“Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than this.”
– Mark 12:31
For the first time since the pandemic, the hearts of CFC ANCOP Canada were once again set ablaze to serve and go out on mission in the Philippines.
About 30+ Filipino Canadians traveled to Metro Manila, Philippines, for an immersion.
Their itinerary aimed to help everyone enjoy and learn from volunteer work and being with the needy.
Gathered from different Catholic schools in Canada, most of the teenagers were of Filipino descent.
Seeing hope through the children’s eyes
The first stop in Tondo was Smokey Mountain where they witnessed the state of poor Filipinos living in the slums.
Mr. Michael Consul, one of the team leaders of the CFC ANCOP Canada delegation, led the students in facilitating different games, interactive dances, and sing-alongs.
The group also distributed pre-loved clothes, toys, toiletries, and school supplies to the children of the Parish of the Risen Christ, a church at the foot of the mountain.
One child exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, Pasko na?!” (Wow, is it Christmas already?!)
As the saying goes, ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,’ our things might seem worthless to us, but these can be truly priceless in someone else’s eyes.
It was heartwarming to see dresses the students had outgrown in the hands of little girls who finally had Sunday dresses.
‘Life within the walls’
Smokey Mountain used to be a landfill way back in 1995 and was soon closed as a dump site.
Since then, the government has provided multi-occupancy housing programs for the local families in tenement buildings.
The group went around the dark and depressing buildings and saw the malnourished cats and scruffy dogs find solace in a corner by the steep staircase.
The students were curious about everything and eager to meet people.
They even played basketball with the locals, cheering “Canada!” and “Philippines” back and forth.
The next day, we went to the other side of the wall.
We drove to one of Makati’s premier business districts—Greenbelt.
Surrounded by skyscrapers, buildings, and men and women in well-tailored suits, we could see the divide between the classes: the rich and the poor.
Everything looked so different from yesterday’s scene.
The trees swayed with the breeze; expensive perfume was in the air; we could hear the sound of distant laughter and conversation from several fancy al-fresco coffee shops.
Even the traffic lights spoke when it was time to cross the road.
After the trip around Makati and BGC, the students paid a visit to our fallen war heroes at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.
Several of the teens were visibly moved to learn about the sacrifices of the soldiers who stood and fought for Filipinos’ freedom.
It was a solemn resting place for the soldiers, which is helping preserve history and safeguard their legacy.
Last on their itinerary was one of the ANCOP sites in Caloocan.
The students prepared games and activities for the children, who were all so excited to interact with their new ates and kuyas.
I believe a good way to see the purpose of the first part of their immersive trips in Metro Manila is that it helped them differentiate the culture and practices between the two areas, before going south to Mindanao for the second part of their immersion.
‘Faith without work is dead‘
In the eyes of the Lord, classes and the hierarchy of social levels do not exist.
As the first commandment tells us to love God above all, we, as His dearly beloved children, should do more than just pray for one another.
Even Jesus Himself was born in a humble manger in Bethlehem and grew up helping His father Joseph.
During His time on earth, our Lord ate with tax collectors and sinners and chose fishermen as His disciples.
Jesus lived a full life helping the poor and loving people from all sorts of backgrounds.
One of the kuyas of the Canadian delegation leads an activity with the kids. (Photo: Iñigo Buenaventura)
One of our models of putting faith into action is our Pope Francis, a champion of the poor who continually advocates alleviating poverty and fighting for social justice.
He encourages Christians to help the poor and follow in Jesus’ steps by washing the feetof migrants and prisoners.
ANCOP launches immersion programs every year, visiting different parts of the Philippines.
Through this immersion, CFC ANCOP Canada shows us how we can truly care for and love our needy brethren more.
No matter how high the walls are between the different classes, through our actions driven by our unwavering faith, we can tear them down and move mountains.
