The average Filipino lives on 38 pisos (sounds like "pesos") a day. This is worth about 70 cents currently. While provincial poverty is charming, city life is a different story. The above photo I took on my cell phone. You can see two street people taking a nap there and their belongings. I pass this freeway overhang often. It is always a refuge for street people, but the number of people varies daily."Street people" is the term for homelessness here. It seems that almost everywhere where I drive, I pass squatter's makeshift huts, much like Tijuana or other 3rd world cities. Street mothers nurse their babies on the curb as jeepneys drive inches away from them, with their polluted trail following.
What haunts me the most are the children. I worry about them. They run naked in the rain. I wonder how they can hope for a normal life after living on the street. They beg for money, beg for rice, beg for you to buy a trinket. A bed and a bedroom would be a luxury.
Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for the quick lesson on PERSPECTIVE. Sad that I didn't even notice the people until I clicked on the picture and looked really close.
ReplyDeleteWhat a humbling, wonderful, wild, unsheltered life you are experiencing with your little family. They will grow up so much the better for it. I enjoy all your posts so much! Thanks for the eye openers. We all need them. We are all so blessed to live where we do. Especially those in So. Cal. hehe.
I am with Jaime, this is unbelieveable. Thanks for the perspective.
ReplyDeleteThe experiences you have there render me speechless. I often have wondered why the poor don't flee to the country, where your spirit doesn't have to feel so poor. There is still so much I have yet to understand.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure either. It actually reminds me a little here of the ghettos in Chicago . .
ReplyDeleteOh Sheralie! I love your profound perspective and thoughts.
ReplyDeletePoor rural villages aren't quite as picturesque either - but at least the air is clean!
We just got back from a wonderful vacation to mexico, and I can hardly handle seeing the little kids on the street selling trinkets- and that looks so much worse! We decided to bring a few things to hand out to the kids (coloring books, crayons, bubbles, jumpropes, etc.) It was great to see the smile on their faces with such a small act of service. I am truly grateful for my life in the united states.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. Here in India there is poverty everywhere! It's really hard for me to see all day everyday. I think that's why the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' did so well here... it gave people hope. You could be a slumdog and change your life.
ReplyDeleteWe had very similar feelings when in the middle east. Our heart ached for the children.
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