Tondo!! That's where all the murderers live!
Tondo is where all the bad people are!
Tondo is where the gangs hide out
Tondo is the most dangerous place in Manila
Tondo is dirty and people are all poor
There are many criminals there
Tondo people are the outcasts of the nation
If we go there we might get killed
Above are just a few of the things said to us on a regular basis when people find out we work in Tondo. The comments usually come from Filipinos. People from all walks of life have made really negative comments to us about Tondo from doctors to pedicab drivers. When our car breaks down we always dread getting a taxi to try and take us. They just won't go there. One morning 6 taxi drivers in a row threw us out and absolutely refused to take us!
There is a certain fear that comes with hearing the word Tondo. For decades it's been know for all of the above things. I was hopeful that if I entered "Tondo" on the Internet the description would be a bit brighter. Sadly not. Almost all the pictures and info that are presented are depressing.Here is what the encyclopedia has to say about it;
"One of the most densely populated areas of land in the world.Tondo is notorious for being the poorest yet most underdeveloped district of the country. Many of the city's slums are found in this area"
Doesn't exactly paint a pretty picture.
Some of the negative things said are true. There are murderers and gangs that hide out there. It defiantly can be a really dangerous place to be. We have seen and heard horrendous things happen. It's a place with extreme poverty.....
BUT the following are also facts about Tondo....
There are many hard working families in Tondo
There are young people striving with everything in them to graduate from school
There are children and teenagers there who are really talented and creative
There are community leaders who are trying their best to make things better
There are children, youth and adults who love Jesus with all their hearts
There are people who rise above their difficult circumstances to bring true worship
There is youth that have become leaders and amazing role models to the children
There are women who pour out compassion to those in their own community
There is a generation rising up who believe things can be and will be better
Some of the most beautiful people I have ever met live there.
There is HOPE in Tondo
I wonder what would happen if the nation of the Philippines began speaking life over Tondo instead of death? I wonder if part of the reason that Tondo has remained one of the most feared places in the Philippines is because people have declared it to be that way? I wonder what would happen if the nation began speaking out how Tondo could be?
A long time ago people made really negative comments about another place. They were so sceptical that anything or anyone good could ever come from such a despised town;
"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" John 1:46
How wrong were those people!! Jesus came from such a town and changed the world forever!
So I ask-can anything good come from Tondo?
Without a doubt... YES!
Let's start speaking about the changes that are happening, no matter how small we may think they are. Let Tondo no longer be called outcast but instead a place where the light will shine.
Let's believe that the generation that's rising up will do amazing things in the country and beyond. Let's believe that the sparks of change that have already happened will burst into a blazing fire and that with Gods help greater things are yet to come- greater things are still to be done in this city.
Manila. Philippines. Let's speak life over Tondo!
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