The man and his family live in a small home down a walkway from the street. He does not have a welding shop. Instead, he has an empty lot with a canvas tarpaulin over the welding machine. There is also a covered area with a wooden table and grill where, in the evenings, his wife sells vegetables and grilled fish.

He is a nice looking man and his wife is very sweet. They have enough ability in English to communicate well. I left my item and headed over to my friends house to spend some time while the item was being welded.

On my return I had the pleasure to meet is little 10 year old daughter Angelica. This little girl has an extremely good knowledge of the English language and is outgoing and talkative that we sat and talked for about an hour. She is so respectful that she used “Sir” many times in a conversation.

I was so surprised of her use of English I inquired how she is so competent. It turns out her father understands the need for a good education and even though they are in the lower income status, they scrimp and save to keep Angelica in a private school.

Angelica informed me in her school, Immanuel School of Davao, all students have to speak English except in Tagalog/Pilipino class. If they are caught speaking Tagalog or Bisaya any other time, they get a “stick” (demerit) and once they reach ten sticks, they have to pay a one-peso fine.

I also found out there is a small internet café in her neighborhood where she does her research and assignments. To prove she was a little girl at heart, she was shy to tell me she gets in trouble and punished since at times she plays online games at the café.

While talking to her, her inquisitive nature was refreshing. She asked me who my favorite American inventor was and at that moment, all I could think of was Thomas Edison. In her perfect pronunciation she replied “Oh Thomas Alva Edison, he is my favorite since he invented the light bulb.” She then asked me if I know where Marie Curie was from. I told her I was not sure but thought since she was referred to as Madam Curie, I would guess France. She stumped me when she asked me what radiation is.

Later, while talking with her father too, I asked her if she had and profession dreams. She looked to her father and then told me her father said she should become a lawyer since she liked to talk so much. I laughed because the same was told to me when I was a child. I looked at her father, told him that his daughter is very intelligent, and would probably find her way, as she got older. It is best if she found a profession that suited her intelligence and interest. It is best to have a profession that you enjoy and not what others want you to be. Both Angelica and her father smiled and agreed.

This week I needed something else welded and returned to their home. I also brought a box of Pop-Tarts for Angelica. I also went online and printed out a short biography of Marie Curie and a description and definition of radiation.

As soon as I gave them to Angelica, she sat at a table and as she ate, a pop tart for the first time was very engrossed in reading the information. Later as she thanked me, she said of the two gifts, the printed information was the best of all since she could use it for her schooling.

Angelica also informed me, her father only allows her to speak Tagalog or English since those are the only two languages used at her school.

I am so impressed with this little girl and the dedication her parents have for her education. I told them that if Angelica ever needed assistance with studies or computers, they are welcome to call me or visit my home.

I hope this is not an isolated case and there are other families here that put education as a priority in their live over even substance.

Last night I watched the CNN HERO Awards hosted by Anderson Cooper.

The Christmas season reminds us that we need to help and serve as much as possible. The stories that were told touched my heart. They told about common, ordinary people who saw a need, stepped-up, helped others and became extraordinary people. Efren Penaflorida is one of these extraordinary people.

Pushcart educator Efren Peñaflorida took top honors as the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year. He was recognized for bringing education to poor Filipino children through his “pushcart classroom”. He will receive $100,000 as his winning prize and he said that he’ll be using 90% of it to continue his work with the Dynamic Teen Company and the remaining 10% to the church.

Here are the 2009 Top 9 CNN Heroes:

Brad Blauser- He has vowed to try to make life a little easier for these families by organizing the distribution of wheelchairs, donated and paid for by his charity, Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids.
Roy Foster-  Started Stand Down House program provides homeless male vets food, shelter and a safe place to recover, as well as the tools to conquer their personal problems.

Doc Hendley- A Bartender who has traveled to Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Cambodia, working with local communities to build clean water wells and sanitation systems. His program Wine to Water has brought sustainable water systems to 25,000 people in five countries.

Andrea Ivory- Breast cancer survivor Andrea Ivory is bringing early detection to the doorsteps of uninsured women. With mobile mammography vans, her group has provided more than 500 free screenings in Miami, Florida.


