Payatas outreach

Payatas is the dump site that 'replaced' smoky mountains, the original dumpsite. But life is still the same. Little malnourished children, dirty from the long days of picking 'fresh' truckload of rubbish, trying to scavenge, sort out, pick what can bring in some money for the family.
For more photos, i found a site by David Paul Morris. Whose photos spoke much truth. http://www.davidpaulmorris.com/stories/Payatas/

School of Humanitarian Work

The School has been an intensive one. The theme: Restore, Raise up, Rebuild

Subjects included Fatherhood of God, Appropriating the cross in our lives, Globalisation, Social Justice etc

Right at this moment, we have staff and participants from Germany, Singapore, Philippines, South Korea, Czech, America, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ireland. It's almost a mini United Nations! heheh.

In the coming weeks, the outreach team will be at Payatas, a rubbish dump site an hour away. "The waste dump in Payatas is Manila's main waste dump with garbage piled as high as seven stories in some places. Impoverished squatters, including many children, live in the area and pick through the dump to collect items they can sell... " The population there is reportedly around 10,000. The rubbish dump can be piled as high as 40m. "It may be hard for many people to imagine what it would be like to live in such conditions, but that's the daily reality for the thousands who live at the Payatas dump. Many of the residents of Payatas make their living by digging through the influx of "fresh" trash, scavenging for plastic, cardboard, paper, wood, glass, metal and other items that can be sold to recycling agents." --excerpts from http://boes.org/world/asia/philippines/unep000719.html

The outreach team will mostly be focused on children at the elecmentary level, teaching basic english, some crafts, catechesis, visiting the elderly etc.

More reports on the outreach after the first week of outreach. Look out for it here.

Novie's got a new leg!

Good news! Remember Novie? She lost her leg at age 5 in a road accident and have been on clutches ever since. This young 20 year old, by special providence, got her new free leg in October! In this picture she is too shy to pose with the prosthetic. But she'll soon have to look for a physiotherapist to help her get used to using it. I can imagine it can be daunting yet exciting, amazed yet frightened. But Novie is a really courageous young lady. Now still in college working on her thesis, and with many brothers and sisters at home who need her, physio might not be something she can afford. Yet it would be such a pity if because of finances, she can't start walking on 2 legs. Let's continue to keep her in prayer!

Read the full original story on how she got her leg: http://sliceoflight.blogspot.com/2005_06_01_sliceoflight_archive.html

Having fun at the school!

Complete this sentence...

" I am afraid to tell you what I really feel ____________ because..."
a) I'm afraid you would reject what I want to say and get angry with me
b) you might not wanting to be my friend anymore
c) I might end up not having any friends around me

BUT
If i DON't tell you what I really feel in a loving manner,
our friendship is a phony one. Without authenticity, without honesty, without integrity. Superficial.

To the many friends who have been a source of support and strength, thank you for your honesty, openess in sharing of yourself, a true gift to me :) Thank you for being REAL!