On The Recieving End

It is always exciting for us to be able to help people in need by sending them tools and equipment that they can use to better their lives and to assist others. It has been even more exciting to spend a few days in the Philippines, "on the receiving end", and meeting with the people who have been the beneficiaries of that aid.

Yesterday we visited the Procare School for children with disabilities and saw first hand the teachers and children using the toys, books, computers and mobility aids that we had provided for them.

books at Procare 'special school'

Today we went to Nehemiah House, a residential home for girls rescued from prostitution, and again met with both the staff and the girls (age 7-18) who live there. They were so pleased to show us the things that we had shipped out to them last November being put to good use in rebuilding young lives.

sewing machine in use at Nehemiah House

But the most exciting thing of all was for us to be here in the Philippines when the wheelchairs that we had packed up and shipped a few weeks ago (see the blog post entitled "Speedy Wheelchairs") were delivered to the place where we were staying. One chair will be taken to Procare in the next few days and the other is for a little boy crippled by polio. We had also packed a load of children's clothing in with the wheelchairs by way of padding.

Some garments were immediately taken to a very poor family living a bit further up the street. Within an hour we saw the 9 year old daughter skipping down the road in her new dress. This evening we handed over another big bag of clothes to a church who are undertaking a medical mission in some tribal areas in the mountains tomorrow.