The Magazine of St Aloysius' College • 'Men for Others' • Issue XLVII ...

hunger pains, not the game (which lead to some strange
expressions when I said I enjoyed it!).
As dusk set on the polluted horizon, we staggered
on through the traffic, past the slums and shipyards. We
passed Smoky Mountain, once landfill populated by
the most desperately poor, where people quite literally
drowned in rubbish. Past many deltas of the river where
the slums continued on feeble-looking stilts giving it the
appearance of a caricature of Venice, while waiting for our
next destination.
It was quite dark by the time we pulled off the
expressway into the familiar sight of slums. I volunteered to
stay back and guard the truck, assuming that this place was
going to be exactly like the rest. And I sat and watched as
my friends went and dragged the remains of the food and
toys. People flooded them instantly, coming out from under
the bridge. It was unbelievable. The people weren’t fighting
and shoving like on the street-corner, but waiting for us to
hand them gifts and then move out of the way. When one
in our group had run out of toys, the next child in line simply
said, “Oh well, Merry Christmas.”
Thomas O’Donahoo (Year 11), Kurt Simek (Year 11), Mr Joe El-Khoury
and Mark Sindone (Year 11) with the community under the freeway
on-ramp: smoke-filled, poor, but still happy.
At that stage the trip took a turn into the surreal. We were
invited into the slum where these people lived. Under an onramp
to a highway the community had created walls made
out of cardboard and nailed them to the side. Near the
entrance was a small pile of burning wood with a cooking
pot on top. Inside was a mess of beds and cardboard.
Some of the beds were separated by cardboard, but most
of them lay in rows looking like a dormitory. The roof was
black and the sound of the highway above us was constant.
Little kids played around us and a few of the elderly got up
to see who these strangers were. The looks on our faces
told the story.
And suddenly we were back in the van again. The bus
trip back was as long as the trip there. More slums, the
silence occasionally broken by discussion of our experience.
The traffic edged its way out of Manila, trees began to
appear and rice paddies flickered with the reflected moon
passing above us. The night drew upon us.
At the end of every experience we had in the
Philippines, after every reflection we would ask ourselves,
“Where is God in all of this?” And sometimes that was the
hardest question to ask. Some nights God was in the kids
we played with, sometimes in the places themselves that we
visited. I remember that someone said he saw God in our
faces the night we went under that on-ramp. I’d like to think
that it was. But also I think it was in everything about that
place, and in the fact that they could survive.
A lot of what is seen in The Philippines Immersion
Programme is overwhelming. Sitting here in Sydney a
month since we returned, I’m still unable to come to terms
with much of what we saw. But I still affirm that the people
whom I met on this trip have blessed me with memories,
experiences and insights that are truly cherished.
Joseph McKenzie (Year 11)
Born for Greater Things
Early in 2009 a group of Old Boys will travel to the
Philippines to spend time working and living in a local
community. The programme is based on the Immersion
Experience the current students of the College in Years 10
and 11 have the opportunity to go on. The trip is a chance
to give something back in a very real and practical way.
The idea for the trip came about over a few drinks and
discussions with Fr Ross Jones SJ and others, about the
desire to make a difference and to look at opportunities
outside the normal avenues of giving. The transition to fulltime
work and university happens quickly and often leaves
very little time to give something back to the community.
Using the existing framework in place seemed like the best
option, with some tweaking, to suit the time restraints of
those involved. The fact that all those involved either work
full-time or are at university means the trip is shorter and
more intensive than the students’ experience, and there will
be a greater emphasis on fundraising.
A group of twelve young Old Boys will head to areas
around the capital of the Philippines, Manila, in January 2009.
The group will consist of boys from the Classes of 2000,
2001, 2003,2004 and 2005, as well as a Jesuit Novice
and Fr Ross Jones SJ. For a little over two weeks we will be
building housing, living and interacting in the local community,
as well as spending time in the local prison system.
We have been in the process of establishing a charitable
organisation to be called ‘Born for Greater Things’. The
name succinctly captures the ethos of what we experienced
at Aloysius’, particularly the desire to better oneself whilst at
the same time being mindful of those less fortunate around
us. It is also a clear indication of the aims we want to
focus the organisation efforts on, namely the promotion of
individuals less fortunate, the alleviation of poverty and the
promotion of education. In the upcoming months we will
St Aloysius’ College
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 aloysiad / page 21