The weather is perfect, the bbq is grilling, the beer is cold and mates as always, are great to be around.

I already miss Cebu and the people there, but knowing I’ll be back in only a few short months makes it easier.

On the flight from Manila to Hong Kong I had a perfect seat to view the sun setting, always made much more spectacular when you are cruising at 30,000. Just as the sunset reached its visual crescendo, The Light by The Album Leaf came on my ipod. Perfect song for a perfect view.

Have a look and a listen below.

(click to see a bigger version of photo)

Matthew (name has been changed) first became a part of the Mercy in Action family a year and a half ago. He had been living with his parents on an island off Cebu called Siquijor, known locally for its voodoo practitioners. When he was 10 his parents separated and his mother remarried. After quickly becoming unhappy with the new living situation Matthew decided to go to Cebu with his father to live with his grandmother. However soon after arriving in Cebu his father left for Manila and never returned. So now Matthew found himself living alone with his elderly grandmother. He tried to scrape together enough food for both of them by stealing and scavenging but soon found himself living on the streets and addicted to sniffing glue, other vices soon followed.

Matthew and some friends waiting in the hallway for the drop in centre to open

Matthew makes sure his t shirt is clean.

MiA first encountered Matthew when he came by the drop in centre in Tabunok markets. He is one of the original ‘Rugby Boys’, named after the brand of glue that they sniff. He became a regular fixture at the drop-in centre and touched everyone he met. At first he was keen to go to school whilst staying with his grandma, but as time went on and he was still on the streets he seemed to sink into a deep depression. He lost any motivation he had and fell into drugs like he never had before. Sometimes he would not be seen for days as he went on drug binges.

One day when Matthew’s situation was at its most desperate he came and spoke to the MiA staff. He told them that all he wanted was to be with his mother. With no way of contacting her, tracking her down took a few months. Matthew would ask daily when he was going to be able to go home, how long it would take, constantly reminding that he sorely missed his mother. Hope came made when MiA got hold of a phone number for one of his mother’s neighbours. MiA was able to get in touch with his mother and plans were made to take Matthew home.

These plans came to fruition recently when Michael and I accompanied Matthew on the journey back to Siquijor. Before we left on Tuesday afternoon we took Matthew to a department store in downtown Colon to pick out some new clothes and find a present for his mother. He decided to get her cookies. Of the 30 plus varieties in the supermarket, his choice was made because the container doubled as a water dispenser once it was empty. It was extremely endearing to see Matthew get excited at this prospect and how useful it would be to his family.

As well as funding his return trip, MiA bought Matthew some much needed new clothes.

It took him less than 5 minutes to pick out 3 t-shirts, 3 pairs of shorts and some underwear. About a third of the time it took a team of 7 sales assistants to find the price on one of the t-shirts.

The ferry trip from Cebu to Siquijor took about 6 hours. We were fortunate to have fairly calm seas both on the way there as well as the return journey the following morning. However air conditioning aboard the ferry was intensely cold and Matthew quickly wrapped his towel around him to stave off the goosebumps.

Matthew gets some sleep, no doubt eager to shorten the 6 hour ferry trip as much as possible.

A towel provides some relief from the unnecessarily cold air conditioning aboard the ferry. The sore on his shin had been left untreated for weeks at a point when he wasn't attending the drop in centre regularly, leaving Matthew to constantly pick at it. It looked so awful and infected that some of the other kids teased him, suggesting he would lose his leg. He stopped picking at it after that.

Matthew sits with the present for his mother by his side

Upon arriving at Siquijor, which was not until about 9.30pm we soon found someone to drive us to Matthew’s mother’s house. After 4 years away, Matthew excitedly pointed out landmarks that he recognised through the darkness as we drew closer.

Matthew leads the way, walking down the pier on Siquijor Port.

After 4 years away, Matthew excitedly pointed out landmarks that he recognised through the darkness on the way to his mother's house.

When we arrived, the entire neighbourhood was pitch black, due to a combination of everyone already being asleep and the majority of houses not actually having electricity. This was the case for Matthew’s mother’s house which we arrived at after walking down a path through long grass and coconut trees. After shouting out into the darkness to announce our arrival, the door on the house opened and we met Matthew’s grandmother. It soon became clear that Matthew’s mother was not actually there and my heart sank for him when I thought, with my very limited understanding of the Visayan language, I heard his grandmother say that she was in Manila.