Betty Makoni- Zimbabwe native who founded the Girl Child Network that creates safe spaces for girls to grow and connect with each other. Betty uses advocacy campaigns, media projects, and works with community leaders to raise awareness and change attitudes at community and national levels.

Jorge Munoz- Founded the nonprofit, An Angel in Queens which provide much needed meals through his mobile food to homeless in Queens, New York.

Budi Soehardi- A former pilot living in Singapore, and his wife, Peggy, run an orphanage looking after 47 children. They give a home and more importantly a family to abandoned children and those orphaned by the East Timor conflicts.

Derrick Tabb- Snare drummer for the Rebirth Brass Band and founder of the after-school Roots of Music band program for New Orleans middle-schoolers. His music education program provides free tutoring, instruments and music instruction to more than 100 students.

Jordan Thomas- From Chattanooga, Tennessee who started a foundation after he lost both feet in a boating accident and turned it into a great foundation to help other children receive the prosthetics that they need and can’t afford.

As Annie and I travel about the city and go about our lives here, we look for ways to make a difference. We had a special honor this year. When we came here in November, we carried money donated by a Church in Ohio, to help build a Church on Samal Island.

It all started after a Church Mission trip in 2006. My wife Annie could not believe it when a lady from Central Ohio Southern Baptist announced a women’s mission trip going to Davao, Philippines. “That’s my home!” she told me. “Can I go?” I told her, “Of course you will go!”, and the planning began. Soon, she and six other ladies from central Ohio were headed to Davao to work with the Pastors wives while staying in their homes on Samal Island.

Needless to say, friendships were forged and bonds were created.

In 2009, Annie and I had made a decision to move to Davao. Out of the blue, we received a letter from a Pastor on Samal who wanted to build a new Church building. We were doubtful at first. We had never taken on anything like this and did not know where to start, so, we contacted some of the other ladies from the mission group and a local Pastor from our home town and they said, “Let’s do it!”

Well, we raised some money and after we arrived here, in November, we called the Pastor’s wife and met to present her with the money. She was so pleased and immediately returned to Samal to order supplies to finish building the Church.

Next week, we will attend services in their new building (nearly finished) and take pictures to show our friends, who raised the money for this project. We are very excited to see the new building and meet the rest of the congregation. We are humbled by those who work so hard to reach their dreams.
What a wonderful world we live in and how blessed we are to live in these times. Hope and love for our fellow man is indeed alive.

After receiving his award, Efren Peñaflorida said this;
“Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry, each person has a hidden hero within; you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.

“So to each and every person inside in this theater and for those who are watching at home, the hero in you is waiting to be unleashed. Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve. As I always tell to my co-volunteers … you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be.”

I agree, “We are the change that this world needs to be”.

I started to write this article after reading Bruce’s article about having a Christmas party for the kids at Agdao Public Market. I re-wrote it after seeing Efren Peñaflorida’s story last night. It’s the simple things we do that mean so much, to those we help.

I hope each of you will step-out on faith and step-up to the challenges you see all around you and become someone’s Hero.

Steve in Davao

Well, through the Expat group, Friends of Mindanao I learned of and visited a wonderful and different concept for a well needed charity. This is Balay Sa Adunay Pangandoy or Home of Those who have Ambition.

There is a man, Dennis T. Mabayao who as a seminarian worked doing ministry work at the Davao City Jail and Rehabilitation Center. There he had an opportunity to meet many young boys who, for different reasons were in custody at this facility. Because of poverty and peer pressure, these boys were arrested and incarcerated for crimes, including stealing, drugs or even gang murder.

Dennis realized these boys, once their sentence ended would have no decent life. The pressures that drove them into a young life of crime would be even worse since they now have a criminal record. With this realization, Dennis had a dream that he put into action. With the help of a church organizations support at first, on November 3, 2004 he opened the home. They started with about 14 teen-aged boys, which is the capacity of their location. They were given the land and built a home for the boys.

