Quiapo Church, Manila - Flower seller
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Flower seller outside of Quiapo Church.
It took me 30 mins just to upload this image :-(
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Uploaded on Dec 21, 2009
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Mabul Island, Semporna - A welcoming smile from a Sulu boy
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*Note : Due to poor internet connection, I would not be able to browse through your photo stream. Forgive me, I would like to catch up as soon there is stable signal.
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Mabul was the island that we stayed. We have great time here visiting the villagers and mingled with the residents. The island hosts many immigrants from the nearby Sulu province of Philippines and the sea gypsies known as Bajau Laut. They live in harmony.
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Uploaded on Dec 20, 2009
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Maiga Island, Semporna - Bajau kids
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From young Bajau boys learned to fish in deep sea. They are skiiled navigator and survivor.
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Uploaded on Dec 20, 2009
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Sibuan, Semporna - Young Bajau Laut Boy #2
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*Note : Due to time constraint (I will be away again from Friday onwards). I will only comment on those who has commented on my pictures and follow on those on my friend list (if internet connection is stable enough). This is the best I can do at the moment before returning to Singapore next year. Thank for your support and understanding.
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This was taken in Sibuan island. We met a small group of Bajau Laut people here. This is one of the poorest villages that we have visited. I think the population is less than 200 here.
The residents here are sea gypsies and they do not speak Bahasa Malaysia accept some kids. The Malaysia army did a good job in protecting the island from pirates and at the same time taking care of the welfare of these residents. The children are taught how to speak in Bahasa Malaysia and twice or three times a month the government would send doctors to give them free medical check-up and treatment.
These Bajau Laut people have no identity although they came from Philippines. They do not belong to any country. So, they need our protection.
In this photo, a Bajau boy by the name of Garano was swinging himself round the coconut tree. The boys here are strong swimmers and tree climbers. They even climbed those tall coconut trees and plucked coconut for us. Wonderful boys!
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Uploaded on Dec 19, 2009
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Andong Village School , Phnom Penh - Feeding Programme
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Andy Gray wrote :
Andong Village Primary School is government approved with four grade levels and 120 students. Each year they are adding a new class (in a new grade level). The teachers come from the village. They all began as volunteers for the first six months (despite being desperately poor themselves). Now they are paid $50 a month, supported by a church in Australia. It’s not much, even in Cambodia, but it’s a start. The NGO that Abraham created to run the school and work in the village has just enough money for one month at a time (if that).
The first thing we noticed at the school was the happiness of the children. They exuded it. They love being in school. They were polite, obedient, friendly, intelligent…just like children you would find at a nicely run school anywhere. I was taken aback by this realization. Could these really be the poorest of the poor? What really separates rich and poor? What if we were more connected, all of us here and there, with these children and countless others like them? What would change?
The kids get a free meal every day thanks to $600 in monthly support from another NGO. Most don’t get enough to eat at home. Even this meal is mostly rice with a bit of meat on top. The budget of $600 per month comes to about 20 cents a person.
Visit Andy blog site about Anding at www.photosensibility.com/2009/03/03/andong-village-story/
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Uploaded on Dec 17, 2009
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