Philippines: in the confined daily life of street children in Manila
A child in front of his house destroyed by Typhoon Vamco in Marikina on the outskirts of Manila.
(Drawing).
REUTERS - LISA MARIE DAVID
Text by: Manon Tomzig
4 min
The Philippines is entering its ninth month of containment, relaxed since the summer in order to revive economic activity.
But the restrictions continue to weigh heavily on Filipinos.
Millions of people have lost their jobs.
And the children are still confined, like the 380 beneficiaries of the French ANAK-Tnk foundation, which helps street children in Manila.
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From our correspondent in Manila
,
A building transformed into a school and a small colorful courtyard.
The children of the foundation have only a few square meters to let off steam.
They have not left the walls of their home since March.
So everyone manages their emotions in their own way.
Like Markhair and Mark Joshua, 10 and 15.
“
I'm sad because my family can't visit me,”
laments Markhair
.
And I get bored then to take my mind off things, I play basketball.
Sometimes I also tell adults about it
.
""
When I get bored, I'll help the kitchen
"
,
said Mark Joshua.
"I am worried about my family
"
To help them keep up: very structured days and artistic competitions.
This is the key to living the confinement as well as possible, according to Elise Cruse, who has worked at the foundation for five years.
“
Sport, a lot of visual arts activities, and music, a lot of music, that's what really helps them
,
” she
explains.
A former street child, Alex lived in one of the foundation's homes.
Today as a young adult, he teaches plastic arts to the youngest.
According to him, “
it helps them express their emotions.
Sometimes they ask me when the lockdown is going to end.
So I try to reassure them, to speak positively
.
Because the children are especially worried about their families, who remain in the slums.
This is the case with Victoria.
“
I'm worried about my family because I don't know what happened to them, we can't contact any of my relatives.
I just wish they could tell me they're okay,
”she said.
"
One meal a day
"
The country's economy has been hit hard by the lockdown.
According to the World Bank, three million Filipinos have lost their jobs or fallen into poverty.
A third of families have experienced hunger, a record number.
Elise Cruse sees this every day in the slums.
“
People, in the end, are not so afraid of the virus, they are mostly afraid of starving to death, that's really what comes out all the time
,” she explains.
Some have only one meal a day, they are content with that to be able to hold.
We also have a lot of former children who are now adults who have lost their jobs, I am thinking in particular of catering.
For some, it's very complicated to go back to the streets and suddenly, we have a lot of young people asking us for help today.
We didn't have that at all before
.
"
Schools remain closed.
And the confinement of children has been continuously extended since March.
So those responsible for the foundation no longer expect the restrictions to be lifted soon.
They prefer to focus on the welfare and education of children.
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