These boys live in the home, go to local schools for their education and at the home receive spiritual and life skills training. The boys have strict rules of their schooling, studies, and chores at the home. They know if they break these rules, they will be asked to leave the home. Dennis is a kind and loving man but is strict to keep the boys on a straight road to a better life. Dennis had a radio show and an herbal supplement business, but gave this up to be able to have the time needed to run the home. With giving his life to the home and the boys, he expects the best in return.

Presently there are eight boys staying at the home. Two are college students, five high school students and one elementary pupil. They hope they can accept more boys in the future but now their financial resources are limited. The home can accommodate a maximum of 14 boys.

The emphasis of the home is on education and formation. They constantly monitor the boys to make sure that they attend their classes and do their assignments. At the home, the boys must be present for morning and evening prayer and do their scheduled assignments, such as cooking, cleaning, washing and caring for the pets and plants. This all helps to instill a sense of order and discipline to their character.

They regularly conduct group and individual counseling, life skills training lectures, school, and home visitation to observe their performance. They try their best to balance the programs and services so that they can achieve their objectives as stated in their manual of operation: “To provide education, to provide spiritual and human formation and to provide life skills training programs.”

These boys, without the home and the education would probably continue their life of crime, since they will be back in the “unwanted” part of the population. Many street boys who live a life of crime lose their lives due to gang turf wars or vigilante killings.

At the home, to earn income they thought of raising pigs but the location prohibited this type of business. They then tried growing vegetables for sale, but that was not a profitable enterprise. They now have large holding ponds breeding tropical fish and cages for the breeding of parakeets and lovebird pet store distributors. They also have a selection of plants and clay pots for sale, which were donated to the home.
Dennis and his dream are wonderful. Most people look at the cute little faces of the young children and their hearts go out to them, but the older children are ignored and forgotten. With the poverty, broken homes, many older boys end up in crime and then forgotten. Dennis is a man with a dream he turned into reality. He took these boys and gave them a chance to get their education and self-esteem back so they can become productive citizens with a future. However, this dream comes with a price. The support of the home and the feeding and schooling of these boys need the help of others to keep this dream alive.

If you would like to help, use the PayPal donation button on my site. Just leave a comment on the donation that your donation is for Dennis and his dream and the money will be forwarded to him.

alay Sa Adunay Pangandoy or Home of those who have ambition, registered in the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission as Non Stock, Nonprofit organization with SEC Reg. NO. CN 200827995

Please help Dennis continue his dream and give these and future boys a chance in life. Let us make these “forgotten” boys have something they will never forget, that there are people who care. Let us also give them a Christmas they never thought they could have and a future life with Dennis.

Help Dennis and Donate to his Dream

Hi, my name is Steve and I have recently arrived here in Davao, from the United States. I’m a retired firefighter and farmer from the beautiful farm fields of Ohio. Six years ago, a beautiful Filipina changed my life. Ten months later we had a pretty little girl and life was wonderful.  About three years later a sudden illness and a pacemaker/defibrillator changed my life again, and now I’m retired. So, we decided to come to the Philippines and raise our daughter in my wife’s culture. My lovely wife will also go back to college and obtain her advanced degree. She is a product of the Davao public schools and she’s very well educated. She has a Bachelors degree from The University of Mindanao that is fully recognized in the U.S.A. We both like the schools and the morality of the Filipino people.

So, we started looking for a preschool for my five year old daughter and found Ateneo de Davao elementary school.  OK, just go register her and start school, right! Not so fast, first there is an entry test to take; she was tested for Level II preschool (her age group). I suddenly found myself worried about my little girl’s first test.

I was much more nervous about the test, than was my daughter. Next were questions for the parents to answer (why Ateneo? …What are your expectations of Ateneo? …Do you attend Church?… What Church?… and such…) Questions that I did not expect, but they do make sense coming from a Christian school. Then came the fees, (reasonably small fees when compared to the states, so I’m not complaining) lots of fees, at different steps of registration and on different days. I found myself falling into the trap, “in the states, we do it better”. Well that’s an easy trap to fall into. We may do it different in the states, but who’s to say its better?

