A visit to Anawim Home for the Aged

Our family spent our afternoon on December 18, 2015 at Anawim, the village that serves as home for the elderly (aged) that are poor and abandoned.

The facility was founded by Bo Sanchez, a Catholic lay preacher. Anawim Lay Missions opened its doors in 1996. Its mission is to provide a shelter, a home, a sanctuary, to those poor and abandoned elderly who have nowhere else to go. Some of the current residents were found roaming in the streets, some were brought there by religious organizations.

A few weeks prior, I asked my staff to coordinate with Anawim’s officer in charge regarding what food they wanted us to bring. Their request was pansit daw from Amber’s. Kaya eto, instead of bringing fancy food, we brought food familiar to them and to be sure na magustuhan nila.

I initially wanted to give food baskets for each person but they discouraged us to bring other goodies except those that the old people could consume within that day. Kasi masasayang lang daw dahil the seniors would just forget about it after the party. Syempre tulad natin, malilimutin na rin sila. Money for each individual is also not advisable. Donations must be coursed thru Anawim’s office for the village’s sustenance and needs.

The land area is huge. Vegetables are planted for the residents’ consumption.

The tall palm trees are gorgeous. They were planted by Fr. Steve Tynan from Australia. I’d like to plant something like that in my mini farm.

I credit our staff Jayvie, Kay-Ann, etc. for helping in the advanced preparations.
Amber’s has become so successful. Birthday, binyag, corporate events, sa lamay, Libing, no occasion blow-out, they are so in-demand. They have bilao with assorted pansit. Brilliant idea. I scrapped the idea of bringing Chicken Joy kasi nga hindi daw mangunguya ng mga matatanda kasi matigas. Dapat daw yung madaling lunukin. Kaya pansit na lang, kahit hindi nguyain, lunuk na lang ng lunok. Pansit malabon with bekloks. Napaka simpleng handa. Talu-talo na. Some couldn’t get their own food. We decided to just serve to all para faster and easier. I also got hungry. We haven’t had lunch. Ang sarap ng tasty bread. My driver bought from the village store near our house. The place is like a hacienda, they even have turkeys. I will buy a pair of Turkey for my little farm. Wag sana akong tukain. Lola Avelina

We took their individual photos, printed them on the spot, as their souvenir of our visit.

The current residents number about 50 with ages ranging from 60 up. The oldest is aged 95, female, single, a retired teacher from Jolo, Sulu.

Some of the ladies were articulate in English. Their demeanor showed they were educated. Some pala were teachers.

Gem, singing to the lolos and lolas

It was such a joy sharing our afternoon with them.

Lola Aurora singing Maalaala Mo Kaya, ang sumpa mo sa akin…..

We hope our presence made them forget their loneliness and boredom even for a short while. We hope we were able to bring joy to their hearts even in a very small way. We hope when they look at their individual photos, they would smile because they were smiling in the photos.

ANAWIM Lay Missions Foundation
Mascap Puray Road, San Isidro, Sitio Tanag,
Montalban Rizal, Philippines

Coordinator: Miss Mila

Telephone: +63-2-710 5273