March 10, 2012- Learning Visit: Missionaries of the Poor

8:47 PM |


My visit there reminded me of a commercial I saw ages ago about a beggar seeing Jesus in the face of the helpful man and the helpful man seeing Jesus in him. Jesus had said, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.” The Missionaries of the Poor” serves that part of society. The lowest form of poverty is after all not financial poverty, but the feeling of being unwanted and unloved.  Most of the recipients of the Missionaries of the Poor are those whose families have no intention of taking care of them. The Missionaries of the poor cater to the aged and to mentally and physically challenged children.

I have witnessed different faces of poverty as an alumna of Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion, an institution that is pro-poor with the school’s patron saint, St. Vincent, the father of the poor. But I have never seen poverty in the midst of those who were unloved and uncared of.

 I held back my tears as I listened to a brother talk about his personal encounter with Christ in the person of an abandoned and injured man with a crown of maggots on his head and sores all over his body. He spoke about how he saw Jesus through that man. That’s when I remembered that certain commercial. When we went to visit the mentally challenged problem, as one of the boys hugged me, I felt Jesus’ presence and I had to fight my tears from falling. I’ve witnessed Jesus for myself in my visit.

My resolution is to extend help to MOP and be able to show my love to those who are unloved, like extending Jesus’ love to them. Like the commercial, they might be able to see me and the delegates as Jesus and we, be able to see Jesus in them, too.


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Posted by Janelle Moran

March 10, 2012- Learning Visit: Bajau Community

8:15 PM | Labels:

The Bajau Community
         

 Our visit to the Bajau community allowed me to witness a society of people who despite their poverty have maintained their very rich culture. I was impressed by how much the community has improved from their earliest settlement. My prejudice and first impression was immediately rectified by my interactions with the leaders, by their friendly gestures and by that evident effort on the part of the Bajaus whose aspiration is for their lives to become better. When the leaders presented their trademark dance, I was captivated by how graceful and sincere they were in dancing. I gladly joined them with the rest of the group. The steppings looked simple, but when I tried to execute them, I couldn’t do them as gracefully as did the Bajaus.

Hearing about the housing project of the Bajaus, I could see a lot of promise in it. I was glad to hear that the design of the project was done by my fellow Architecture schoolmates from the University of San Carlos. Maybe, soon, I can help, too.

One of the Bajau leaders presenting their growing vegetables.


I was very much fascinated by the culture of the Bajaus and how it differs so much from our culture.  That despite the rapid modernization of the world outside their circle, they remain steadfastly immersed in their culture. It is interesting that the average age of marriage is at age 15 or 16 and how the boy has to prove his love by giving dowry to the girl’s family.

The one thing I learned from the Bajaus if that if there’s a will, there’s always a way. I can see in the eyes of the women leaders that determination to live a better life.

In my own way, I hope I’ll find my niche on how I can be of help to them.


The YMX team with the leaders of the Bajau Community.
credits to Ate Faith Villanueva for the photos

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Posted by Janelle Moran
Location: Mambaling, Cebu City, Philippines
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