Next came uniforms, backpacks and books; all provided by the school or thru school resources. (ie… books, pencils and learning materials from the school, uniforms from the mall, necktie from the school canteen ..Etc..). Suddenly we were ready for the final step, my baby’s.. err.. ah.. my BIG girls first day at school (she doesn’t like to be called baby anymore, catch-on Dad)! I was more apprehensive, than excited. “What am I thinking; I’m sending my precious little girl off to school in a foreign country and into the care of people I didn’t necessarily know or trust.”  “What am I thinking?”

“This isn’t Ohio or the states or anything I understood”. “How could I entrust my baby with all these strangers?” As my wife put it, “relax Dad!”

Ateneo is a private Christian (Jesuit/Catholic) school with tight security and very high standards for Teachers and Staff. That translates to a safe campus, a great school environment and high expectations. My daughter was doing very well at her preschool back in Ohio. But, here we were, registering in the middle of the school year, which meant she was actually a little behind. The schools here start teaching kids to read in preschool, so my daughter was behind her class.

I must say that I am very impressed with her teacher, Mrs. Annie. She immediately evaluated my daughter’s skill level and suggested homework ideas and started tutoring her. With tutoring and a little help from me, on homework assignments, she’s catching up nicely and should progress to Level III next year. My daughter is very outgoing and adjusted very quickly. She had a few bouts of “I miss my old school and classmates!” a few tears and nostalgia for her home in Ohio, but all-in-all she’s adjusted just fine.

The Teachers and staff at Ateneo have been wonderful. All classes are taught in English, but my daughter is being exposed to the native language as kids still use their home language at play. The school will teach the Filipino language (Tagalog) in later grades. I want her to be multi- lingual. That’s something that I don’t believe we, as Americans, put enough emphasis on. We have borders with French speaking Canada and Spanish speaking Mexico and yet we do not push enough for languages in our schools. The Philippine people speak English and their native tongues as a minimum. They understand the need to talk the languages of the world. You don’t have to go far to hear French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Hangul (Korean), Arabic, German and I’ve even heard Flemish spoken here.

My wife rides with our daughter on her school bus (another expense) and stays in a special area reserved for caretakers or nanny’s (called Yayas). This is a very common practice; sitting outside the school waiting for the children to complete their school day. My daughter attends half day classes now, but I think she will go full time next year. That should mean no more sitting and waiting outside her school.

Do I worry? Of course I worry. I worry about her safety, her hygiene, her diet, her friends and …well you get my drift…I worry, I’m her Dad. I also know that I’d worry the same worries anywhere in the world, including back home in the states. It’s our plight as fathers to worry about our children.
I have very limited knowledge of public schools here in Davao. My wife has told me about her life growing up in Bocana Elementary school, Davao High School and the University of Mindanao and I will try to relay those stories for you.

First of all, as I said before, my wife is a product of public schools here. She is well spoken, in English, and had no problem in college classes or working in hospitals in the states.
I personally believe the schools here do a great job educating. My wife tells me about having classes sitting under a tree outside the school, because there were not enough classrooms or chairs. She said she loved rainy days, as that meant no school. I have been to a few of the schools and have driven past others and I have to say the facilities are poor, at best. I also realize that I am seeing them from an American point-of-view and I don’t always “get-it” here. My wife tells me some of the schools are quite nice, but I just don’t see it. That old “in the states, we do it better” trap, again.

Public schools do have a required miscellaneous fee. It’s a small amount, but if you don’t have it, you don’t have it, and your kids don’t attend school. It’s a very different philosophy over here. In the states, your kids attend school or child services visits you to know why. It’s often a challenge here just to meet the miscellaneous fee, the book fees, PTA fees (required here), uniform costs… etc.

Most all schools require a uniform of some type. I was driving past a school near my home this week and saw several kids in uniform, but one or two were barefooted. When I pointed this out to my wife, she told me the kids could not afford shoes and went to school without them. I looked the kids over closely and could see that the uniforms, they wore, were old and faded, but clean; so, Mom and Dad were trying. Shoes were just more that they could afford. The kids were smiling and seemed happy with their friends, but it did bother me that my daughter had it so well and these kids did not. Since then, my wife and I have purchased extra slippers and keep our eyes open. If we see those kids again, we will offer shoes to them. We hope they will accept them.

