Story number 4 for 1 Oct 2002

(Philippines)–Next, it’s a dismal scene in the trash dumps of the Philippines. In many of them, children are seen scavenging the heaps in order to help their families eke out a living. Operation Blessing International’s Jodie Nelson tells how they’re reaching families living in these garbage cities. “We’ve been going into these garbage dump areas and providing education and also feeding, and medical checkups, and then for the children who are in our programs, we actually help their families, their parents. We get them on track with a better job so they can better provide for their family.” Nelson says there is some risk involved for their teams, but they continue to share the hope of Christ. “We also are sponsoring some children in the Mindanao area, where the Abu Sayyaf has been operating very actively over the past several years. We work primarily through Filipine doctors and nurses and volunteers and so, they have a lot more access than if we had Western staff in the country.”