Matthew's grandmother was the first to greet him when he came home.

Fortunately I had misunderstood and another family member disappeared out the door and soon returned with her. Their initial embrace was awkward, our unannounced arrival surprised the family, especially given the late hour. However as we sat and talked it became clear that both mother and son were glad to be reunited.

Matthew sits with his mother and younger sibling who he was meeting for the first time.

We sat for a while as Michael and the family talked, I kept my eyes on Matthew, trying to gauge how he was responding to the conversation. He seemed slightly nervous with his eyes fixed on the floor, which in turn made me nervous. I was worried that our surprise visit might have been a bit overwhelming for his mother and she would not have him back. However Matthew put my mind at ease when he looked up from the floor straight at me and grinned from ear to ear.

A family portrait.

It was soon time for Michael and I to head off and find somewhere to stay for the night, so we took a couple of family photos and headed back out into the darkness. Matthew and his mother walked with us to the car and thanked us for bringing him home. Both seemed to be on the verge of tears. We arranged to try and meet them in the morning at the hotel the driver had recommended and said goodnight, unsure whether they would make it there.

Unfortunately when we got to the hotel it was booked out and so we had to find somewhere else to stay. It now seemed even less likely that we would see Matthew again which was a great disappointment.

After finding another hotel and having a quick bit of dinner we went to bed.

The next morning we were up before dawn. I went down to the beach to take a couple of photos. There were fisherman out in bangka (small fishing boats) and others wading close to the shore, gathering their nets. Despite it still being dark it was a warm morning, and the scene in front of me seemed a world away from the dangerous, filthy streets that Matthew has been calling home for the past few years. I’m sure he will be very happy there.

A fisherman collects in his net as dawn breaks on Siquijor.

Michael and I got a ride back to the port on a couple of motorbikes, the route we took brought us right by the hotel that we had arranged to meet Matthew at. In the darkness I did not realise we were anywhere near it but as we went past I heard a voice shout out “Kuya Jay!”, I turned around to see Matthew standing there with his mother and grandmother. As we slowed and made our way back to them, they all piled onto the motorbike they had come on and then followed us to the port.

By the time we arrived at the port the sun had risen just enough in the sky to see that Matthew was the cleanest I had ever seen him, wearing some of his new clothes, along with a big smile. As Michael talked to his mother I used my limited Visayan to ask him how he slept and how he was feeling, he answered “maayo kaayo” to both, meaning ‘very good’! Our ferry was waiting so we once again had to say goodbye, this time making sure to give Matthew a big hug as we knew this would be the last time we would see him, certainly for a while at least.

Mercy in Action will continue to support and follow Matthew and his family.

Our first stop was a basketball court hall that was serving as housing for more than 200 families left homeless after the floods. Many people were queueing up when we arrived so we quickly got things underway. Pastor Les and John manned the back of the van, handing out the packages. The people had been issued a ticket prior to our arrival and needed it to get the package.

A young girl inspects the contents of the food package whist her mother looks on and baby sister sleeps.

Despite the best efforts of those in charge to maintain order, the understandable desperation of the gathered crowd soon led to a somewhat chaotic scene. At one point their was some confusion over a woman who had somehow gotten two tickets. After some heated words the tension died down, only to rise again when the throngs of people that had been crowding around the back of the van all shifted to one area at the side of the hall, surrounding a group. It was unclear to me exactly what was happening but after some more shouting the crowd made their way back to the van, hands extended.

When all the packages designated to that area had were handed out we moved on to the next spot. This time stopping off at the church that we were working with, the packages were distributed to groups of 10 at a time, limiting both the confusion and tension experienced at the basketball court.

The church and it’s volunteers have been going non-stop since the typhoon, assisting the local people in any way that they can.

For over a week they have been housing more than 100 people who lost their homes in the floods, some whose homes were still partially under water. We were told of one man who had been saved at a church service on the Saturday night and then suffered a fatal heart attack the following morning. With his new found faith, the man died with a smile on his face, which we were invited to view as the body was on display at his wake held in a tent just across the road. However we had more packages to get out and so were on our way.

