GUS LISING
Several nights ago, the day after the enhanced community quarantine was declared due to coronavirus, I was watching the evening news.
As the TV crew was taking coverage, I could see several people walking casually in the streets. I noticed a mother carrying a child in her arms. When we see such coverage, the immediate reaction often says, “when will these people learn and obey.”. It was a very reasonable and natural thing to say, considering that the virus is now communicable. But what made this story more personal was that it was in an area familiar to me.
How can we help them?
In the late 80s and early 90s, I remember that I was ministering in an area some 3 kilometers away. People I ministered to were poor – dirt poor if I am allowed to say. Nanay Onteng and some of the church members lived in pushcarts. These pushcarts became a necessity for trade or a place to sleep when their work is over.
There are still people who do not even have sufficient room to walk or stand and stretch for exercise. The only place they have is just enough area to curl their bodies to rest; just enough space to have their babies sleep beside them.
The poor and the marginalized are the same ones we sometimes scream at while watching the News or disgustingly shake our heads when we see them queuing the Jeepney lines. This sudden thought, however, came to my mind that they are probably saying, “how I wish didn’t have to go out carrying my baby and expose her to this virus. How I wish I had enough savings or a job that doesn’t require me to report daily because I only have enough for the day.”
God’s grace
Let us pray for the poor. We ask God to help and protect them. We pray that they may be enlightened about how they can meet this challenge we are all facing. I am thankful to our Lord Jesus, for what He did 2000 years ago. For today we can live in faith and trust Him for the things we have.
Nanay Onteng got out of her pitiful state. She placed her life and her children in the hands of the Savior Jesus. One of her children now resides in the US. And as far as I know, she no longer stays in a pushcart, but in a home where Jesus dwells.