Imagine, if you will, a boy growing up in the rural Philippines without a father to provide for his daily needs. It happens all the time, of course. His mother does what she can to provide food for him and his siblings, but she is unable to provide all the guidance he needs. In his early teenage years he finds himself accused of a crime, but since he is too young to be charged, he is sent to a youth center which was established to care for children in convict with the law. There he grows up, completes his high school education, and takes a vocational course that will hopefully provide employment. During that time he visits his mother and siblings, but they are living in a dilapidated structure - a few pieces of bamboo, plywood and rice sack. They have little or no food most of the time and the siblings find that they are in danger from intruders at night. The boy, now a young man, finds himself ready to leave the center and moves back to this house - a place that offers little or no protection. Because of the rural surroundings and few businesses, he is unable to find work. He volunteers his services at a health center. And then one day his mother is killed in an accident on the road as she is riding on a form of public transportation. Suddenly this young man knows that he has two siblings, no parents, and nothing than can be really called a shelter.
Where I come from, people choose houses based on their location, their floor plan, and their particular features that make life attractive, comfortable and enjoyable. But here, in these rural areas and among people of very modest mean, a house is protection against sun, rain, wind, and those who would steal or harm. A house keeps you alive.
So our volunteers at Bahay Pag-asa and our friends back in the US decided that a house was needed to provide this young man a foundation for building a new life. Of course, we could not afford to build one, so we gathered scrap wood, some used furniture and simple materials from the university here and we provided those materials to the family and paid a local carpenter to do what he could with them. It was not nearly enough. But some of our volunteers left funds with us with the request that they go toward 'the house." And so we bought hollow blocks and cement, sand and gravel. By the time the money was gone, we had a couple of walls built - that was all. And then generous donations were wired from the a friend in the US and we were back in the house business - walls finished and a roof appeared. Another donation arrived from former volunteers and we are now sealing the roof and the walls and looking at filling in the floor, over the dirt and rocks, and putting in concrete. Two days ago we paid for an electrical connection.
We are also working with the young man who will live, with his siblings and perhaps his grandparents, in this "house." We are going to get him additional job training and we're encouraging him each step of the way. As the physical house is taking shape, he needs to build a life for himself and his family. It's not a sure or steady process. There are setbacks, discouragements and frustrations. And the house is not particularly attractive - but it will stand up against the storms and keep children dry and safe. We're not done yet, but there is not question in our minds now - it will be a house.
I don't know if we will every build another house. It's not really part of our job description here. But sometimes we just do what clearly needs to be done. And we do it because our donors and our volunteers tell us to do and they provide with we need. The providence of God does not come, usually, from the skies but from those inspired to live the Gospel as best they can.
To our friends in the US, this may look like utility shed roofing, but here in the rural Philippines, this is typhoon protection for a family. Donations from Betty Bond, Margaret Brown-Salazar, Jeanne and Jimmy Cavazos, the students and staff of St. Mary's College Moraga and others have allowed us to help build a simple house for one of our former residents who found himself without parents (after his mother was killed in a traffic accident) and responsible for his younger siblings. Special donations made by these concerned friends allowed us to have a hollow-block house built and a sturdy roof installed. With remaining funds we are going to seal the walls and start looking at putting a suitable floor inside (as well as finally completing the front wall).
