Challenges in the City - Poverty

Of Manila's ten million people, three million live in shanty towns well below the poverty level. Tragically, Manila has the largest number of street children in all of Southeast Asia.

In many cases, a family migrates to Metro Manila from the provinces in order to find work. Some of the street children sleep at home. The rest sleep at the Light Rail Transit station, in terminals, parking lots, or along the edge of the road.

Street people exist in survival mode, and are not particularly concerned about illiteracy and lack of sanitation. Many eke out an existence in plastic or cardboard homes. Both children and adults congregate in busy intersections, selling candy, home-made toys, towels, newspapers-anything to bring in a few pesos for their daily nice.

Many people turn to drugs or other vices to keep from thinking about their wretched condition.

A spiritual poverty also exists, for there is little evangelism in the poverty-stricken areas of the city. Of the 900 economically depressed areas in Manila, over 400 have no church or evangelical witness. We thank God for the church in Manila, started by ABWE missionaries, but long independent, that has a slum and street children's ministry.