Pictures of Poverty
For more than three decades now i have lived, smelled, tasted, watched, touched, immersed into, struggled, survived, the curse of poverty. Is it my fault? Or my parents maybe, or probably my great-great-grandparents? Do people create it? Are we all victims? Or is it a choice? Are some people destined to be always poor?
The issue of poverty i believe is due to widespread and probably global injustice. But let's not struggle to grasp the overwhelming global scenario. Instead let me share some of my own experiences and true-to-life stories i witnessed growing up in a poor community in a third world country...
Migration... I was 12 years old when my parents decided (again) to go to Manila to look for better opportunities. With all our important possessions packed in several traveling bags and sacks, all seven of us came all the way from our small hometown in Quezon to the big glittering Quezon City. The next 20 years was never near having 'better' opportunities. We experienced floody streets from the slum area where we first lived. And had to daily work for a living. Life in the city was anything but good.
Abuse... My father became a church Pastor in 1989 and his role has exposed us to varrying stories of abuse. Battered wives came to church looking for refuge. Sexually abused houshelp also came for rescue. And physically abused children were as many as there were children in our community. I even saw a child being literally beaten up by her grandmother right in the middle of the street for an offense that did not deserve physical punishment.
Pains... Having very limited capacity in most aspects of life cause a lot of pains to families. I've experienced as a child having very little food on the table. It was bearable but the pain of seeing my mother's face with tears on her eyes as she watched us is still carved in my memory . It was a bitter cry. We never experienced extreme hunger, the worst we experienced was to have very little and to live in a poorly conditioned nipa hut. But I guess the pain of helplessness and powerlessness was the same to all poor people regardless of the level of neediness.
Faith... Perhaps the most number of people who believe in miracles will be found the most in poor communities. I believe in miracles. I believe that God still does miracles. In fact I've seen many times how God surprisingly answers our prayers. In February of 2003 we started to put a public library right in the community where i live. This project was initiated by our church. We bought a bookshelf with faith that soon it will be filled with books. As i put the few books we had then I said a silent prayer that if it's possible could God please fill up the bookshelf before that year ends. The next day I got a call from a family friend asking me to pick up two big boxes of children's books from her sister in the US. That same day i had to buy a bigger bookshelf for the rest of the books. I was amazed! I should never measure God's capacity in human terms.
And so these are the few of my glimpses of poverty. One is never too poor because where our capacities end there begins the manifestations of God's favor. Should we still be caught in the cycle of finding who and which fault is it? I believe we should be more engaged in knowing who can see us through it all.
God bless us all for in one way or another we may be poor. :)
The issue of poverty i believe is due to widespread and probably global injustice. But let's not struggle to grasp the overwhelming global scenario. Instead let me share some of my own experiences and true-to-life stories i witnessed growing up in a poor community in a third world country...
Migration... I was 12 years old when my parents decided (again) to go to Manila to look for better opportunities. With all our important possessions packed in several traveling bags and sacks, all seven of us came all the way from our small hometown in Quezon to the big glittering Quezon City. The next 20 years was never near having 'better' opportunities. We experienced floody streets from the slum area where we first lived. And had to daily work for a living. Life in the city was anything but good.
Abuse... My father became a church Pastor in 1989 and his role has exposed us to varrying stories of abuse. Battered wives came to church looking for refuge. Sexually abused houshelp also came for rescue. And physically abused children were as many as there were children in our community. I even saw a child being literally beaten up by her grandmother right in the middle of the street for an offense that did not deserve physical punishment.
Pains... Having very limited capacity in most aspects of life cause a lot of pains to families. I've experienced as a child having very little food on the table. It was bearable but the pain of seeing my mother's face with tears on her eyes as she watched us is still carved in my memory . It was a bitter cry. We never experienced extreme hunger, the worst we experienced was to have very little and to live in a poorly conditioned nipa hut. But I guess the pain of helplessness and powerlessness was the same to all poor people regardless of the level of neediness.
Faith... Perhaps the most number of people who believe in miracles will be found the most in poor communities. I believe in miracles. I believe that God still does miracles. In fact I've seen many times how God surprisingly answers our prayers. In February of 2003 we started to put a public library right in the community where i live. This project was initiated by our church. We bought a bookshelf with faith that soon it will be filled with books. As i put the few books we had then I said a silent prayer that if it's possible could God please fill up the bookshelf before that year ends. The next day I got a call from a family friend asking me to pick up two big boxes of children's books from her sister in the US. That same day i had to buy a bigger bookshelf for the rest of the books. I was amazed! I should never measure God's capacity in human terms.
And so these are the few of my glimpses of poverty. One is never too poor because where our capacities end there begins the manifestations of God's favor. Should we still be caught in the cycle of finding who and which fault is it? I believe we should be more engaged in knowing who can see us through it all.
God bless us all for in one way or another we may be poor. :)
posted by Mildred | 9:28 AM
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