos and Lita, I tried to imagine
how tightly all ten must be crowded in that small room as they lay down to
sleep at night.� With the walls decaying
and the roof full of holes, I was unable to comprehend how they survive the
rainy season. Later, one of my students confessed to being glad she had worn
sunglasses during that visit, so as to hide the tears welling up in her
eyes.� The
Santos
family was one of the families, then,
that we were able to help, albeit modestly.�
None of her children had been able to afford the uniforms, notebooks,
and supplies they need to go to school, and so we took care of that.� We also bought them
bags of groceries, toiletries, and other items as well.�
The
Santos
family inside their home
There are
many other individual cases of people whose lives have been touched
significantly by your generosity.� Aiza is the daughter of a hard-working carpenter.� We have helped her pay tuition and expenses
for her college education.� I had
previously told her that if she received good marks, we would pay for another
year.� This May she came by with an
envelope full of slips of paper � her report cards and receipts for every
expense during the past year.� Needless
to say I was happy to provide her with the funds to pay for her final year of
college, after which she will be able to achieve her dream of being a
kindergarten teacher.� I also let her
know that when her little sister, Apple May, graduates from high school, we can
talk about sending her to college as well.� For me, helping young people achieve their potential through education
is one of the most rewarding gifts I believe we can give.�
And Aiza was not alone, as we were able to help a number of
other struggling college students as well.�
I suspect my students will not soon forget Jun, a young man of
considerable intellect and drive who works so hard to achieve his academic
dreams.� He certainly impressed us by
finishing a Rubic�s Cube in 39 seconds (after which
he explained he was out of practice).�
However, it was his account of combining studies and work with a
financial situation that often leaves him hungry and forced to walk the 3
kilometer trip home at the end of the day that really moved us.� In the
US
,
where so many students take their education so lightly, Jun taught us all a
valuable lesson about its real value.
Rebuilding the home of �Nanay Basi�
There was
some manual labor for us to do as well.�
There was the dirty work of tearing down the dilapidated home of Nanay (�Grandma�) Basilia, full
of cockroaches, mice, rats, and huge spiders, before a new home could be
rebuilt.� There was the day of painting
the kitchen and dining area of a shelter for abused children outside of Manila.� (And I have to say, as the former owner of a
painting business and a complete fuss-budget when it comes to painting, the
students really impressed me.� We were
able to do more than I hoped without a drop of paint left on the floor at the
end of the day.)� That was a good day,
and the children and staff were really pleased� enough so to spend a couple
hours teaching us various Filipino dances on the roof of their building in the
90+ degree weather.�� (If anyone wants to
learn the Papaya Dance, feel free to ask any of the SU students.)� Back at the other shelter in Manila, there were guitar,
dance, English, geography, and self-defense lessons
for the kids during our time with them.�
I always leave that shelter, however, wondering who learned more, the
kids or their American �teachers.��
Kids singing at the Kanlungan shelter in Manila
And while
there were times of joy, laughter, and the feeling of accomplishment, there
were plenty of personal struggles as well.� Whether it was visiting the Santos family, or Joseph, the boy who had been
devastated by bacterial meningitis, or seeing hundreds of people living in a
trash dump, salvaging their living from Manila�s garbage, we all were left with
unanswered questions.� What are my
responsibilities?� What can I
realistically do?� Will this experience
change me forever?�
Visiting with the Agojo family
As for me, I
still struggle with these and other questions as well.� At times they weigh on me heavily, and by the
end of the trip I�m left exhausted, wondering if I want to come back.� However, when I return and look at the photographs, remember the people I spoke with, consider the
difference we made in a few people�s lives, I know I need to return.��� Echoing in my head is, �To whom much is
given, much is expected.�� And while it
wears me out at times, it gives me great joy as well.� To all of you who have so graciously supported
our work, without the benefit of looking into the eyes of the people you help, please know that you have my most heartfelt thanks and
gratitude.� We did make a difference.
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