Relief and School Supplies

During the storms when we couldn't safely go out, one of our main prayers was "Lord, open doors permanently." Another prayer was "Show us how to help in deeper ways... not just surface level."
My conviction is that "disaster relief" ministry should always lead to long term relationships and result in touching the lives of people. My experience in the Philippines and in Indonesia however, is that longevity of ministry which starts with disaster relief, often does not occur. Usually, the resources that are supernatural and precious are scattered all over the place but intentional and consistant placement of resources would yield much greater results.
That door that we prayed about indeed opened. It is near two of our facilities and in a neighborhood with leadership who are open to our help. This means that they are open to us becoming involved in the lives of the people on an on-going basis. We are already experiencing great results from a spiritual as well as a physical perspective.
Sto. Nino is a Barangay of Marikina. A Barangay is a village type of suburb of a city. The city of Marikina is a part of Metro Manila. A Barangay has a governing "Barangay Captain," several Barangay's would then come under the leadership of other Council people who then come under the Mayor, etc.
This flood has revealed much trash. Not only physical but also political. I won't go into too much detail so that I don't cause unnecessary offence to any potential readers of this post, but I will try to explain.
The political leaders who are responsible for Sto. Nino, Marikina are a part of the opposing political party which is in current control of the nation and we are approaching an election time. If your politicians are in favor with the administration, you will receive quick and ample aid. If they are not in favor, if you receive any aid at all, it will be slow and not enough. SAD!!!
This not only affects direct government aid but it also affects the aid which potentially comes from NGO's. The caravan's that we have seen from organizations such as Unicef, the US Military, World Vision and others have been accompanied not only by local security forces but also by political aides. In other words, these organizations are sending relief to the places that the high up politicians want the aid to go. I am sure that the NGO's are aware of this and are not trying to be a part of this kind of thing and it is understandable that they must work with the system for the sake of maximum effectiveness of a large organization. But when we work through the local Church, we don't have to deal so much with the politics and we can simply identify where and how we can best work and just do it. Awesome!
On one additional side note for those of you interested in this background information: One Mayor from another City in Metro Manila cannot get the help he needs to remove trash. One load of trash using official garbage trucks costs the city about $150. Because he is a part of the "opposition", he is having to find this money to clean up his city. Trash left causes more then smell... it causes disease. People will get sick and some will die as a result of these politics.
We have been giving the same kind of relief as otherorganizations. Mostly canned goods, distilled water, noodles and rice. In Sto. Nino, they now have a pretty good supply of all of these things coming in from a variety of sources. But what they are literally crying out for that they are not getting and likely will never get at least from government agencies is school supplies. Schooling is one of the largest expenses that a Filipino family has, not just college, but even grade school and up.
The 14 area schools in Marikina will not re-open for another week or two because they need clean up and they are still being used to house dis-placed families. By the time the schools re-open, the 800 kids from Barangay Sto. Nino will need notebooks, pencils, back-packs, rulers and any other supplies they can get. Many will need uniforms and shoes as well. It just depends if their families clothes were swept away or not. Anything paper was completely ruined where
as clothes can be washed.
We are continuing the flow of food, water and medicine but are wanting to emphasize getting these supplies to these precious kids asap.
We are looking for corporations who will donate or help, one school in San Diego is preparing to conduct a back sale even right now. Even if you cannot personally do much, maybe you work for a company that might be able to provide some assistance.
We have people in place who are working for this relief work to become a Church. A permanent light to this community. I'll be telling you more about that in the coming weeks, months, and yes, years. We want to produce fruit, as the scriptures say, which remains.
Thank you for your prayers, for your help and for your consideration!