This week was the highlight of my six months in the Philippines. I traveled north to Baguio City and stayed with our sister community The Religious of the Good Shepherd. The best part of my trip was the opportunity to see their ministry up close. Simply put, the sisters offer a residential training program that teaches young women [and now young men too!] employment skills so that they can break the multi generation cycle of poverty in which so many rural Filipino are trapped. The sisters own and operate a four story factory which uses local crops to produce very marketable products. Maybe the best example is something called UBE JAM which is made out of an indigenous root vegetable.I hope these pictures tell the story of a dedicated group of nuns who are making a real difference in the lives of over 350 young people who are enrolled in this years program. First, the purple tuber has to be hand cleaned and prepped for cooking (Picture 1). Then the Ube is steamed in a gigantic pressure cooker (Picture 2). Next, it is it processed in huge batches (Picture 3)...then bottled (Picture 4)...labeled and ready for sale in their own store located on the first floor of the factory (Picture 5). Their corporate name is Mountain Maid and under that title they also produce: strawberry jam and preserves, peanut brittle, a wide variety of cookies and baked goods, peanuts roasted with garlic, empanatas, woven handicrafts and more. The whole process is even more remarkable when you learn that the profits are used to send the student workers to college! The Sister of the Good Shepherd make all of us proud to be part of the Eudist Family.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 07:21:59 +0000
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