Day Seven - Visiting the community

Thursday was by far the most interesting day for me this holiday as we were taken to see the community (a.k.a slums/squatter settlements). Squatter settlements in the Philippines are officially places where the government owns the land but has allowed people to stay there and make homes but with the proviso that they have to move on if the government needs the land for anything. We were taken to three different slums (one interestingly called New York) for around 3 hours by Tina, one of the social workers at CCM.

It is extremely hard to describe what we have seen or even convey it through pictures and video footage. None of it will ever do it justice but I will certainly do my best now to tell you about it. It was not the most pleansant experience and I don't think the reality has truly come home about what we saw. We came and we left, yet people spend their days and nights in these places and there are a lot of problems that we no doubt didn't see nor grasp as we only got a small snapshot of this kind of life.

Anyway we started walking to the slums as we were taken down a normal road you then suddenly dart between two of the houses down a small alleyway which is where these people live. Its only enough for one person to walk but down but there are dozens of houses each side, squashed togehter, with makeshift roofs above the alleyway which makes them dark (you can't even see your feet so one trips over quite a bit). There is running water coming down them from the river and rain as well as when people do their washing outside and throw out dirty water(which means TB flourishes). The smell leaves a lot to be desired and I'll leave it at that. There are many different passageways, almost like an underground city. There are some central points with a bit of light where people meet. A lot of people bring things to do out into the light. Many of them seperate paper, sell junk and do other sorts of things to try and earn a bit of money.

The connection CCM has with these slums is that as well as them having over 40 children in the homes where we are, they also help over 300 families within the slums. They get sponsers to help the children of the slums go to school and also provide Livelihood projects for the parents so that they can earn income. The aim is not total funding but more a percentage. For example the sponsership pays for things such as uniforms, books and any fees but the food of the child is still the parents responsibility. So we were taken round to several of these families which joyfully welcomed us in. They were so thankful that we visited, wanted us to take photos of them and got chairs for us to sit down with them. There is a great openess about these people and they all seem so happy, despite their circumstances.

Within a house, there can be as many as four floors and each family occupies one floor. A family is typically 7 children with some that we met being as many as 14. And the amazing thing is that often they all sleep and eat in one tiny room. You get into their houses (or rooms) through tiny trap doors and it can easily get claustraphobic. You have to climb oddly shaped ladders in the dark which was an adventure in and of itself. The homes are very basic. The houses are constructed with odd timber, sheets and wood, some not with sides and most not with any windows. At lot jet out over the river and of course as soon as it rains, the majority of these houses go under the water and they have to evacuate. So now I will never call on it to rain heavy again.

The people have to pay rent to stay in the settlements as well as money for electricity and water. They earn only about 1.50 to 2 pounds a day and so it is very hard to make ends meet. Yet an interesting fact is that they all have televisions which is their main method of communication. They buy them second hand mostly and they are quite cheap. There are many more children that CMM wishes to help but doesn't have the funds to do so. They only have a limited amount of social workers and it results in one social worker beings responsible for over 50-60 families. The church runs bible studies in the slums, encourages them to attend church and also gives them a Bible. The problem in the Philippines as some of you may have gathered is that they have a very high birth rate and high unemployment too. Pastor Ellis said that when he came here over 30 years ago the population was around 39 million and now it is around 80 million. So they are struggling to find any work and sometimes even an education is not enough to lift them out of their poverty.

I don't know if I can say much more about the slums except that I hope that this and our photos and memories that we will share with you when we get back , will enable you to be more aware of this situation (and others like it around the globe) and make it a matter of prayer as it is a definate reality.

So after visiting the slums we headed back to the office where CCM has all its social workers. They are kept busy obviously visiting but also writing reports to the various sponsers in the UK, US and Australia on the progress of the children. We had lunch with them and then after a few hours went off with Matthew (another English person who permanently lives in the Philippines and works specifically with street/slum people) to a bible study. There was about 12 there and Matthew explained the basics of the gospel to them. We had a few more exciting rides on jeepneys as a result. After that we went to Faith House, which is the house where the older girls (18+) live and Richard led a devotion for them on the Parable of the Ten Virgins and urging them to be prepared. He did it really well and they all seemed to understand and some even asked questions. We had dinner with them and then headed back to the church in time for the Drop in Centre.

Now the Drop in Centre is a fantastic work. People don't drop in as we know it where they come at any time and leave at any time but rather they come into the church for a set amount of time. The church bascially puts on a meal for all the homeless people that want it and as a result they get over 100 people coming in for food. They can also wash themselves and their clothes should they so wish. Members of the church volunteer to help (around 20 people) and the homeless people get a hot meal and a bible talk. However preparing it is manic and we got caught up in it. Getting out 100 bowls, plates and spoons was the first job as they have an interesting way of doing things. They cover everything with plastic bags which you just whip off at the end and put in the bin. However everything has to be bagged which takes a while. Then we dished out the rice, vegetables, meat and soup and formed a line of serving. We apparently hit a record time of doing it. And once they are done, everything has to be cleaned up and I mean a thorough clean. Even the chairs are washed down twice. Then we (all the people that helped) had a meal together. Just to give you an indication of time, the drop in centre starts at 6.30 and we were done by 9.15. We then headed ready to collapse. It was our longest day so far but a really interesting one.

And last comment from me - I'm writing this as England go to the pitch for their first World Cup match against Paraguay and I'm gutted that I can't see it live on screen. But am following it online. COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!

Luv ya all. Sarah