Sad issues.....

The Philippines has the 4^th largest number of prostituted children in the world.   Approximately 375,000 women and girls ages 11-21 usually are in the sex trade.   An estimated 300,000 sex tourists from Japan visit the Philippines every year.     Breaks my heart, as does the homeless children. 

www.humantrafficking.org/countries/philippines

Chris does a Bible study with women rescued out of the human  trafficking trade.  It was our privilege to be a part of an afternoon program put on by New Life Community Church in Mandaue  City, Cebu Island for these women and their children.      The youth of New Life Community Church did a choreographed dance and also a puppet show.  

  The men on our team sang.  Liz shared her story.     Katrina and I shared the Gospel with the children through the wordless bracelets.     Finally, 20 children got to open Christmas shoeboxes--what a delightful afternoon!!   

Homosexuality is very open and tolerated/accepted.

The literacy rate is 93%, but with the country unable to sustain steady economic growth, not enough jobs can be generated to employ a labor force of 39 million.   There are thousands who graduate from universities every year, too.

Consequently, many leave the Philippines and their families—this I have alluded to in another post.   Filipinos work as doctors, nurses, and engineers in the Middle East; as domestic helpers in Hong kong, Singapore, and some European cities; and as entertainers in Japan.  

Because of the large pool of skilled labor and relative proficiency in English, the Filipinos are internationally marketable.       

 The separation of the wage earner out of the country from the family causes stresses on marriage and family relationships.   Sometimes, though,  the entire family can live in the foreign country, while the husband works there.  That still causes stresses with the family so far from their extended family.