Missionaries of Charity Home for Abandoned/Neglected Elderly

"The DeSales University group conducted various acts of mercy at the home for the abandoned and neglected elderly at Tayuman, Manila. The home is managed by the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, an organization which was founded by the Blessed Mother Theresa of India. The center at Tayuman also includes novitiates on training".

fr. charles said...
I never gave a thought of spending half a day (on my birthday!) in a home for the abandoned elderly. It was not in my sched but these guys from De Sales brought me there. True, nothing happens by chance! For the gift of life...and people who care, thank God!

danielle k said...
This was an amazing experience. To see people with such devotion and faith is often rare to find. I hope I can visit here again in the future.

BUKID KABATAAN CENTER for Abused Children & The GOOD SHEPHERD SISTERS

About the BUKID KABATAAN (CHILDREN'S FARM) CENTER: "Since the 1970’s, the number of children living in the streets of Manila and other cities of the Philippines has greatly increased. The problems of internal migration of families from the rural communities to the big urban centers and high unemployment have contributed to make it extremely difficult for poor family members to meet their basic needs. Thousands of children began to roam the streets in search of food and shelter. They were also prey for the numerous traffickers of children and were often physically or sexually abused. Many end up in prostitution dens. In response to this growing social problem, the Good Shepherd Sisters opened a small shelter for street girls in 1983 under the auspices of Caritas, Manila, and located in Pandacan, Manila. In 1989, also on the instigation of the Good Shepherd Sisters, a recovery and healing center for boys was opened by Caritas in General Trias, Cavite. The residential center was built on a 6-hectare land donated by Msgr. Francisco Tantoco, then Executive Director of Caritas, Manila. The center became known as Bukid Kabataan (Children’s Farm)."



"Go after the lost sheep without any rest other than the cross, no consolation other than work, no thirst other than for justice".
- St. Mary Euphrasia
Good Shepherd Sisters

DAYCARE CENTER at the Slums, Quezon City

The slum area near the Philippine CONGRESS at Quezon City.

The DeSales group painting the daycare center inside the slum area. The daycare was set up by a local charity group.


Some of the children who use the daycare center.

TULOY SA DON BOSCO: Support Center for Street Children

The Mission of Tuloy sa Don Bosco.


DeSales students and the children at the center playing volleyball.


The impressive Chapel inside the center complex.

What is POVERTY?

According to the United Nations: "Poverty: a human condition characterized by the sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights."



Furthermore, the No.1 goal of the UN Millineum Development Goals is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

Ati or Aeta Woman: Philippines Aborigines

Fr. Joe:
"We visited the Ati, the aborigines of the Philippines, who were sequestered in a ghetto on Boracay Island. The Daughters of Charity, a religious order founded by St. Vincent de Paul, friend of Francis de Sales, minister to these people. The Ati are called the “black people;” their skin tone is dark and their hair extremely wooly. They are classified as Philippine Negritos, first settled the Philippines, and were at one time a nomadic group of hunter-gatherers roaming freely in the wild without clothes. Modern society forced them in clothes as well as ghettos both of which are socially traumatic for the Ati., who now depend on charitable donations for subsistence. The Daughters of Charity have been their only advocates with the government and in the words of one sister “I will wear out my sandals walking to the local government to petition for these lovely people and to protest the expropriation of their land.” They now live on land belonging to the relatives of the Casa Pilar owners, our hotel on Boracay.

The children are attractive and charming. They learn the basics in a kindergarten that was opened the second day of our visit. We learned that it would be an insult to help them with any physical labor such as picking up trash and beautifying their areas. Francis de Sales and the spirituality of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales reminds us to respect people where they are and to treat them with dignity. Since food was a great need, we decided to purchase rice and other staples for the families. The Daughters supervised us as we respectfully distributed the food to the families. We also gave plantains (small bananas) to the children in the kindergarten and interacted with the teacher and the students".

"A full-grown Ati woman. I actually think she is attractive. She's definitely cute in a child-like way anyway. Note the classical woolly hair of the Philippine Negritos. This is not the same hair as the kinky hair of US Blacks. Other Negritos in the Andaman Islands have peppercorn hair like the Bushmen of Africa".

President-Elect BARACK OBAMA

President-Elect Barack Obama will be the 44th USA President. For more on Obama, check his newest website, WWW.CHANGE.GOV.

DSU Students at the McCain & Palin Political Rally, (Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA)

...me wonders who are the two gentlemen at the back... :-)

..."My friends, ...................."


Mccain & Palin at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA (October 8, 2008). Guess who attended the rally.... :-)

Lunch at the Mama Nina Foccacheria

We recently met Kerri (who now works at Moravian College) for lunch at Mama Nina in Bethlehem, PA. The food was terrific, authentic Italian dishes. The weather was still nice, not too chilly so we decided to eat outside the restaurant. As usual, we reminisce on our Philippine experience. The group wants to have a grand reunion 5 years from now back in the Philippines.

Typhoon Frank (Feng Shen) Hit the Philippines

I went back to the Philippines this summer of 2008, only to experience a major typhoon on June 21, three days after I landed in Manila. I eventually went to the island of Panay, that was possibly the worst hit of the 7,100 islands that comprise the country. The satellite photo below shows the storm over the Philippines, and Panay Island is the triangular island in the center of the storm.