Education is important and kids cannot learn on an empty stomach. I wonder how many of these kids go to school hungry. Meals before school are no problems for most of us, but I wonder if I can do more, so I give what I can to charities that feed kids.

Just as my parents did, I live to make my daughter’s life better. Paying for the best education I can afford is extremely important to me. Private schools here are much more affordable than in the states. My education dollars (Pesos) go much farther here. That’s part of the reason we came to Davao to live. My wife and daughter can both attend the best schools available.

Please understand that I have no insight into the Philippine education system, because I don’t! I am only an expat parent with a kid in school, like millions of parents here; I just want the best for my child. I invite your insight into the education of our children and would be interested in your view. Please feel free to comment.

I hope you enjoyed the read.

Family dynamics are so different. In America you have your immediate family, mother, father, brother and or sisters. Sometimes your close with them and sometimes you just exist in the same house while growing up.  Then you become an adult, move away and develop your own life. Aunts, uncles and cousins you hardly see except for yearly family get together. You might get a birthday card or now a day’s an email.  If you move away to a new city or state, you might just see them on holidays, weddings or funerals. If you go to visit them they might have a guest room, or else they book you in a local hotel.

Here it is the extended family. There is close contact with immediate family.  An older sibling is a Kuya or Ate. They get the respect from all the siblings younger than them. No matter what they do, or how they spend their life, they get the respect and the name.

There are always texts, phone calls or visits from Aunts, Uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. IF they live in another city, they will come and stay for a few days. It is not a problem if there are not enough beds. They will sleep on the couches, or padding on the floor. They will usually bring fruits or other items available from their local area.Usually they help with the household chores.

In America, if you need to go to college, either your parents cover the cost or you get a student loan. If you have older siblings already out of school and having their own life, they would not consider offering you assistance. It just does not happen.

Here in the Philippines the family works hard to send their oldest child to college. If the parents cannot afford the total cost, then the extended family is asked to help. Once the child graduates and hopefully gets a job, it is their duty to help support the next child in line to go to school. And on and one until they all have attended school.

Life here is tough for a Filipino family. Even with a decent job, housing and normal costs of living takes a big bite out of the monthly salary. So to have an event like a wedding or baptism it takes time planning and saving.

That now brings up another difference. In the States, you try to take part of every paycheck to put into savings. If you’re lucky and have your paycheck direct deposited, you can have a part directly deposited into a savings. Also if you’re working, you probably have a credit card. Even with the interest, you can use it for important needs.

Here the attitude of many Filipinos is spend it when you have it and when it is gone, wait until you get more. Payday is the day they go shopping and if your young, a night out on the town. Meet your friends, listen to music and have a few drinks. Also go out and buy that new shirt or shoes.

Maybe you will want a motorcycle or a laptop computer. Save for it? Nope. You find a store with a low payment schedule. To use an old American saying, money burns holes in your pocket. You have it, spend it.

If you’re lucky to get a credit card here as a Filipino, the interest charge is insane.  Here there is only a 15 day grace period to pay the charge without interest and the interest is around 40% yearly.

Here, because of the high cost of living, I know of Filipino families who wait to have their child baptized for many months to save up for the costs and party. It might be a simple meal for guests in their home, but that savings can take many months. They need the cost of the chapel, the Priest, and food and beverage.

Even with the low wages and high unemployment, most Filipinos are friendly and still will find a smile to a friendly face.

I do need to say, and I want to make it clear, what I write is from personal experiences and views. I try to talk to Filipinos to confirm or clarify my observations.  You cannot say “ALL” of anything or any type of person. There are differences in all cultures and countries. Attitudes and feelings can be different, just like many Filipinos think all foreigners are rich. Some of us are just getting by. There are also some foreigners living in basic conditions with simple needs.

I do not know if there are so many people that go to college here to be nurses because of the inherent kindness of Filipinos or because there are many opportunities to work abroad.

