Breakfast on the Steet, Manila - Jan. 2005

A few hours earlier when I walked by and saw Rosa sleeping here on the black wood plank she’s taking her breakfast on - I stopped & went back to the 7-11 and bought her some fresh butter-bread while was still sleeping, and I put it inside the brown paper bag you see in the lower left corner in the photo - so she would see it when she awoke & would have something to eat.

In January 2005 Rosa was geting one meal a day from her auntie who cooked what you see her eating here - she was eating whatever she could early in the day because she was not getting any lunches or dinners.

This is when I began taking her & Edison to lunch & dinner for the time I was in town - I just couldn’t deal with how thin she was getting, dispite her smiling & all the playing she was doing on the street (Rosa always smiles & never ever complains about anything)

Later in 2005 through the generosity of a few friends of mine here in the USA and a few friends who saw my images of Rosa on my pbase.com Photography Galleries, I was able to begin buying 50kg sacks of RICE for Rosa's Family, and I'll always remember the look on her Grandfather Willie's face when I returned with a 110lb/50kg sack of RICE on a handtruck for the first time...I whispered in his ear "...this is from my Family & friends, to YOUR Family...Merry Christmas"

Willie's eyes started to fill up, and he began to cry - he said to me "Thank you...Thank You so much..."
...my own eyes began to fill up; I couldn't hold it in anymore....I smiled at Willie & left quickly, as I didn't want to lose my composure right then & there on the street.

That was the first time I'd been able to buy that much RICE for anyone, and right then & there I knew two things:
1. This was the right thing to do for those Families I knew, who were in need of food.
2. I needed to continue to do this.

PJAMES