No distributions were scheduled for today and as such Jess Navarro, our Philippines host who is with us from morning to dusk, showed us the highlights of Manila. We started at a Mother Teresa orphanage supported in part by the Kiwanis members who have been of such great help to us in our distributions. The staff displayed great care and compassion for the 65 special needs children, many of whom were housed with 12 to a room.

Our Philippines partner, Dr. “Ito” Torres took us to Santo Tomas University (older than any North American university) where he attended medical school and then taught for many years. During the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese during WWII over 10,000 prisoners of war, including Canadians, were kept here.

Other sights included the walled city Intramuros, the Spanish Fort Santiago, the Rizal Monument (national hero of the Philippines), the American War Cemetery, the Manila Hotel, hotel of choice for years for the famous and the wide boulevards, parks and office towers that make up the business area.

On our return to the hotel, we were brought back to the purpose of our trip as we passed shanty areas and children who live on the streets – such contrasts in a large metropolitan area.

Team Philippines 2013
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