Little Oliver

April 27, 2003: Manila

I met Little Oliver on my first trip to Manila, on one of my daily walks on Roxas Blvd. - his Family used to run a small sidewalk stand selling cigarettes, candy & soft drinks, but they moved in 2004 so I never saw him again.

This image is one of my favorites from that trip, he loved having his picture taken, and I enjoyed sitting & chatting with his brothers, sisters, cousins & Aunts during my first 3 weeks there.

Oliver's family was also homeless & sleeping in a jeep parked in a secluded area of the Naval Station parking area, but they always greeted me daily with hi-5's and smiles; I'd always buy my bottled ice water from their coolers for a cool drink in the 90 degree heat & humidity.

Later that month the Family there told me they needed help with their capitol to buy more stock for the sidewalk stand; the supplies were very low - and I loaned them P2,750 (about $50.00/USD) not really thinking they'd be able to pay it back (turns out they couldn't)...and I never did try to collect, they were just too poor.

Oliver always loved scanning the LCD on the Olympus E10 SLR to see his images, but I never got to give him a print in 2003/04/05/06 - no one around there seems to know where they moved to.

PJAMES