The devastation brought by the typhoon to villages near the rivers were severe and historic. Some villages (e.g, Barangay Bogo and Bagumbayan in the town of San Remigio in Antique) have almost disappeared from the map because they were wiped out by the flash floods. We participated in disaster relief operations that included national and international agencies such as the Red Cross and the UN. The photos below may not capture the extent of the devastation because these were taken a few days after the storm. The land looks bare, because the native homes and farms where people toiled for their livelihood were washed away by the flood.

Fr. Joe at NATIVITY PREPARATORY SCHOOL, Wilmington, DE

Last summer, the Philippines group held a "despedida" or going away party for Fr. Joe who was moving to Delaware to become the Principal of the Nativity Preparatory School. He is a bit far from DeSales University now, and we will miss seeing him on a more regular basis. Best of luck, Fr. Joe!

Presentation to the DeSales Community

In early April the group shared the work done in the Philippines. Faculty, administrators, and students listened to the groups enthusiastic stories and enjoyed of the vivid pictures. At the end we answered questions and added some of the funny stories we still talk about from our trip.

The Library put together a poster with some of the pictures and a map of the Philippines for the audience to see. (picture above)

Ospital ng Makati: Health Care for the Urban Poor

The Makati Health Programme (MHP) was designed to provide residents of the city of Makati with monthly incomes not exceeding PhP8,000 (US$156) access to quality health care. The cost of health care in Philippine urban centers is so prohibitive that it is beyond the reach of citizens belonging to this income bracket. Also included, as programme beneficiaries are the elderly and city government employees including public school teachers, policemen and firemen. Makati is one of the few cities in the Philippines that provide subsidized quality health care to its constituents.

The local government of Makati has as its private sector partner the Makati Medical Centre. The programme has two non-governmental organization (NGO) partners: the Ospital ng Makati Foundation and Bagong Ina ng Bayan.

The program has given beneficiaries the opportunity to avail of services such as major surgeries in one of the best private hospitals in the Philippines. In 2000, 50,042 cardholders were treated at the Makati Medical Center, with total billings of PhP170 million (US$3.3 million). Under the terms of the expenses sharing scheme, the city government of Makati shouldered PhP96 million (US$1.9 million), and Makati Medical Center, P74 million (US$1.4 million).


The DeSales group helped the staff at the hospital tend to their patients.

Chinese NEW YEAR Party: EAST Meets WEST

The DeSales team celebrated the Chinese New Year with Chinese friends here in the US. A fun New Year party, new friends, and a continuing effort for global understanding. The folks come from many places: Mainland China, Taiwan, Hongkong, Dominican Republic, Philippines, and the US.

Happy CHINESE NEW YEAR! At DELICIOUS Restaurant, Chinatown, MANILA

Happy Chinese New Year! February 7, 2008. The YEAR of the RAT!
Chinese calendar has been in continuous use for centuries, which predates the International Calendar (based on the Gregorian Calendar) we use at the present day which goes back only some 425 years. Current year is Year 4705 by the Chinese calendar. Since 2008 is the Year of the Rat, any one who was born in the Year of the Rat is now either 1 or 13, 25, 37, 49, 61, 73, 85 or 97 years old.


We went around Chinatown to experience one of Manila's oldest district. The place is indeed a feast to the senses, all sounds, colors, and smell are all there! Quite a stimulating place.


Jeepneys line the street across the DELICIOUS RESTAURANT. We decided to have lunch at this restaurant which is considered to be one of the old establishments in the area. The place is casual and unpretentious, and food was most satisfying.

BORACAY: Exploring the Island

Lovely FLOWERS in the PHILIPPINES

Lovely tropical flowers in the Philippines. These blooms are found practically anywhere in the islands.

Happy Feast Day! ST. JOHN (DON) BOSCO!

Greetings from the DeSales University! We are one family in Christ.

Ferry Ride: From Makati to Boracay

On Sunday, January 6th we embarked on an eighteen-hour journey from Makati to Boracay. The picture on the above shows the bus stop in Makati. It was very crowded and a lot of merchants make a living by selling their products to travelers. We didn’t know what to expect, but we did know it was going to be an adventure. And it was!

The group traveled on a passenger’s bus and Ferry. The buses go on the Ferry and for the passengers’ convenience we did not have to unload our luggage. During the bus ride, the driver makes a few stops and picks up merchants. These merchants give passengers a sample of what they are selling and then walk back selling the product. One of us purchased coconut candy. This is a great business idea because it benefits the seller and the passengers on the bus.

While on the first Ferry ride we played cards and napped for the most part. At first I was afraid I would get seasick, but later realized the boat didn’t move too fast. We enjoyed taking pictures in the upper deck and admiring the breathtaking view at sunset. The Ferry ride was a cultural experience as well. It helped us understand the people of the Philippines by experiencing things that we normally in the United States.

On the second Ferry ride, four of us stayed outside on the prow for most of the time. It was nighttime and we wanted to see the stars. It was an amazing night; as soon as we sat down (on blankets we had brought with us) we saw a shooting star. Simple things make me happy … this is one perfect example. Eric and I listened to Irish music on my MP3 while looking at the blanket of stars above us. The night was clear and the stars seemed to be reachable by just extending our arms.