THE HARBOR ZONE

        The Cebu port is the second largest of the country when considering the intensity of traffic. Many families have settled on the land strips along the harbor, without authorization of the owner, thus creating a long stretch of shanty towns.

       The living conditions of the 300 families* living on Pier 6 are particularly hard:
- houses are small, made of bamboo with no minimum comfort,
- water is scarce and not drinkable,
- the few families who do have electricity represent a fire hazard,
- parents struggle greatly to earn their daily bread.

        This environment spurs moral distress (lack of willingness to change the situation, incapacity to imagine a bright future) from which violence, alcohol and drugs are easy ways out.

        Less than half of the family men have a regular job. More than a third works on the port, loading and unloading boats. It is a very tiring activity (especially under the burning sun), in order to cope with it, many take shabu (a drug comparable to crack). Only 30% of mothers have a regular job. More than half do not work. The port is also a dangerous environment, where prostitution is common. The daily revenue per house is 137* pesos on average, or 3 305 pesos per month, which is the equivalent of 51 euros (a meal being 7 pesos, most of the revenue is devoted to nutrition).

        Most of those living in the shanty town come from the surrounding countryside (the islands of Cebu, Leyte and Bohol essentially). Attracted by the lights of the city, they spend their savings coming to Cebu with their families, cannot find a regular job (for half of them) but cannot go back. According to social workers, if they are sent back home, they come back hoping to make it in the harbor or arguing that the Cebu port offers more means of subsistence…

        It is these families that Little Bamboo Foundation Inc. hopes to help. In July 2002, we started organizing activities for children in a 15m2 hut. In December 2002, our temporary school was transferred in a bigger shack on Pier 6. At the same time, we found a suitable land next to the harbor, where a school was built in bricks and mortar (construction works from February to June 2003). Since then, other programs complete our initial project.

* According to a study conducted by Little Bamboo Foundation Inc in the first quarter of 2003.