Alright, Fellas...grab some whiskey and lean back. I'm going tell you a story. Back when I was a child, I used to live in Cebu City, Philippines. My Lola (Grandmother) used to take me to church every morning. Each morning when we left our house, there would be people sleeping ouside our gate. I'd always ask her for a couple coins so I could leave it by them. I figured that when they'd wake up, they would find the money and it would help them get some breakfast.

 

This went on for a while unitl one day my Lola couldn't give me any more money, and the donations became another bill that we had to pay. She even told me that the Sari-Sari store (a tiny convenience store) a few feet away was going to give them food whenever they would wake up.

 

Years later, after I moved out to the United States, I found out why my Lola stopped giving me money to give to them. I found out that all the people I gave money to weren't sleeping...they were all dead. Our nieghborhood in Cebu was nicknamed "The Killling Fields," and people would take the dead bodies of their enemies and dump them outside our gate and surrounding areas in our neighborhood. I guess my Lola just didn't have the heart to tell me what was really going on. It was unsettling to find out that the whole time I just wanted to give them money for snacks, but really I was giving them fare for The Boatman.

 

In the 2000's, some of our family members retired from working in the USA and made their way back home to Cebu City. When they arrived, they felt as if they landed on a different planet. I guess years of making ends meet, Sears catalogs, parent-teacher meetings, potlucks and military service gradually etched away memories of their beginnings. One family member in particular: Dr. Pura.

 

It didn't take long for Dr. Pura to jump into action. She teamed up with her sister, Dr. Maurita, and a couple other volunteers and set up a free clinic to cater to the poor folks around The Killing Fields. We proudly crossed-out "Killing" in "The Killing Fields" and named the clinic, "The Healing Fields". Change tends to happen when we dare to believe and take ACTION. So they believed with everything they had in them, worked hard, and were able to give a wide range of free medical services, including prenatal care, distribute vitamins, medical consultations and checkups, traveling free clinics to the surrounding neighborhoods, pap smears to check for cervical cancer, physical therapy, infant feeding programs, and grade school feeding programs.

 

It's 2015 as I'm writing this to you. I'm living in San Diego, California now, while Dr. Pura and Dr. Maurita are still out there in the Philippines working for The Healing Fields and are doing a great job. Our medical services in Cebu are still going strong, but our feeding programs have taken a hit. Frankly, we've been doing all of this out-of-pocket and can't keep up. That's why we need your help. I hope it's not too much to ask. If you can spare a buck or two, it'd really help us out feeding these kids. I can't tell you how much I apprecate you stopping by. Thank you so much!

 

By the way, you can find out more about the feeding program by clicking the "Feeding" tab up there at the top of the site.

 

- Team Healing Fields