Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Homeschool x 22: Back to the Start

I was fortunate enough to have the chance to head back to where the first Homeschool class ever took place. It has been a quite the journey since that first class in January, but the kids here didn't forget about their experience and were very excited for another class.

Located on EDSA and South Super Highway, this community is made up of 10 families who live under a very large billboard. The children find room to play across the street on a narrow strip of concrete that is nestled between freeways and overpasses.

Her mother told me that she was quite proud of her daughter, who takes care of 10 children who live in the community.
She forgoes school so she can care for these children on a daily basis.

Manila's version of the Slip n' Slide


Snoop D-Oh-Double Gee. This dude was sippin on straight Gin, forget the juice here in Manila.


Luxury Living

From inside the slum; With poor drainage in most of the areas in Manila, stagnant water is found everywhere and is a breading ground for bacteria and mosquitos carrying Dengue Fever and other diseases.


Here are the examples of the shirts for the kids to be inspired by. Mine is the one on the far left. The kids really wanted to know who the talented child was who created it. Joke is on them and will be featured in Micheal Kors' Fall line.







Boom! John Axcell

On the shirt, she explains that she wants to be president of the Philippines.

Some got bored with the shirts and decided to paint themselves.

Thanks to The Office of Culture and Design and Team Manila for the alphabet posters.

Never too young...

Pizza Time!




The colorful crew, showing of their new tees.




Monday, August 22, 2011

People in Poverty: Series 3/3

The third and final series on the streets of Hong Kong.




Young girls on the streets of Manila are especially susceptible to the evils that poverty brings. Girls such as Jema, photographed here have big dreams. She wants to be a doctor, but the reality for most girls is that factors such as a large family, the pressures of poverty the harsh reality of street life (including a booming sex industry), many will not be able to obtain their dreams.

貧窮中的人

馬尼拉街頭的少女特別容易受到試探, 像相中人Jema,她很有抱負.她希望當醫生, 但是事實上,對大部分的少女來說,沉重的家庭負擔,貧窮的壓力,殘酷的街頭生活 (包括急速發展中的黃色工業),都讓她們難以夢想成真.



Photograph 12/30
With the unemployment rate hovering around 27% and little to no social programming to promote the skills of the talented young Filipinos, many must hunt for any kind of labor they can find. This young man was working on dissembling automobiles by hand on the train tracks. Described by his boss as a hard worker and smart young man, he was eager for a photograph.

貧窮中的人

當失業率達到27%又缺乏社會計劃去推廣發掘菲律賓年輕人才,很多人必須依靠任何找得到的工作維生. 這個年輕人曾經在鐵路軌,用雙手拆除車子找零件. 他的老闆說,他是一個勤奮聰明的年輕人,他很渴望被拍照.


Photograph: 16/30

People in Poverty
窮人

With few options for young children to escape the harsh reality of life on the streets of Manila, basketball is a favorite pastime that fuels the dreams of young children hoping to be the next PBA star and help their family leave the streets.

由於菲律賓小孩的生活沒有太多的選擇,要逃避現實生活的艱苦,他們會以玩籃球渡日,或許一天,他們會成為籃球界的明星,圓了他們夢想。
Photograph: 2/30

The next day...

Action in Mong Kok

Filipino rapper Charlie “Nasty” Mack is one of the lucky ones who’s hard work and talent has paid off and he is able to make somewhat of a living off of his art. Charlie grew in up in a rough neighborhood south of Manila and because of his talents was able to move his family to a safer government project. Charlie provides hope to many young Filipinos who have very few positive male role models to look up to.

菲律賓籍說唱藝人-查理「Nasty Mack」-算是比較幸運的一個。憑著自身的努力和天份,他能以自己的才藝謀生。查理在馬尼拉南部一個貧苦的社區成長,他的才華使他的家人得以搬離舊居,改為在政府規劃的社區裡生活。查理的故事為許多年輕的菲律賓人帶來希望,更成為他們僅有的正直男性典範之一。

Photograph: 26/30

Many people leave their homes in the provinces of the Philippines in search of a better, more prosperous life in the capital, Manila. The reality for most is that The Philippines itself has a 27% unemployment rate and jobs are very scarce to come by even for people with degrees from colleges and university. So, many find any job they can get and live in places such as these which are built on any available land that can sustain life.

貧窮中的人

在菲律賓,很多人離鄉別井,走到首都馬尼拉,去尋覓更好的將來. 事實上,菲律賓的失業率達到27%,連大學生都很難找到工作.因此, 很多人有工就做,而且住在這些有空地就建起來的屋子渡日.



Photograph: 11/30

With few prospects for families looking to get out of the diar situations they face, many turn to each other for help. This small residence along the train tracks south of Manila housed 10 people. 3 families combined lived there, with no running water or a reliable source of electricity many were forced to make a long commute to obtain their daily necessities.

眼見生活難以有所突破,不少家庭惟有向其他家庭尋求援助。在馬尼拉南部,一處沿著火車軌搭建的小小住所,住著三個家庭,總數為十個人。他們聚居於此,共同面對缺乏食水以及電量不足的問題。為了確保有足夠生活必須品,他們都需要長期在外通勤。

Photograph: 28/30


People in Poverty

窮人

The average family in the Philippines consists of 6 people. Without sex education being taught in schools and no contraceptive methods promoted to the public, this produces situations such as this photo. A 12 year old boy must take care of the family who’s home is under a bridge while the parents try and make ends meat for the day. This particular family’s income was less than 150 pesos ($ 3.50 USD, $ 27 HKD) a day combined.

菲律賓的家庭平均人口為六人。學校沒有教授性教育及政府沒有宣傳避孕法,因而引致圖中的場景。12歲的小男孩要照顧家庭,他父母賺的僅足糊口,一家活在橋下,全家一天的收入只有150 披索(約3.5元美金,27港元)。

Photograph: 1/30


Sunday, August 14, 2011

Homeschool x 21: Laguna

I was fortunate enough to get flown to Manila for 5 days (Shout out to the Office of Culture and Design). In that time I taught 3 classes. Here is the first one. Laguna is an area south of Manila and most of the residents here were moved here from the slums in Manila. The people here seemed a lot more satisfied with their lives than the people who lived in similar government housing in Cavite (Homeschool x 4) They took pride in their small patches of gardens that were located in front of their houses and even started a business making bags out of old magazines.

A few of the houses here were abandoned, but nothing like Cavite, where jobs were scarce and people needed to migrate to make an income.

The People




These are the magazines that are turned into bags. 1 pesos per bag.

I wanted to get a better view and really get an understanding of the scale of the place so I climbed to the top of the water tower to get a better vantage point.


Around 2,000 units are located here.

Class time





Carlo and his daughter helping out

Many thanks to the parents

Over a 100 kids, the lineup was out the door to get their envelopes done.

T.V. Interview