The other day I heard on CNN news that the demand for nurses is increasing because of the increasing “Baby Boomers” getting old and the need for nursing care. U.S. President Obama mentioned in a speech about all the nurses being hired from Asia, but also mentioned that without the increase of American nurses, there will be a need to hire abroad.

There are hundreds of thousands of Nursing Graduates every year in the Philippines. After graduation, most go to a review school to study for their licensing Boards. Of course there is a fee for this school. After they pass their boards then need to locate employment. Most if not all the hospitals then charge the applicants for training at their facility.

The next step, if they want to work abroad they need to take an international licensing test “NCLEX.”

In the past a nurse had to get 2 years experience here before they can look for work abroad. My niece told me that have been reduced to 6 months.

Most families live cautiously so they can put their children through college. While in college here there are many expenses too. Most are normal costs such as transportation, housing if the family lives too far from the school, books, food, uniforms. Then they charge the students for supplies, gifts and meals for instructors and other hidden costs. This can put the families in a difficult position.  Many families have many children. They put the first through schooling and once they graduate and start working, this extra income is expected to be used to put the next child through school. I hear many times from young people that they stopped schooling because the family could not afford for them to continue.

Also in the Philippines, with so many in college graduates, even basic jobs will only be giving to graduates. Waitresses in hotels are filled by HRM graduates (Hotel and Restaurant  Management).  Draftsmen in Architectural and Engineering firms are mostly all Architect and Engineering graduates and some all ready licensed, and working for minimum wages.

A big problem here in the Philippines is the exploitation of Nurses and others seeking employment and that is “Pay for Training”. Applicants go to a hospital to get a job as a nurse and if accepted, they must pay the hospital for 3 to 6 months for their training. After that time they are not even guaranteed a permanent job.

There is a bill in Congress to make it illegal for hospitals to charge this training fee. I was told from a friend, Speaker Nograles is working hard to have this law passed. It is nice to hear about the government working hard to improve the life of its citizens. They deserve it.

Looking at that article and searching for others, I was more informed about the needs and hiring of Math, Science and Special Education Teachers.

In one article it mentioned a lot of the teachers are for Inner City and also remote locations usually not desirable to American Teachers.

I remember when I was a Field Engineer for a P.C. and Apple Computer networking company I was sent to Window Rock, Arizona, which is the Capitol for the Navajo Nation. The area was beautiful and just what you would dream of if you think of getting on a horse and riding the desert plans. When I mentioned it to the head of IT for the school district and joked about him hiring me as his assistant he told me I would not be accepted as a non Native American. The non Native Americans there were the teachers and they were hired as contract personnel since they were needed.

Also, as in the article from the LA Times, it mentioned the trouble the Filipino Teacher had with the uncontrolled Inner City students.

Here in the Philippines, most children are respectful of elders and would not fight in class or disrespect a teacher. One child I spoke to told me if a child was loud or uncontrolled, the other students would control him before the teacher had to step in.

That got me to thinking of the stories and memories from schools in America. I remember entering a school in New York City and had to go through a metal detector, which all students and teachers must use, to enter the school. Then I was patted down and my tool case inspected.

At a school in Compton California, you could only enter the campus through the school office because all gates were locked during school hours. Then walking through campus I see 2 Police Officers walking ahead of me. I noticed their utility belts with nightstick, Mace Can and Gun. I thought there must have been trouble or the 2 Officers were there for a presentation until I got closer and noticed their shoulder patch “Compton Unified School District Police.” I guess I was naive and never realized crime has reached a level where school districts had their own Police Force.

When I was a kid, the biggest fear was the Principal calling your parents in for a meeting, detention after school or at one school, being called into the Vice Principals office and feeling one of his paddles on your butt. Later, in the computer lab, one kid looked at me, and called to the teacher, “This guy is wearing a pager.” I did not realize, since drug dealers used pagers to get orders, or the payphone number to call, they were not allowed in schools.

I then thought about these Filipino Teachers, so new, so excited, walking into a class the first time and seeing these out spoken, wild, non respectful kids and wondering what they have gotten themselves in for.

The difference in schools and students from the Philippines to Inner City America is like going from a quiet movie theater into a high security prison.

All I can say to these teachers is Thank you, you are really needed.