'Open palm' brings culture of giving to slums

Updated 01:45am (Mla time) Oct 10, 2004

By Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
Inquirer News Service

Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the Oct. 10, 2004 issue of the
Philippine Daily Inquirer

AFTER listening to Bukas Palad's presentation of "How People with No Homes

Become a Vibrant Community,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Ann
Corkerey remarked: “The secretary of the US Housing and Urban
Development should have been here to learn from this experience."

This was at the 12th UN Commission on Sustainable Development in New

York last April.

Bukas Palad (Filipino for open palm) has come a long way, from its
proponents' bewilderment on where to start 20 years ago to their present
amazement at how work among the poor has grown by leaps and bounds
and improved the quality of life of
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thousands. Not just in the realm of
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the material but also in the spiritual. Write the editor
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Bukas Palad's more than 20
programs and services have quietly
penetrated the dark alleys of the
urban landscape and changed them
into bright places infused with hope.

In Pasay City and Parañaque City

alone, more than 50,000 people
have been reached. This is because
of the Focolare Movement's

so-called "economy of sharing” and

people's generosity and zeal. Bukas
Palad has now expanded to San
Fernando City, La Union, and Davao
City.
Bukas Palad, is "one of the social expressions” of the New Humanity section
of the Focolare Movement in the Philippines.

The catchphrase derives from Jesus Christ’s words, "Freely you have
received, freely you give.”

The Focolare is an "ecclesial movement within the Catholic Church” founded

by Italian lay leader Chiara Lubich, now 84, in 1943 when the world was at
war.

The Focolare aims to fulfill the last testament of Jesus, "May they all be
one.” Unity is its reason for being. Focolare is the Italian word for hearth or
fireside. There are about four million Focolare members worldwide,
consisting of both lay, religious and members of the clergy.

When Lubich visited the Philippines in 1982, she was appalled by the poverty
she saw in some parts of the metropolis. To the Focolare members, she
spoke about "dying for your own people.”

"The desire was there but nobody knew how,” recalls BP vice chair Lilia
Tantoco. Then in 1983, someone did die. Former Senator Benigno "Ninoy”
Aquino Jr. was assassinated upon his arrival from US exile.

The groundswell of protest was a signal for things to change. Drawing from
the fire that had been lit and from their own "fireside,” the Focolare decided
to do something very concrete for the suffering masses.

The chosen place was Tramo area in Pasay City where gangs and "indian
pana” (darts) ruled at that time and many homes were so cramped family
members took turns sleeping.

The first activity was a rummage sale for the poor. Focolare members dug
into their closets. They netted a mere P2,500 but there was no stopping the
energy and desire to break into people's hearts.

Volunteers

BP president Edna Villaraza recalls: "The people were on guard. They

thought they might be used. But they came for the free clinic. So many had
tuberculosis.”

Someone soon offered a rundown warehouse to serve as a center.

Volunteers took turns in sprucing up the place. Medical practitioners offered
their services free. It was not unusual to see rich people cleaning toilets or
doing carpentry work for the poor.

Once, when a very ill patient needed to be rushed to the hospital and there
was no vehicle around, a Good Samaritan sent a chauffeured Mercedes
Benz.

The poor were not outdone in industry and, slowly, they started to feel they
belonged. Someone described the unceasing work as "a contest in loving.”

From birth to death

But the ills of the body were not BP's sole concern. There had to be a holistic
approach in dealing with urban decay and lifting the community from its
deplorable state.

"From birth to death.” "Service to life.” These were the catchphrases for BP's
expansion.

Fast forward to 1990. The old warehouse had outlived its purpose. BP
bought a piece of land from the government and a five-story building began
to rise at the corner of Tramo and Gil Puyat Avenue. Donors from near and
far, many of them ordinary wage earners, helped make the dream come
true. Even the poor offered their widow's mite, some just enough to buy one
hollow block.

The building now houses various BP ministries and is a beehive of activity.

When the Inquirer spent an entire day in the area recently, a School for Life
seminar for young adults was going on. This 16-day module tackles many
subjects, among them, life values, sexuality, family, relationships, career,
spirituality, service, name it. The young get in touch with their own selves
and even their brokenness. Sharing sessions turn tearful at times and those
inclined to share their tragic stories do not lack for listeners.

Enriched and inspired, the graduates move on. Many are recommended for
scholarships or jobs. So far 333 have enjoyed scholarships, many in Don
Bosco Technical School. Not a few, like Genna (not her real name) who had
a long history with drugs, have given up their old ways and found new paths
of service within the fold of the Focolare.

Adoption at a Distance of the Focolare's New Families offers poor children an

education. An individual or family here or abroad takes care of the needs of
a child until he or she finishes school. The sharing between parties across
national boundaries cannot but deepen over the years.
50-unit housing

But in terms of love of neighbor, nothing could be more literally concrete

than the 50-unit housing project for the poor that rose in the slums of Pasay
City, a stone's throw from the Focolare Center where female members with
vows reside. A family had to be among the poorest to qualify.

The housing project stands on land bought from a family who thought
having homes for the poor on their property was a way to honor their
matriarch. They were built bayanihan (cooperative) style and through the
National Home Mortgage Assistance Program. The units are neatly lined back
to back and face to face. An alley slices through. Each two-story unit is all of
21 square meters. Families pay a monthly sum for 25 years.

One of the units serves as a handicrafts and sewing center. In the compound
are a small bakery and an ice cream "factory” where Mang Alfredo concocts
his "BeePee” delights. He is on call for parties and serves from Pinoy-style
ice cream carts, complete with Mamang Sorbetero costume.

BP does not receive massive foreign and institutional funding which most
NGOs enjoy. The miracle is that all of these thrive on the generosity of
individuals and groups and, of course, of those within the Focolare
movement itself.

Economy of communion

For example, the movement's New Humanity has the so-called Economy of
Communion which groups together 800 enterprises owned by Focolare
members around the world. It stresses sharing rather than having and
"practices the principles of fraternity and freedom” by dividing the profits
into three.

The first part goes to alleviating poverty; the second is used to develop the
business; and the third is to help people learn about the culture of giving
and discover the joy it brings.

The Focolare's New Families is behind the Adoption at a Distance Program

which sees to the poor kids' education from elementary to college.

But much comes from the kindness of ordinary people, friends, families and
strangers.

Discovering dignity
For the past 20 years, Bukas Palad, through its well-defined programs, has
helped persons discover their dignity and self-worth and to be productive
citizens. It has created an "atmosphere of communion where no one is so
poor he or she cannot give, and no one is so rich that he or she cannot
receive.”

The fruit of Focolare sharing is apparent, the warmth of the "fireside” is

there, in communities, in the lives of the simple folk who have been touched
by the "open palm.”