Bunso Jessa's family needs a house

Bunso Jessa is one of World Sisters United up and coming Directors. She lives in a squatters village in Manila. One that was hit very hard by the big typhoon a year ago where many lost their houses or roofs. This squatters village is very near and dear to my heart. We have three WSU directors from there and whenever I visit this place I get nothing but amazing hospitality and great times from the people living there. The picture above shows the WSU crew with tripods and camera cases all walking into this squatters incampment. Bunso Jessa is looking back waiting for me, because the cat walk you see goes on for half the length of a football field and I usually have near-death experiences when I traverse it because the boards are so rickety and the bog you have to walk over looks like it could easily contain toxic death waste water. Although I'm told it's just sewage run-off mixed with basic watershedding.

It's hard to believe this squatters village is in the middle of such a large urban area as Manila. When you get past the vast series of moats surrounding the village you could be on some removed island anywhere. Jessa's family lives in a house that is exremely small for ten people. I paid for them to build a small eatery that is next to their house. The eatery is typical construction for the Philippines, poured concrete floor, concrete cinder block walls and corrugated tin roof. The total cost of the construction for the small eatery (10' x 8') was us$750. But their house is in dire need of construction so we are trying to raise the funds to build one. Their current house is one very small room with a small sleeping space you climb up in to. The wall pictured below (behind where the family stands) is the only legitimate wall of the makeshift building and it's actually just the wall of the neighboring house. The rest of the house is just cobbled together with scrap material and bamboo. It has dirt floors and water runs through the floor when it rains. (which it does a lot in Manila). The last typhoon completely ripped off the roof leaving the family without housing for some time. (the eatery wasn't yet finished)

Bunso Jessa got her uncle and father to put together a list of the costs for building out their house to give it a proper floor, walls and roof. The total with labor and all came to us$1500. So we are setting up a fund to raise that money. So join with us in some international barn raising and give what you can. Email me at larriji@gmail.com or you can paypal directly to wsu_phi@yahoo.com - please put Jessa House Fund in the comments for paypal. Any amount will help and 100% of any gifts go directly to Jessa to build their house. We will be following the progress with this and documenting the results of gifts so all can see the results. Many thanks to all for your support and kind words. Please give even a dollar! God bless L

Bunso Jessa, WSU Director, in one of WSU's Sari Sari shops, picture taken in 2007

Seeking donations for the Jessa House Fund - us$1500 needed to build her family a house.