Family and friends gather at a wake for a man who suffered a heart attack after losing his home in the floods.

Next stop was another area of floodway which had been badly hit by the floods, parts of it still under water. At their peak the floodwaters had reached a height of 8ft, enough to submerge some of the houses we visited.

In one house I was invited into the upstairs area where I met 21 year old Cathlyn. Along with her 3 month old son and 2 other families, totaling 11 people, Cathlyn lives in an area that is at most 3 metres squared.  Despite these extremely cramped living conditions, some would consider these families lucky. Living on the second floor mostly spared them from the floods that destroyed everything for so any others.

Cathlyn 21, looks over her 3 month old son. They share this small space with 9 others.

 Following lunch with the volunteers from the church (rice and chicken again), we made out way to one of the houses that we are helping to rebuild whilst here. Building had already begun and we will have to wait until the concrete floor is laid before anything else can be done so it looks like the real work will start tomorrow!

J

The center of San Lorenzo Ruiz town.

This morning Philip and I traveled to a town called San Lorenzo Ruiz, in the city of Pasig, one of the many areas of Manila still partially submerged after the heavy rainfall of typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) last week.

Arriving at the town we soon came across a makeshift port, where the road sloped away into the murky water.

Demonstrating true Filipino ingenuity, the town’s many trisikad, pedicab and jeepney drivers have knocked together a fleet of rafts that they are using to ferry the townspeople around. They range from very small, simple wooden platforms with a few plastic jugs attached for added buoyancy, to the more spacious vessels, built around old fridges and bathtubs.

 
Our boat for the morning was the former and our ‘Captain’ John, waist deep in water, pulled us through town to show the damage that was caused. After a short while we stopped off at John’s house, which he shares with his two younger siblings, his mother and his grandmother, Francesca.

Angelo 9yrs, Angelie 12yrs and Francesca in their home.

 
I poked my head inside the doorway and Francesca immediately sparked up a conversation with me, in near perfect English.

From her cramped stoop just above the waterline she explained “The government are the problem. When they need something from us they help us, but where are they now?” Her words echo the feelings of many people here in Manila. “We need food but nobody is bringing us any, what can we do?”

People queuing for hundreds of meters to collect aid.

 
With so much damage caused and so many people affected, some of whom are much worse off than the people of San Lorenzo, this is a question that many thousands are asking. For Francesca and her family it may well be a case of sitting and waiting, praying that it doesn’t rain and that the waters filling their home receed sooner than predicted, which some suggest won’t be until December.

In the afternoon we made our way back to the Community Baptist Church (CBC) which is serving as our base for the week we’re here. We spent the afternoon unloading foodstuffs that had come in from a variety of sources.

Miles Ahead, a charity from San Diego organised 132 50kg sacks of rice, enough to feed 10,000 people.

Family operated shipping company Aboitiz took a collection from the family members and raised over 11,000,000 pesos ( almost AUS $300,000) which they put towards organising food parcels, of which we received 400 to distribute.

The food parcels from Aboitiz.

 
Aboitiz really must be commended for their contribution to the relief effort. Not only have they given very generously but they have done so with no desire for public recognition. Their name and logo are nowhere to be seen and they are happy for anyone to distribute them, as long as they are going to the people who need it most, nice!

Tomorrow we will be distributing the food parcels in an area that has the unfortunate name of Floodway. Hopefully if all goes to plan in the morning we will also get started on rebuilding one families home which was destroyed in the typhoon.

J

So today Kuya Dan and I raided the stockpiles of donations that Mercy in Action has received from the UK, boxing up loads of clothes and blankets as well as shoes, baby bottles and a bag of dodgy spectacles from the 80’s – hey every little bit helps right?

Dan didn't require an awful lot of convincing to don this little number.

Our mascots for the day.

We managed to fill 4 decent sized boxes and 3 big rice sacks with stuff.

One of the dozen or so kids we saw running around pinging each other with bb guns on the way home.

Whilst we are there I am also hoping to be able to get some photographs of the situation. We will be in Manila from Sunday until Friday so I will do my best to get online and put some photos up. Unfortunately there is another typhoon, ‘Parma’, on the way towards Luzon so who knows how the trip will pan out. All I know is that it will undoubtedly be a very interesting, very moving and very wet experience.

J