MANILA, Philippines - There’s a little house at the end of a shady village in Cainta which seven people who are not related to each other call home.
On my first visit I saw children in their early teens who were living there. I thought they were orphans and gave them popsicles and candies.
But the children were not the usual orphans. Two of the girls had Down Syndrome and two of the boys had cerebral palsy. The next time I went to visit, the teenagers had grown up – but they were still there, living contentedly. That house had become a home to them and they will live there for the rest of their lives, secure and content.
The home was started by Francisco “Jing” Amparo in 1988 in a rented place in Nagtahan. The ex-seminarian had been impressed deeply by his visits to Liverpool, England and to India. In England, he saw L’Arche (The Ark), the first home started almost 50 years ago by Jean Vanier, the male Mother Teresa.
From that moment, Amparo started working for a special form of community where people who are often despised and rejected by our world can fully develop their potentials and make their own small contribution to the lives of others, thus enriching the world around them. Thus was born ARKO.
Experience with the core members – the residents of the home – give others a chance to develop unselfishness, compassion, patience, understanding, kindness and all the virtues that will help make our world a peaceful and happy place.
ARKO began with one abandonee – a 7-year-old boy, Raymond, who a social worker from the Missionaries of Charity brought to Jing. Raymond had been found wandering in a street alone. Now he is around 33 and is severely autistic and mentally retarded. But he is a good person – he is always obedient and smiling.
Two years later came Jordan, who was also around 7 years old. Jordan has cerebral palsy and cannot speak. Jordan was found lying in a street; now he has a bed of his own and a wheelchair where he can sit while taking part in life in their community. There are two Down Syndrome abandonees, Rea and Lala, now in their early 20s.
There are two house mothers to take care of the two houses. One house is led by attractive Letlet Paulino who has immersed herself completely and joyfully in her job. Not so long ago, Letlet and Rea were in a serious car accident and Letlet instinctively protected Rea. The child had only a superficial wound, but Letlet has a deep scar in her scalp to show for that terrible experience.
Letlet told me they all plan each day together with their assistants to see that all the chores are done together so that the work does not become a burden.
Jordan, for example, cannot feed himself so Rea, Lala or Mariflor, a 20 year-old mentally retarded core member, may volunteer to feed him. They also help in the cooking and the laundry so they become active members of the family, contributing what they can for the family.
Now they have added a day care center to answer the needs of other poor families in the neighborhood who have special children.
In the afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m., the ARKO offers a workshop, teaching the boys how to make paper out of cogon, and other practical skills.
All of these activities need money, so of course the guiding force behind the ARKO has become a strong committee of lay people taking up the cudgels of the voiceless and powerless.
After Jing, the first president was Jose Orosa, Hector Quesada, Enrique Martinez, and Armando Baltazar. The present president is Carlos Dulay. The board of directors is comprised of six noble crusaders. They are the people who have chosen their goals, though they are very difficult to achieve.
A friend told me just the other day that her granddaughters were here for vacation from the States and they volunteered their time here to helping the poor and the sick. I am sure that they will become more enriched with the friendship with these disabled but joyful people. Was it not Jesus himself who once said: Whatever you do for the least of my people, you do for me.