ASIA/PHILLIPINES - A dwelling worthy of the name for families with disabled in the slums of Manila

Manila (Agenzia Fides) – There will be about 20 small houses for families with disabled children or disabled adults currently living in the slums of Tandang Sora, Quezon City. This is the Guanellian project to give dignity and hope to families, children and disabled people currently forced to live in the slums. The land on which the houses will be built, each measuring 24 sq. meters, is located just in front of the Servants of Charity House, the Guanellian centre where since 1993 it has been the mother house of the Servants of Charity in the Philippines, the Formation Centre and the Guanella Center, a veritable “curtain of charity”, where many of the poor are given attention, listening and daily services in educational assistance, medical care, rehabilitation, nutritional support, social assistance and formation in Christian values.
Each cottage has a cost of € 2,000. Currently, three have been completed, and we have funding for another seven. We lack funds for the other ten. “We dream that this land will go to the poor who live with disabilities, which in these conditions is a double poverty,” read a statement, received by Fides, made by Father Luigi De Giambattista, director of Guanellian missions in Asia and the USA. “We want to offer them a new chance at life, one more human and dignified. Many of these people already attend our centre for physiotherapy, rehabilitation or kindergarten.” (AP) (4/2/2011 Agenzia Fides)