Meet Anthony. Anthony is one of our fifth grade students at Cuatro Christian School. Anthony is a great kid. I can honestly say I've never had any problems with him in class. He is completely obedient, a hard worker, loves to laugh and have fun, a little bit shy, and is always kind to all the other kids.
His mother works at the school/church cleaning and cooking, so even when school is out, you can often find Anthony hanging around the building. I also see him walking/wandering around the street a lot.
A few months ago I saw Anthony wearing his school shoes on the weekend (a dressier black pair of shoes). I asked him where his tschinelas (flip flops) were. Shaking his hand (wala) to signal that he didn't have any, he smiled and moved on. The next day I brought him to the chilren's home storage unit and found him a pair of bright green tschinelas that fit just right.
Anthony's dad isn't in the picture (typical for many Filipinos), his mother works hard to feed and support the family, while living in a squatters home in the community.
Maybe it's due in part to his sober demeanor, but I always get a little sad for Anthony. I'm sad that he has no dad around, especially in his teenage years. I'm sad that he doesn't get to go home and play in his backyard with his friends. I'm sad that odds are he doesn't have any running water at his home, sleeps on a mat on the floor, and his toilet is a hole in the ground.
But Anthony's situation isn't an isolated one. The Metro Manila area is packed full of 3 million squatters. People whose lives closely resemble that of Anthony's... struggling just to get by.
Right outside our door, 5,000 squatters live in the area that we call home: Cuatro Community. We may not be able to feed/help all 5,000 at once. But a tschinela here, a meal there, some clothes thrown in, vitamins distributed daily, a smile and wave to the half naked little boy sitting on the curb... and we can be Jesus to all those who God places in our path each and every day.
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