Ormoc: Early days  My house inside the hacienda, destroyed by the landlord when he drove us out.

Houses inside the hacienda

One of our friends, suffering from medical malpractice

Inside the hacienda

SPDOWFI is a response of the international Society of the Sacred Heart to the call to “sustain, nurture and defend life that is threatened by natural disasters, poverty, lack of employment, exploitation, oppression and unjust political systems”. SPDOWFI was founded in aid of the victims of the flash floods that took away about 8,000 lives in Ormoc, Leyte, Philipines, in November 5, 1991. The provinces of the Society all over the world expressed their solidarity by sending financial support that enabled us to respond to the needs of 40 families who lost everything in the flood, including family members. They were living in box houses when we found them inside the hacienda of one of the most affluent landlords in Ormoc.The expression of solidarity was not only in the form of financial support, but most importantly, in the presence of visiting RSCJs who gave them comfort and a sense of hope.  

As funds were depleting, the District Council decided to invest what was left of the donations on something that would help the families improve their life on a longer term basis. The added help from the Mother House solidarity fund enabled us to acquire one hectare of land for a resettlement project intended to those who wanted to move out of the hacienda and start life anew. This was a response to the desire to live in a land they can call their own, free from the threat of demolitions and from the control of people who promise them no future but only offer paternal assistance and dependency.

There are 32 families in three generations living in the property at present.  They have formed a people’s organization that serves as their hands on training for leadership. Though poverty has not deserted them, to have a place to live which they can claim their own - they cannot ask for more, even if employment is unstable, daily sustenance is a continuous problem and so sending their children for higher education is just impossible.  We have five scholars now. One works as our part time bookkeeper, the three others are in College studying Education, and one is still in high school.  We place our hope on these young ones to continue what we have begun. 

In September 17, 2006 we blessed the new Sacred Heart Children’s Educational Center (SHCEC). The Center is the realization of the community’s dream to have a proper school for the growing needs of their children. Part of the old center is now being used as the students’ library and study center. SPDOWFI has survived by God’s Providence.  We started some ventures for a capability building program to provide work that will augment the families’ meager income and to sustain our educational initiatives for the children and the youth. “This solidarity asks of us not only interest and presence, but above all commitment and action”. (GC ’94, Solidarity with the Poor).

Living among the poor is a daily experience of the “open side of Christ”.  But pain can impassion us to create something out of nothing, to rise from the rubbles of helplessness to a growing hope for a brighter future. Being here, we were able to help obtain medication for a father of seven children who has been paralyzed and bedridden for years due to a medical malpractice and that of a three year old boy born with a congenital cataract. It is very consoling to witness how the lame can walk and the blind see through our work of charity. Everything becomes relative when we realize that in the seeming absence of God we are able to say, “it is the Lord”! The RSCJ presence here is both a choice and a responsibility. There is great hope and possibilities in the strength of people who have passed the acid test of survival. Nothing is indeed impossible with God. The future of the Ormoc project is in God’s hands.

Ormoc: Today

Iraida Sua-an rscj with one of her first friends in Ormoc, Nang Ulay. Pictures by Lolín Menéndez rscj

RSCJs from the district of the Philippines collaborated with the Parish and organized the families into a community. We conducted seminars and workshops to help them become aware of their basic human rights and shared with them the Word of God. Slowly people were empowered, but they became a threat to the landlord when they started claiming for their rights. Three families who were identified as leaders were driven out of the hacienda and our staff house was demolished. We were prohibited from entering the place from then on, but we did not lose our contact with the families who were left behind.

SPDOWFI was established in 1994. The vision was “to help these families become a basic ecclesial community and to do whatever is necessary for their growth and development towards becoming a self propelling community”. Three years later, 22 families moved to the property. In 1998 I started living among them and became more convinced that education is necessary in order to enable them to fulfill their hopes. We gave priority to the formation of the younger generation to prepare them for the eventual takeover of leadership. Several donations helped us to build the Sacred Heart Community Center (SHCC). While the construction of the Center was going on I started gathering children in homes and began the Early Childhood Education (ECE) program which is the focus of my ministry up to now. 

Easter Celebration