Metro Manila is home to 17 different cities that combine and overlap to create a dense populous of over 13 million people. I was headed for Quezon City which is home to two AMS projects – Kuya Centre of Street Children and the FCJ Centre in Payatas.
Kuya Centre provides various services for children living on the street – estimated to be in the tens of thousands in Metro Manila alone. Last year 426 children were engaged in street programs while another 43 lived at the centre. These residential children were provided with health and education services and some returned to living with their families through the support of Kuya Centre. Walking around the building there was a palpable sense of hope among the children that were present and an overwhelming familial bond between staff and children.
That afternoon I visited Payatas barangay (suburb) which is considered to be one of the poorest in all of Metro Manila. The FCJ Sisters have been working in the Payatas and Bagong Silangan barangays since 2002 and work out of their humble FCJ Centre. Payatas is characterised by a large open-air rubbish dump and the centre seeks to improve the lives of those approximately 6,000 people that live on the doorstep of the dump. Programs include community leadership training, computer training, microcredit, self-help groups, education programs, health services and housing and sanitation programs. AMS has been involved in the latter program which provides upgrades to the small shanty houses – which are as small as 3x3m and can house up to six people – and improves their quality of life. The beneficiaries of this program were visibly proud of their new living conditions which enables many of them to open a small business in their home. There are four main types of upgrades:
- Installation of toilet (there are no communal toilets – people use the creek/bushes)
- Creating a mezzanine level which doubles the floor space of the houses
- Converting the house from cardboard/other materials to cinder block and concrete
- Improving drainage in the area
The next two days I was based at the Marist Asia Pacific Centre (MAPAC) in Marikina City and ran a workshop for nine young student Brothers plus a few older Brothers. The purpose of this workshop was to equip them with project proposal writing skills that will enable them to develop, deliver and report on projects. This will increase their capacity to access funding from AMS and allow them to grow their development projects and educational activities. It was a great opportunity to connect with our future project leaders who came from 8 different countries and share in their vision for their home country.
The Philippines is a country where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Vast inequality exists, and this was clearly evident in Metro Manila. Yet even in the most desperate of circumstances, there are people working to improve the lives of men, women and children. The projects that AMS supports have a long history of empowering vulnerable populations and guiding them out of poverty. The opportunity to see their life-transforming work firsthand was a special experience. Everyone along the way expressed their heartfelt thanks to the many donors who form the backbone of our support. Through your support we will continue to work with these projects that provide a shining light amongst the daily anguish and struggle that people face in these oft forgotten communities.
For more information on AMS works in The Philippines visit: https://www.australianmaristsolidarity.net.au/country/philippines/