Main Entry: pov·er·ty
Pronunciation: ˈpä-vər-tē
1: the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable
amount of money or material possessions.
Main Entry: im·pov·er·ish
Pronunciation: im-päv-rish, -pä-və-
1 : to make poor
2 : to deprive of strength, richness, or fertility by depleting
or draining of something essential
This month my team is providing a
nutritional meal to impoverished areas around Manila. We go out twice a day to a different location and feed the
children. We also spend some time
playing with them and building relationships.
The areas were we go are shanties. The people are considered squatters,
since they do not own the land and have not received permission to build on the
land. If a landowner wants to keep
squatters from building, he must hire a guard to keep watch over the land
because the law states that once a squatter has built on land the landowner
cannot legally remove them. It is
a horrible law because it feeds into the cycle of poverty, allowing ramshackle
dwellings to pop up all over the city.
The Catholic Church also has a part in
the cycle of poverty here in the Philippines. Approximately 85% of Filipino’s consider themselves
Catholic, even if they don’t go to mass.
The Catholic Church here teaches against birth control. Therefore, these impoverished
communities continue to multiply as women start having babies at an extremely
young age, some as young as 11 or 12 years old.
I’m changed by what I’ve seen
here. I have a new heart for the
poor and a desire to pray for them and a passion to do something/anything to
help raise them out of the cycle. I
pray that after you watch this video you will join me in finding a way to end
this vicious cycle.
