Rosa & Edison: Manila - Nov.2005

When I arrived in Manila in late November 2005, I was so happy to find the kids finally off the street, Rosa & Edison’s Family are living in an abandoned building in Metro Manila - no water or electricity, but at the very least it’s some shelter.

The Family’s very close, and very loving - they’re all together and that’s the most important thing now….I stop by daily, and Rosa’s Auntie always invites me inside for whatever meal is handy; the soup she makes is positively delicious.

On December 3, 2005 the SEAsian Games were in town, and the Philippine National Baseball team was playing Thailand at Rizal Stadium, so I stopped by and asked Rosa’s auntie if I could take the kids to the game with me - they got ready & as we were leaving the dark building, my slipper got caught on a step & I fell like a ton of bricks, breaking my ankle.

I was on the ground for 5 minutes before I could get up, and my ankle was numb - but we grabbed a taxi & went to the game, I wasn’t going to disappoint them.

In the 7th inning, I got up to go to the bathroom and couldn’t walk; my ankle was swollen & starting to really hurt - but we stayed for the whole game, and I limped back to the hotel & picked up a cane later that day - I’d be using it for the next 4 weeks.

Even with the cane, I never missed a day going to the 7-11 to get the kids their milk & bread, and still took them everyday to get BBQ lunches & dinners - but I still had to locate a rice vendor nearby - I had a big shopping list to fufil.

PJAMES