I am now sitting on the 8th floor of a modest hotel overlooking a city twice the size of Seattle called Cebu City. Kyle and I are on the third and final leg of our trip to the Philippines. What a contrast this city is to the island of Bohol where the Children’s Home is. Here is the same poverty, the same children panhandling in the streets, but it is magnified due to the density of population, people living on top of each other, vehicles everywhere, congestion, smoke, diesel fuel in the face, then add heat and mugginess hanging in the air like a blanket over a boiling kettle.

We met Andrey and Jen Sawchenko yesterday evening. Andrey works as an attorney at IJM, International Justice Mission. IJM is a non-profit Christian organization that advocates for victims caught in sex trafficking. The objective is to rescue the victim and prosecute the ones apprehended for commercial trafficking. They work hand in hand with the government of the Philippines and other organizations aware of the victims in this trade. It is a rampant business here as many places throughout Southeast Asia, and the world. We had an interesting time and will see them on a successive trip.

I can’t think of anywhere in the world where the poor are not dominated by the rich. The poor are unseen and unrepresented. It’s the plague of humankind. It is amazing to experience first hand Americans and Filipinos alike, who are giving their life to help right a wrong. They have strong convictions about it and are willing to do something about it.

I think in a small way, it makes me notice those around me here and at home who are under represented and underserved, and makes me want to be a better neighbor and better friend.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We’ll be back soon.

Starbucks and McDonalds, or even Bo’s Coffee House (A local version of Starbucks) are not enough to mask the overwhelming effects of poverty and oppression. From the fist minute you step off the boat in Cebu, you are bombarded by kids that are begging for a few Pesos (Philippine Peso; $42.5 PHP= $1 USD) so that they can buy a banana or a small plastic bag of fresh water.

As you travel through the city in a air conditioned taxi, you can still smell the stinky exhaust from the mass amounts of cars and Jeepnies that take up the lawless road. Honking your horn gives you the right away. Jeepnies are the governments failed attempts for public transportation. Jeepnies are little vans and buses that are privately owned that run routes throughout the city giving people a way to get to work and run about taking care of the daily life necessities.

Kyle Billings

It’s hard to imagine how far away a place is when looking at it on the map. Kyle and I just had the privilege of discovering it by air. We just flew over the Pacific Ocean! Wow! Amazing. We have been transported from 40 degree F weather in Seattle to 88 degrees in the Pacific Islands of the Philippines. We’ve just left the paved roads, high speed transportation, people scurrying around in jackets in Seattle, to dirt roads, motor bikes, taxis with a motorbike with a side cart, tropical weather, palm trees, and island people everywhere!

We arrived at the Children’s center today, had a quick bite, then whisked off in a bus to accompany the staff taking lunch to the kids who are in school in the town of Tagbilaran, about a 10 minute bus ride from the compound. We are still a bit in a daze, but the kids greeted us with big smiles and big greetings. Here they will take the back of your hand and place it on their forehead as part of the greeting. English is understood by most, but still a bit of a broken English. However, at least we could communicate. The kids speak a mother tongue native to this island, and unlike the national tongue. There are hundreds of mother tongues on these many, many islands of the Philippines. More on Leigh and Kyle at the Island of Bohol in the Philippines

Poverty, Power and Privilege Forum during Off the Map Conference, Seattle WA

These words continue to echo in my mind long after the forum on Poverty, Power and Privilege ended. We had an amazing turn out to our first, in what we hope to be, many Global Forums on issues of injustice, poverty, human trafficking, and slavery. Each of the panelists brought a distinct flavor to the discussion with a depth of knowledge and understanding that was both challenging and informative.

During the forum I became even more aware that poverty and the “poor” are very complex issues, with seemingly few answers. I learned that even trying to define poverty is challenging. As Americans, poverty is so often defined by the amount of stuff you have. More on Poverty, Power and Privilege Forum