| Friday, July 07, 2006 |
| Philippines Trip |
It seems a while ago now, but here are a few snippets of our thoughts about Philippines trip back in April...
Helen says… ”I am just so thankful for the opportunity to visit the Philippines. The trip taught me a lot about how and why we should spend ourselves on behalf of the poor. Having seen and smelt poverty it has given me new insights as well as a greater thankfulness for what I have.
When Mike & I arrived back from the Philippines we walked thru the simulation slums we have built. Our initial thoughts were….they are too big and they also weren’t homes. Many of the slums that we went into still had a few decorations and a sense of home.
Every time it rains it reminds me of the lady, Josephine, that we met whose house was 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres and every time it rains her house is flooded by raw sewage. Poverty really isn’t pretty.
It was good to be able to have time to talk with the local staff and ask them questions about how they deal with living in the Philippines. I was really inspired by the lady who heads up the medical work and the care she has for the people she worked with. Amazing love!
Mike: “Our main reason for coming on the trip was to get some real experience of the type of situations that we help through our work and which we help others to experience through our poverty simulation activities.
It was a real privilege, yet a sobering one, to experience in person the small size, the heat and the limited resources in the slums, after hearing so much about them. And it was good to be able to meet some of the people living there and hear their joys (often involving this charity’s intervention :) and their difficulties; and to see some of their inventive ways they had of overcoming their situation (e.g. one lady had an onion business, which basically consisted of 2 sacks that she took round selling to neighbours!)
The staff at the charity were one incredible team! They are tirelessly working in tough conditions and impacting a huge amount of people, making a massive dent into Philippine poverty. I was in awe at the scale of the work. In the past I've visited or heard of charities that are making small headway with a few needy people amidst large need. Here, I came away with a sense that in the places they are working they are making a really significant impact (e.g. feeding 80,000 a year!) with so many involved. I was really encouraged!
I was also encouraged to do more to help them, even just through staying in touch and encouraging them. Although both Helen and I are working fulltime to help people in need, there is always more we can do.
We were both really challenged & empowered by what we saw, and are really glad we got to see what is happening in the Philippines. |
posted by Mike & Helen @ 8:20 PM   |
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