Edmund Rice Brothers, Philippines Mission Diary - 11
19th December 2007
PICTURE-TREE OF LIFE:
(God is good to us all if we have the eyes to see)
T his is the final newsletter for 2007 so the next effort will celebrate the start of a brand new year. Where did the year go? We finished up the school year on Friday the 14th December and of course there had to be a Christmas party and the obligatory concert; where we all had to put on an item or two. “Kris kindles” are replaced here by Manito-Manita which translates secret friend, male female. My Manito was very generous. Some photos on the last page tell a little story; so enjoy. (This is done so you can opt to not print the last page if ink is a problem at your end) Christmas is a hectic time here in the Philippines and with so many children making a large percentage of the population the shops are wall to wall people and between the Christmas trees and the kids there is little room for us adults. It is a very exciting time though. Carol singing is similar to ours with children coming to your door to perform (Pasko Awit) and the obligatory donation is expected of course. The first three months have passed quickly enough and we can speak Cebuano even if a little hesitantly. (Malipayon kaayo Pasko)Very Happy Christmas to all downunder and I do hope you all have a peaceful and refreshing break over the New Year. May the true spirit of Christmas overpower you and may the coming of Jesus really touch you and your families bringing many blessings and much joy. We will be in Kabankalan with Peter Hardiman and John Moody over the Christmas week then we are off to Maasin for a few days before returning to Davao on the second of January to continue our studies. I will share our experiences of that trip in Newsletter 12 in 2008. One final point on Christmas in the Philippines and that is the nine day Christmas novena which requires devotees to attend Eucharist at 4am for nine consecutive mornings. Frank and Carl seem keen so I just might tag along. (Getting up at that time in the morning might be tricky though and its starts tomorrow morning, Oh dear!)
We are all well and I am certainly over the main effects of the flu/ cold/infection/what ever it was. Now that the entire programme of tests is complete the minor surgery can go ahead; all that remains is for me to pluck up enough courage to go through with it. I am not a very good patient and certainly am very nervous of going into hospital so I am putting the decision off till January next year (At this stage 4th January looks likely) One little aside is, we are being visited by Bong (naturopath – Masseuse) who did his training in Australia. My prayer is that maybe he can help me avoid the knife. Ha! He is wonderful at what he does as I have noticed a great improvement in my general health. He visits us twice a week for an hour. His fee is quite reasonable. ($A10.00)
The outing shared last week was the trip to the nature Park on Mount Talomo which is 3000 feet above sea level. We did a spot of fishing believe it or not catching 12 pretty good size fish which we meant to bring home with us for supper. Unknown to us is the fact you have to pay for the fish you keep (P550) but believe it or not we forgot to go back and collect them after our guided tour which took 45 minutes which was most interesting with lots to see. We would have caught over 40 fish in the couple of hours but most were returned as under size. Carls claim to fame was he caught a tree, though he did also catch several fish as well. Frank and I did our bit too. You get a great view of Davao City from the top too. Mt Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines, is our next goal which is twice as high and only a few kilometres further on, but time has beaten us so it will have to wait till next year.
Remember the paragraph last newsletter on expensive drugs here in the Philippines? Well good news on this front as there is a bill in congress which aims to put all medicines within the reach of the poor. Let’s hope it is passed soon. Apparently the Multinationals are doing all in their power to stall the bill. Bribing a couple of Senators would not be beyond them. What’s new; their behaviour in Africa is well documented. There was a Jeepney strike yesterday which made things difficult for people getting to School and work this along with the struggle to even get a seat, did make things interesting for some. (Carl is wrapping presents now for the staff so I better go and help him as I promised. He will be up early in the morning for mass and will need his sleep.)
KABANKALAN NEWS – Sent in by Rod and his community
When he returned from holidays in May, John set about the task of investigating the needs of out-of-school children and youth, in the City of Kabankalan. He quickly found two unemployed teachers, Angie and Dina, who understood what he was aiming to achieve. With their assistance he surveyed needs. The outcome was three target groups – Elementary aged children, High School aged youth and unemployed High School graduates.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that children drop out of school mainly because of poverty. They are too hungry to pay attention, their parents cannot afford the very simple uniforms, or they need the assistance of their children in work related to harvest or weeding of crops. It was decided to begin with the children and, as needed, provide bridging finance for food and uniforms to enable them, if possible, to return to the local public school. It was then discovered that the school, while willing to receive them back, would do so only at the beginning of a school year. They would be returned to schooling at the level from which they had left. As a result, John decided, in consultation with the Brothers Community to try a different approach. A Learning Centre would be opened to provide bridging classes for these children in the hope they would more easily return to regular school. (Photos: Some Children come to John’s School by Tricycle others walk over the bridge)
A small Catholic church or Kapilya at a place called Camagao, across the Ilog river from the city – accessible by means of a swing bridge, was identified as the place to begin. Approval was duly received and John, Dina and Angie set about preparing it for the children. Kabankalan Catholic College donated old desks which John had a carpenter repair and paint. A blackboard and a lock up cupboard were made. A toilet was built and other minor repairs made, ready for classes to begin. 
The Centre began classes on November 6. Nine children were there on the first day but within a week the number had grown to sixteen. Angie and Dina have at times had their work cut out with restless children who have not been used to sitting in a classroom; a reminder of Edmund Rice’s beginning at New Street, Waterford. There have been some teething problems, and the numbers are smaller than expected, but it is a good start. ‘From little things, big things grow!’Meanwhile John discovered five small government funded institutions which run short vocational courses. By sponsoring young adults the door has been opened to employment. Nine young women have begun classes in hospitality at Hotel and Restaurant Services and six at Kabankalan Vocational Centre in dress-making, two men have started welding at TESDA with four in carpentry at Kabankalan Training Centre and about ten have sat for an entrance test for a motor mechanics course run at Sonedco – hopefully some will make the cut. In each case small amounts of money are involved, for tools, materials, transport and other small expenditure. Gradually ways of operating are being found and suitable people who can advise in assessing needs and ensuring the money is being spent in the ways intended have emerged. Thus decision making is becoming a little easier.
Seeding finance from the former Holy Spirit Province augmented by another significant donation from Western Australia has made it safe to begin. Other costs are the salaries of the two teachers. These are a modest P5000 (A$132) each per month. A$3500 per year will cover both salaries. It will be necessary to fund-raise for the annual costs of these projects. At present John is keeping good records and will produce a budget as soon as possible. The Community is strongly supportive of this work.
Well that’s it for this week and in fact for this year. I hope you enjoyed reading my newsletters as much as I enjoyed writing and sharing them with you. Don’t forget that this newsletter will be posted on our website in a few days. WWW.peterthrupp.com
NAMASKO
Happy and Holy Christmas to all and may 2008 be a brand new opportunity to enjoy what life has to offer and above all give you lots more chances to share your gifts with all you meet. God’s choicest blessing to each of you
Br Peter Thrupp (cfc)
Until next time.
ERBPM – “Edmund Rice Brothers Philippines Mission”
1/Carl’s group 2/ Peter’s group 4/Frank’s group 5/Carol singers 6/Star 1/ Star 2 8/ Frank & Tutor(Gigi) 9/ Peter’s Manito trying to guess.
