An idea who’s time may have come?
I have a good friend who lives in Buda, which is right on the border of Davao City and Bukidnon Province here in Mindanao. My friend there is Father Franco Uras, a Catholic Priest from Italy. Father Franco is such a great person, Feyma and I go up there to visit him regularly, and we always end up staying much longer than we had planned! It’s just hard to break away from such an enjoyable conversation with a nice man like Father Franco. In addition, Father Franco has a vegetable and herb garden, and he is always preparing one kind of delicious food or another, and that is really hard to get away from!
Well, Father Franco has a plan that he is hoping to implement on his land there in Buda, and it is something that I have always thought to be a wonderful idea. In the past (and even currently) Father has been involved in helping street children, especially boys. Most of the things that Father Franco is involved in with his little farm creates income which supports the boys. Currently the boys home is in Davao City, but Father wants to build facilities there in Buda where the boys can stay and learn from living on the farm. This would assist them later in life too, by giving them a livelihood that they can apply when they are adults.
Another idea that Father has is to help old people, especially foreigners. Father’s plan is for these retired foreigners to come and stay here in the Philippines. Father wants to build a bunch of cabins on his property in Buda, and a retired foreigner would live in each cabin. Now, comes the interesting part. Each of these foreigners would sort of “adopt” (although not officially, I think) a few of the kids! The retiree could spend time with the kids, teach them things, and just generally enjoy the company of these young people. It would serve two purposes. First. as we all know, as people get older, they have fewer and fewer people to spend time with. Many of their friends have gotten sick, or maybe even died. Their younger family members are generally busy with other things. In the States, many of these older folks are put into retirement homes and rarely have even a visitor. So, being able to retire in Buda would give them the opportunity to interact with these kids, teach the kids, and generally give them a purpose in life. On the other hand, these street kids come from backgrounds where they don’t have much supervision or interaction with adults, so having a mentor to spend time with would be a real benefit for the kids too!
I really think that this idea of Father’s is an idea who’s time has come, and something that could really benefit a lot of people! I can see the day when this is completed and implemented, and it is so successful that it spreads to other communities and even to other countries. I think that in addition to having cabins where people could live, there should also be a number of cottages that people can rent for a temporary vacation. Like myself, for instance, I am young to actually retire there, but I might like to go spend a couple of weeks working with the kids. I can see people coming over here for a vacation up there too.
I also think that this idea would work well financially too. The retirees could pay enough money for their stay that it would also cover the cost of caring for the kids, and still come out cheaper than if they had gone to a retirement home in their home country. The kids could also help provide services to the older people, just like kids here often serve their elders at home. I really think this is a no-lose situation!
Last time that Father Franco and I talked about this, he told me that his only problem at this stage is saving enough money to make it happen. If anybody has an interest in helping Father Franco with this, leave a comment and let me know. Maybe a group of us could come together to assist!
Bob,
On one side, I would love to live by Father Franco’s, Elena and I enjoyed the afternoon we spent with him when you brought us up there. But I remember there is no electricity.For me, I would want electricity for an A/C, and I would want internet access.
Let me know when that is avaliable.
Hi Bruce - Father Franco has had electricity as long as I have known him! He lives right on the highway, as you will recall, and the electricity passes right in front of his house. Last time I was there we ran an electric fan while we had lunch! Maybe you are thinking of my other friend in the area, Oded. There is no electricity available in his area.
Internet could be had too, through either Smart Bro or through 3G service through your cellphone with either Globe or Smart. Maybe not quite as fast as could be had in town, but it is available.
Mr. Bob Martin,
Hello sir! My name is Tom and I’ve been reading and learning a great deal from your website over the past month and thought I’d introduce myself. I hope you don’t mind the message; I just wanted to thank you for posting this article and I am hoping Father Franco’s idea really takes off. As you’ve probably seen with your own eyes, there are some sad retirement homes over here, so matching the kids over there with lonely retirees does sound like a match made in heaven.
Let me know how I can help; and thank you for letting me join your blog community!
Sincerely,
Tom
Hi Tom Craig - Hey, I’m glad you left a comment, I recognize you from “MyBlogLog” where you always show as “mrhappy”. That’s an easy name to remember.
It’s hard to say for sure how we could help, but if we can gather enough people who are interested in helping, maybe we could pool some funds and make a donation to Father Franco to help his dream become a reality. Lets see how the reaction goes and if such an idea would be feasible.
“The retiree could spend time with the kids, teach them things, and just generally enjoy the company of these young people.”
Come off it Bob! How many cases of child abuse have we read about in SE Asia where the conditions were exactly as you describe.
Father Franco may be a saint, but how could he possibly ensure the welfare of these vulnerable kids.
I give this idea the big thumbs down.
Bob,
I am sorry for the mistake. For some reason I thought I remembered hearing that he only had a generator.
I have been talking to Elena about a thought. I do not know if I have the personality or the knowledge to start an e-commerce business, and I do not know if my architecture or CAD experience can be used to make some income. With that said, I thought of a way to have an enriching life and live in a place where the cost of living, even for there is cheaper. After her nieces are finished with nursing school and out on their own, I would like a life of some fulfillment. I am not religious but I love kids and helping people. I have talked to her about maybe getting together with Jim, or someone and volunteering at an orphanage. Elena and I both love kids.
The little time I got to meet and spent with Father Franco, I think maybe this would be a good fit. I loved the man and what he is doing there.
Now I just need to finish things up here and get there. It is only about 2-2 ½ years for the youngest to graduate and then Elena and I are free to do what we want.
Send my love to the Father next time you speak to him.
