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Father Frank's Mission

Oct 27

Written by: Jeff O'Brien
10/27/2009 7:59 AM 

All photos by

Ricker Goldsborough.

He's done an amazing job with fundraising and documenting the effort. Thanks to all those who've donated their money and effort. It IS making a difference. Thank you Ricker.

Yesterday we met Father Frank, a 74 year old priest from the UK, and his staff. They came to the hotel, we chatted for a few minutes, then followed him to his mission compound.

FATHER FRANK'S BLOG

scroll down and hit the "entradas antiguas" link at the bottom to see more pages of photos on Father Frank's blog.

JAMIE'S BLOG

JAMIE'S PHOTOS

The mission compound has a daycare that houses 65 children from age 0 to 4.5. The cost for the daycare is $4 per MONTH Most of the babies come from single mother homes.



A little girl in daycare.



Shapiro in the daycare. The kids were so friendly and mauled us.

The school has an enrollment of 280. Kids up to 12 years old. Tuition for the school is $14 per MONTH. Uniforms and books are a bit extra.



The children instantly get gregarious around cameras and pose for photos. Shapiro playing.

A teacher's salary is $210 per MONTH We met the english teacher Suzy and took her to her home in the slum. She lives with her two boys and husband in a shack. Her husband works in a metal refinery.

There is a clinic at the compound where they see anyone from the public. There are two exam rooms in the clinic, and a social worker's office. There's also a nice church and Father Frank's quarters in the compound.



Father Frank's quarters and office.

Father Frank receives 1000 uk pounds a month to cover his deficit in expenses. $500 a month buys enough medicine to stock the clinic.

We left our vehicle at the mission and traveled with Father Frank into the slum. We had a lookout with us and kept our senses keen. A couple of the teachers and nurses joined us so we wouldn't attract too much attention.

At our first stop, the energy felt strange. Father Frank and the lookout picked up on this as soon as the crowd started to gather. Dustin saw a boy walk up with a gun in his hand, and place it in a tree before shaking Father Frank's hand.



The smaller boy in yellow just passed the older boy the gun before he and another teenager came over to us.

The lookout gave a sign, and Father Frank told us to stay in the truck bed. He casually told his staff to get in the truck and we left the area.



The gun in the tree.

The slum used to be a swamp. People built shacks over the water on stilts and traveled on scaffold between huts. Sometimes a person drowned when they fell off the scaffold because most can't swim. Slowly fill has been brought in. Most huts have one tiny electrical wire poached from the main wire likely to fuel a TV. There's also usually one garden hose into the hut for water.



This is a nice shack.

Sewage system's don't exist in the slums and people either defecate through a hole in the floor onto the ground or into the water. The watery areas are covered in garbage and scum.



Our second stop started to attract the wrong attention, and Father Frank's nurse looked at me and muttered, "Vaminos" (spanish for let's go) - We quietly and quickly got back in the truck and moved on.



Our third and fourth stops were safer, but a drug addict approached Father Frank at the last stop demanding money. We visited a family with five children the mission had been helping. The father was building kitchen cabinet drawers outside. The children were getting their strength back, but still looked lethargic and emaciated. I went inside the house to see the living conditions. (unfortunately, I did not take photos)



My expression during our last stop at the house with five children. You can't imagine the living conditions. The filth. They sleep in the dirt. Their kitchen is a gravel room with dishes and food in the dirt. The children are beautiful. They're shoeless and haven't bathed, but their eyes are bright and hair beautiful.



One of the five children outside his shack.



Our mood visibly changed after our time in the slum.

We returned to our vehicle and traveled back into the city to the discount pharmacy, which was closed. We went to a quick lunch in the hope the pharmacy would open, but it didn't. We'd pledged $500 to Father Frank, and after talking with him, it's our intention to try and provide him with $500 of assistance per month for as long as we can. He mentioned that so many times people show up wanting to help, they make big noises, then disappear. I'd rather give him a smaller amount each month to help them subsist. He really does great work with a very small budget.



A woman in the slum with breast cancer and her son with cerebral palsy. This photo is from Father Frank's blog. They travel into the slum and do research to find out who's most in need. The sickest people do not seek out medical help. They just rot away. Father Frank and his crew have to go find those most in need.

We decided to give him $1000 for