{"id":915,"date":"2016-07-25T12:02:47","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T11:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/combonimission.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=915"},"modified":"2016-07-25T12:07:21","modified_gmt":"2016-07-25T11:07:21","slug":"philippines-the-colourful-houses-for-abandoned-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/07\/25\/philippines-the-colourful-houses-for-abandoned-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Philippines: The Colourful Houses for Abandoned Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Father Vincent Borno talks about his experience of going beyond the peripheries into ‘no man\u2019s land’ \u2013 the dark corners of humanity, filled with abuse and exploitation \u2013 to reach out to the young who have been left\u00a0to fend for themselves.<\/em><\/p>\n

Since Pope Francis\u2019 arrival, it has become fashionable to speak of peripheries. But for us, of the \u2018House of Anna\u2019, who have lived in the peripheries for the last 23 years, it is high time to go beyond, to go much further, into the ‘no man\u2019s land’. It is a terrain full of ‘landmines’, where life counts little because at any given time, it can be blown up by a mine\u00a0\u2013 alcohol, drugs, or crime, to list only some of the threats.<\/p>\n

During those long years living in the peripheries, we have met street children \u2013 runaway teenagers who, after being abandoned by family and state, ran away from everything and everybody, feeling as if they were being choked. We have set up a solidarity network which welcomes these youths, supports them, and integrates\u00a0them afresh into family and society. And our Red House is the first-ever ‘centre of acceptance’ for street children.<\/p>\n

In this centre, the children are given access to\u00a0workshops, therapies, and consultations\u00a0with specialists. These support options have the objective of integrate\u00a0the kids back into their own families. In cases where\u00a0this is impossible, because the family situation has degenerated beyond any possibility of reconciliation and dialogue, the older\u00a0ones are welcomed to The Yellow House and the younger\u00a0ones are admitted into The Brick House. In these houses, the youths are mentored\u00a0until they complete school and receive their diplomas. The remaining group\u00a0\u2013 those\u00a0who cannot go back to their parents and do not wish to go to school \u2013\u00a0are helped into work at The Green House. An average of 200 youths complete\u00a0our programme every year.<\/p>\n

According to the official statistics of the city in which we live, every year there are about 2,000 boys\/girls who abandon school and their families \u2013\u00a0runaway children. And where are the\u00a0children who are not with their families, in\u00a0school, or at our welcoming centres? They are in no man\u2019s land. There, they run the risk of destroying their young lives\u00a0at any moment by falling victim to a range of problems, including alcohol abuse, prostitution, theft, violence, imprisonment, and abuse. When we discovered this frightening\u00a0reality, we said to ourselves: “They are not coming to us. So we must go to them!”\u00a0<\/em>That is how we decided to leave the peripheries and enter\u00a0the\u00a0twilit zones in which about 1,800 youth are wandering about, aimlessly and dangerously.<\/p>\n

Thus, the AGIT Movement was born with just a few resources: a colourful van, a tent, two tables and four chairs.\u00a0In the evening, from 7pm to 2am, away we go, walking along the roads of death, desperately searching for youths to help. We are not many, but we are all driven by a passionate love for young people. You could say that we are all a bit crazy \u2013\u00a0but\u00a0they are worth our love.<\/p>\n

Personally, I can say that since we started this project, my sleep has been reduced, but my life has been expanded to\u00a0new horizons which are both dramatic and magnificent. In this no man\u2019s land, there appears to be\u00a0no room even for God, because it is crammed with violent brawls, abuse, and worse. But I,\u00a0like Moses near the burning bush in the desert,\u00a0have found a new face of God \u2013 a God who tells me: \u201cTake off your shoes, because this is a holy place\u201d.<\/em> Yes; this is a holy place because God\u2019s adored children are here, and He is here with them. He never abandons them. Therefore, I myself have decided to leave the peripheries and go beyond, to the no man\u2019s land,\u00a0to stand\u00a0side by side with these young people.<\/p>\n

On one dark and cold night, a tiny fifteen-year-old girl tied a small bracelet, made of humble cotton thread, to my arm. She said: \u201cEvery time you look at this gift, please, remember to pray for us.\u201d<\/em> And I, who do not even wear the beautiful\u00a0golden chain that my dear parents gave me as a loving present on the day of my priestly ordination, have always worn this flimsy\u00a0bracelet of cotton thread since, because it ties me to the many \u2013\u00a0too many \u2013 young people who have been left to themselves.<\/p>\n

AGIT follows Jesus\u2019 style of leaving the ninety-nine sheep in the fold and going to look for the lost one among the dangerous mountain precipices. This is our mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Father Vincent Borno talks about his experience of going beyond the peripheries into ‘no man\u2019s land’ \u2013 the dark corners of humanity, filled with abuse and exploitation \u2013 to reach out to the young who have been left\u00a0to fend for themselves. Since Pope Francis\u2019 arrival, it has become fashionable to speak of peripheries. But for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}