Thamer Al Subaihi
ABU DHABI // Having already learnt about entrepreneurship, sustainability and ingenuity, six Emiratis visiting the Philippines have been taught about determination, compassion and hope.
The youths are travelling across the archipelago and their life-changing journey is being captured in the six-part Beyond Borders television show.
In this week’s fifth episode, the group of three men and three women visit the poorest district of Manila, Tondo, with slum housing and the country’s most notorious landfill site, known as Smokey Mountain.
“I didn’t know places like this existed, where people live in such misery,” said Mohammed Al Ameri, 18, after watching children picking through heaps of rubbish.
Ahmed Al Ghurair, 19, unsuccessfully tried to hold back his emotions after seeing some families living 10 to a room with no electricity or running water.
“I tried not to cry, but I couldn’t. The conditions are horrific,” he said.
Amid the despair, the volunteers discovered an island of hope – a unique, four-storey building made from 40 recycled shipping containers that house a charity foundation, a school and a local business.
“I needed to build a school with no money and there were rotting shipping containers everywhere,” said Jane Walker, 48, the founder of the Philippines Christian Foundation, which built the structure 16 years ago.
She felt compelled to act after visiting Tondo during her first trip to the Philippines at the age of 33.
“I thought I was going to relax on beaches but when I saw images of this place on TV, I got into a taxi and told him to take me straight to the poorest area,” she said.
After witnessing the abject poverty, Mrs Walker said she could not have lived with herself if she walked away.
The charity now gives the child scavengers education, health care and nutrition.
“What affected me the most is their life is so difficult but they still smile a lot,” said teary-eyed Tasneem Alnaqbi, 23, after sitting down to lunch with the school’s pupils.
“We live so comfortably but we don’t appreciate it.”
Ahmed said: “The children and the people were really happy, which is strange. We have to really learn from them.”
Fatima Abdullah Farah, 21, offered the children her meat after they asked her if she was going to finish it.
“I was taken aback when they didn’t eat it there and then. I later found out they keep it for their mothers,” she said.
The group was soon lending a helping hand by making jewellery, bags and purses from recycled items.
Set up to put mothers and members of the community to work with the goal of making them and the charity self-sustainable, the business creates and sells such items.
Fatima said the visit to Tondo had affected her profoundly.
“This experience changed me a lot and is the thing I benefited the most from on this trip,” she said.
Mariam Al Kuwaiti, 17, said: “What I saw here has changed my perception of the world.
“Life is difficult but I didn’t know how much. We have to make most of our opportunities.”
Beyond Borders airs every Friday on MBC1 at 2pm, with reruns on Saturdays at 6.30am.
tsubaihi@thenational.ae
