COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE IN MANILA 9.20.14

The community of Baseco in Manila, Philippines is one of the most depressed in the city. Residents live in makeshift houses, and children run around barefoot and dirty, the trash of the city as their playground.

Make a Difference, through Larry Guilford, has adopted Baseco as one of the foundation’s beneficiaries. A twice-monthly activity, held through the assistance of Reach Kids Volunteers, is the feeding of 100 or so children. Fare is simple, but nutritionally complete: rice, vegetables, meat with juice and dessert.

PROJECT WATER (PATUBIG SA BASECO)

The foundation also assisted in providing water connection to at least five families in Baseco. Prior to the grant, they all bought the water they needed from neighbors, from drinking water to the water they used for washing and bathing.

With the Patubig sa Baseco project, which only entailed paying for the water connection, the five families no longer needed to spend so much for water. They take care of the monthly bill which is only a fraction of what they used to pay before.

PROJECT CLEAN-UP

Another project was a clean-up conducted one day when Larry visited and found the community road almost impassable because of mud. Larry bought shovels and distributed it to some residents. The rest of the community showed up, both kids and adults, to help in the clean-up. Kids picked up pieces of garbage and dumped it into a pile. Adults dug into the mountains of sand and stones scattered in the area and used the soil to cover the mud holes in front of the Baseco Outreach Feeding venue.

On that particular day, everybody pitched in and helped one another clear their area of mud and garbage. They ended up having a bigger road with more space for kids to roam around in and play. By helping each other, the community made a difference in their lives.