Hi Laurence - I guess what we should do is just all lock ourselves in the house and avoid all human interaction. That would stop all crime, right?
Hi Bruce - If I had your skills, I know that I could outsource it through the net and make a good income! There is no doubt in my mind that you can do that.
It is my other friend, Oded who only has generator power. Father Franco has a generator, but only for use when the power fails.
Bob,
With my skills, and your knowledge, maybe you can be my agent and I will pay you a commision on all I earn.
We can talk about it once I arrive.
Until then, keep up the good work. My days are not complete wthout reading LiP
HI Bob- I think your idea is wonderful however I also am mindful of what Laurence has mentioned. That does not mean that the project could not work but it would have to be policed to ensure that the people coming from overseas are vetted by their home authorities to ensure they are genuine.
I think befor any further action can be taken the relevant local authorities should be informed of the plan to determine its feasability.
I’m trying to do a similar project at Bethany where benefactors can visit and live on the premises and interact with the children and staff. To bring you up to date this has already happened with one gentleman staying two weeks and actually helping with various projects as well as donating financial help. He will be coming back again in the near future to give further assistance to Bethany because he is already retired and just wants to help others.
Lawrence,
Child abuse is somewhat unusual in the PI..why? Because they usually end up dead..and people know that. Yes there are places that exploit children there ..but criminals who abuse kids are most often dead within days when caught. So I guess according to your comment we should all crawl up and dig a hole to hide in….sorry to be a bit bitter towards your comment, but Father Franco is at least TRYING to help !
Hi Bob
The first thing that entered my mind when I read your story was exactly the same concern as Laurence, what a great opportunity it would be for some of those leaches.
I realise we cannot lock ourselves away in case something bad happens and I realise thats its not necessary, but something substantial need to be built into the plan to ensure that the kids are kept safe and please dont ask me what because I dont know. One thing is for sure and you know it, they are out there and would be delighted to subscribe.
I appreciate that Father Franco has all the best of intensions at heart and he is trying to do good and I am in no way knocking what he wants . Maybe he only sees all the good things in life but he needs to be aware that there is a huge potential problem with his plan.
Bob as I read your story I had the thought of a time share/resort type of environment but I realize that would not work. We need an investor (s) or donations. I think once a template was in place for cabins, lifestyle it could be marketed around the world. Say a retired couple could purchase via a Filipino proxy a home for say 10,000 USD. This would grow the community and provide them a place to live on a low cost basis. They could form a coop that meets all the energy, water, etc needs for the complex. You would need to think long term though-what happens when Father Franco is gone? Bob is this your calling? I admit that I do not really know you that well but I read your writings I sense something more is available to you. I think you could use your blogs and e-commerce to market this-your the conduit for this project. Who knows there are others like us that might be able to fall in line and help. It might be my calling to run the school, it might be a readers calling to be the maintenance manager,etc…
There is a reason you posted this Bob I don’t know if it was subliminal or a real need to reach out to make this happen. Your there, you have us, if its what your heart is telling you then rally the troops and lets do something. Ron
Hi Jim - My understanding of Father Franco’s plan would not really put the children in the homes of the retirees, but rather they would meet in public areas of the compound, maybe activity centers and the like. That should more or less eliminate the possibility of the wrong kind of activity going on.
Hi Brian - I am really in agreement with what you are saying! It’s either just leave the street kids homeless and begging, or do something! Father Franco is trying to help.
Hi Jack - I think that one thing with our society is that it has gone way overboard in fearing almost everything. It’s time to do things and let down our guards a little bit, I think.
Hi Ron LaFleur - I don’t know that I would be the right person for that. I have promised Father Franco that I would help publicize his plans and give him a little “pr” but the real marketing of the place is in his hands, I’d say.
I am sorry, but I also had a thought similar to Lawrence’s… And Brian, I wish such actions were that swift and sure. Several years ago, there was a doctor who came from Europe to ‘help’ the children through an NGO. We met him on his third or fourth trip and loaned him some books to learn Cebuano. He had been helping some some street children go to school. In the end, it was all about his personal recreation, and he quietly left the country when he was found out. Nothing happened to him except that maybe he was dropped from his organization. This makes me teeth grindingly angry. This is not an isolated case. Child abuse is a big problem in the Philippines. I have known a lot of victims. Street children are especially vulnerable, as they may be on the streets for the income they can provide for their families, by begging and in other ways.
Bob, you have a big heart, and I know that this idea comes from the right place. Like Jim, I would say that the utmost care, and vigilance is needed for anything like this, and a healthy suspicion (I am sorry to say) of anyone who would jump at the chance to live in a very remote place and spend time with children, one on one. For me, the responsibility for such vigilance would just wear me out. What if one of those kids were to be molested under my watch? A huge responsibility.
So my vote is, yes, by all means build those cottages, either for retirees and or for people like us who would like a place to go for a little vacation or retreat. Great idea! I vote NO on bringing the street kids up to interact with the retirees in the way you have described. Working on the farm, yes, that would be great, as long as things are monitored very well.
Hi Bob, unfortunately I did never meet Father Franco, but I heard a lot about his efforts. He should get more supports. Maybe “LiP” can really help… God bless!
Hi Bob:
This is my 2-cent: The project that Fr. Franco is envisioning and the donations that go with it might need approval from and go to his religious organization or congregation first. Did he tell his congregation about this project ? I believe accountability is one huge deal among religious orgs in the Phils.
This project is unique when fully realized. The parish people will surely benefit from it as well. But just like what AmericanLola said, with street kids and retirees in the mix, it’s quite an uncomfortable situation and honestly, the first concept I read about.