Smokey Mountain Kids

The above picture is of an area on the outskirts of Manila called 'Smokey Mountain'. Here, people, many of whom are children, earn a living (if it can be called that) by sorting out rubbish that gets dumped there and selling what can be re-used. In essence, they are recycling.

A mother from my (Lara’s) class visited this area 10 years ago. She saw that there was no hope for these children. As young as 3 years old, they spent their days scouring the dumpsite, barefoot, for plastic, paper, cardboard... anything that could be recycled. Their older brothers and sisters and parents and grandparents were all doing this too. It’s not too hard to imagine what these children will be doing when they’re 30, 40, 50... And their children like them.

Her heart was greatly moved, and she decided to come back to the Philippines permanently and set up a school for these children. Ten years later, there are about 430 elementary aged children attending her school. They no longer spend their whole day on the rubbish tip. They are learning to read and write. Maybe, just maybe, these kids will have a different future to their parents and grandparents before them.

What a blessing it is to partner in this ministry.

Welfareville

You might have heard us say it before, but poverty is one of the hardest things to deal with in Manila. It's literally everywhere you look. One of the most obvious outward signs of poverty are the squatter settlements. These are basically areas of land, on which people who don't have much have built a place for themselves.

One of the biggest squatter areas in Manila is called Welfareville. It is divided into 45 blocks, and thousands of people live in each block. We had the opportunity to visit Welfareville in June, and it was quite an experience.

There are narrow alleyways running between tiny, dilapidated houses, made out of wood, tin, cardboard and occasionally cement. Most houses have one room on the bottom floor and one room on the top floor. Usually a different family lives on each floor.

On the day we visited, we saw cock fights with dozens of men eagerly clustered around, women scrubbing at clothes out the front of their house, and semi naked children, sent out into the rain by their parents (I assume for a shower). Everyone greeted us with friendly smiles.

We were there to visit the Sunday School of the church which OMF has helped to establish in Welfareville. (OMF also runs various other ministries, including livelihood programs, youth educational scholarships and health programs).

It was great to meet some of the 30 or so Sunday School leaders. Young people from Welfareville themselves, who don't have very much, yet they serve the Lord joyfully and enthusiastically. Encouraging and also challenging.