Nine of us tertians from seven different countries came to the Philippines for Tertianship Formation—a school of the heart.  Our hearts were transformed due to so many people, especially the poor and marginalized, whom we encountered.  They taught us one secret of life:  "Let’s dance, Father."  This was an invitation from the people and children in Navotas, who have experienced the dying and rising Christ in the midst of their poverty, and we tertians were privileged to witness and be part of the experience.  This article is a reflection of my eight days’ experience living with them.

 

Cemetery People 

 

A brief context of the place might be helpful to understand how the Navotas people live and our relationship with them.  Some call the people in Navotas “Cemetery People” because there are over 6,000 of them who have made their homes among the tombs of Navotas Cemetery, located on the shores of Manila Bay, beginning in the 1980s.  Others call them Bagong Silang, meaning “New Birth.”  Both names capture the dying and rising of Jesus among them.

 

Through the  Pag-Aalay Ng Puso Foundation (PPF), we were blessed to stay with two families in Navotas for eight days; four days with each family.  The purpose was to live and share life with the people and to learn from them how they live and experience God.  After a short orientation and greetings at the PPF Daycare Center, nine of us tertians were separated and moved in with our adoptive families.  My first family lives at Kapalaran, the informal settlers along the shores.  The second family lives at Bagong Silang. They are located next to the cemetery. 

 

The Dying Christ

 

The neighborhoods in both places are very poor.  I was shocked and saddened to see the condition people were living in.  The streets were full of people.  The adults cooked, washed, played, and hung out in front of the houses.  Children had no place to play.  When it rained, it flooded and the smell of sewage was unpleasant.  In some areas, the alleys were very dark and narrow just enough for one or two persons to walk through.  When I walked into the squatter area on the shores, I had to be careful when walking on the bridge because I might fall down into the sea, full of trash and human waste.  The smell in this area was so strong that I almost threw up.  The “houses” in these areas are made up of different pieces of wood and cardboard.  All houses are very small, about three to five meters in width and length.  There are no toilets and people have little privacy.

  

The living conditions in both families was challenging for me.  In my first family, we all slept on the floor and there was no privacy.  At night, mice crawled around and on my body.  I had to use the blanket to cover my whole body, even though it was so hot.  In addition, the son kept kicking me and his cell phone kept ringing at night.  In my second family, the sleeping condition was a little better, but I still heard and saw mice running around at night.  

 

When I talked with both of my families’ parents, they all wanted their children to have a better life.  Concretely, they wanted their children to have a good education.  In the first family, the father does labor work in the factory for the minimum wage.  He leaves the house at 5:30 am and comes home at 8:30 pm.  Sometimes he stays home or comes home early because there is no work.  To survive, the mother sells food in front of the house.  In the second family, the father has a better job as a civil engineer.  Yet, he struggles to support his family and decides to work in Saudi Arabia in order to send his two daughters to college.  The mother helps by selling food. 

 

Rising Christ

 

In the midst of their poverty, God calls the people from their own communities to form an organization called Pag-aalay ng Puso Foundation.  They become  instruments to bring God’s good news to the poor.  Concretely, the PPF provides many programs:  education and scholarship, health and sanitation, livelihood and exposure and homestay programs.

 

One unique thing about the PPF is its faith formation, which people are very proud of and I was deeply touched by it.  During our stay in Navotas, we had daily Mass and procession in different neighborhoods.  The Mass and procession with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in front became a very powerful image and moment of grace for me.  God is here sharing life with them, accompanying and leading them out of poverty into the Promised Land.  

 

Another grace-filled moment for me was the hip-hop dance at the farewell party.  A group of young people asked me and another tertian to join them in the dance.  During the rehearsal and performance, they kept laughing at us due to our awkward body movements and frequent missteps.  Their laugher and music brought me and the community so much joy and hope.  They taught us how to dance in the midst of their poverty.  

 

Let’s Dance, Father

 

After eight days of living with the people in Navotas, our hearts were broken because of what we had heard and seen—the different faces of the dying Christ.  Some of us tertians heard people fearful of their houses burning due to frequent fires. Others saw people living with no CR and little privacy.  Some saw small classrooms, with seventy students crammed inside and many children still do not go to school because their parents could not afford to pay for their children’s school supplies.  Other tertians heard children go hungry at night or suffer from malnutrition.  Some saw youth smoking and drinking to deaden their misery and poverty.  And still others saw children living without their parents or family members because they are working in other cities or abroad.  Yet, we all have heard and seen the rising Christ in the midst of their poverty as the children taught us so well, “Let’s dance, Father!”  

 

- Fr. Manh Tran, S.J.

Fr. Manh Tran, originally from Vietnam, is now a campus minister in Santa Clara University in California. He was a tertian in the Philippines last year.

 

This article first appeared in The Windhover,
the Philippine Jesuit Magazine.
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