About PC | The Theme | Lenten Stories | Materials | Fun Fundraising | Multimedia | In Your Community | Donate

Lenten Stories: Week 1

To download and save PDF kits containing the Lenten stories - right-click on the links on the right and select "Save Target As ...

Building a self-reliant community in the Philippines

Bagong Silangan, a relocation area for squatter families, sits on the edge of a festering garbage dump in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines. A desperately poor area, home to more than 500 families who have moved from across the country seeking a better life, Psyche Mae Asencio, 16, and her parents, sister and three brothers, call this place home.

View an online movie (3Mb WMV) and watch the story of hope in Psyche Mae’s community in Manila. Or see more scenes from the Philippines in the photo gallery.

In July 2004, a Caritas Australia supported project brought hope to this young girl through an urban renewal program run by the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ). “Before we received support, life was a constant struggle to buy food for our family,” she said. Her parents made an income collecting scrap materials from the garbage dump which they used to sell at the local market. When school fees needed to be paid or someone got sick, they had to borrow from moneylenders at very high rates of interest.

The aim of the Caritas-supported program is to provide women and youth with training to enable them to learn new practical skills to improve their lives and help them to become self-reliant. The majority of men in the village have basic construction work in nearby city areas. Before the program began women in the community stayed in their makeshift houses, waiting for their husbands to return. They lacked the confidence in a new settlement to interact with each other and the skills to contribute to household income.

Since the project began many benefits have been enjoyed by the community. Women from the community now attend regular group activities where they can make friends and gain confidence from participating in a range of classes including non-formal adult education, art, English and volleyball. A savings and credit group has been established and members now run a small shop in the community. Members also participate in income generating activities such as baking, making cards (using natural materials) and bags using skills learnt in art classes.

Psyche Mae and her siblings help their mother each night to make bags which she sells to help pay for the families staple diet of rice, dry fish and basic vegetables and the daily cost of the bus that transports Psyche Mae and her brother to school. Since joining the savings program Psyche Mae’s mother, Christina, 37, puts aside a small amount of money each week and has already taken out and repaid two low interest loans. The first loan was taken out in June 2005 for 2000 peso ($51.20) to buy materials to make school uniforms which she sold at market and made a profit of 3000 peso ($76.80). The second loan was taken out in November 2006 for 5000 peso ($128) for much needed house repairs.

The program has greatly improved the quality of life for every family involved. Increased social interaction between women and young people in the community has resulted in more trust and community support. In addition, women now have the skills and opportunities to contribute to household income, further boosting their community standing. Psyche Mae is happy that her family are able to send her to a good school now that they are earning extra income from making and selling bags. Her family and the community now have a better future thanks to your support and the work of Caritas Australia.

Psyche Mae has three brothers, Franklin Junior, 14, Glaenmark, 9, Cyril, 5 months and one sister, Faith Christine Joy, 2. Her father Franklin, 42, is a construction worker who now has the security of knowing that his family’s basic needs can be met during the rainy season when less work is available. Psyche Mae, formerly a member of the program’s youth group, is now a regular user of the computer room. Her brother Glaenmark attends computer tutorials and Franklin Junior is a member of the centre’s Youth Group.

Additional fact sheet: Read about other key issues in our Philippines project (120Kb PDF)

Your support
Your donation to Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion will allow communities like Psyche Mae’s to become self-reliant and look forward to a more productive future.