Maria's Momo

FROM ISSUE # 158 (February 2009) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Maria's mother is a homeless single parent. She came to Manila for a better life from a remote province of Philippines. But things didn't work out. Instead, what she found were many boyfriends with whom she had unprotected sex. She got pregnant and had a baby girl who she named Maria. Maria is a playful child who runs around in the small park in Ermita at the centre of Manila. She has no friends; neither does she have toys to play with. She plays with pebbles and cardboard paper.

Maria's mom is pregnant again. This means another Maria will be born without a father. This is a growing culture in modern Manila. These days it's common for young girls to have sex as early as when they are 14 to 15 years old. They have no knowledge about safe sex and as a result get pregnant when they are very young. Once the baby is born, the church baptises them. Unlike Nepal, unwedded motherhood is not a taboo neither does it affect their social status. Hence, thousand of Maria's are born every year in this city, many of who grow up on the streets.

Maria's mom works as a parking assistant. Whenever a car comes in, she runs in front of the car showing them a sign that says reverse. She can't run fast these days as she is in her third trimester so Maria runs after her mom and helps her out. She is slowly learning the skills for survival.

Hundreds of tourists walk through the park everyday and most of them hang out with young Filipino girls. When Maria sees tourists with young girls, she follows them and begs for some change even though they don't even look at her. Most of the tourists have white hair or are balding. Some even need walking sticks yet are seen walking with 16 year old girls. It is obvious that they are there only to have sex with them.

A tourist pays up to 2500 Filipino Pesos (equivalent to $50) to spend a night with a young girl and it's a surprise that they can't give 5 Pesos to Maria. May be when Maria grows up, she too will hang out with rich old tourists at the park, the same park where many Marias have grown up choosing to forget their past. Maria and her mom sleep under a tree at the park and use a cardboard box as their bed. They don't have pillows or blankets. When it rains, they run to take shelter somewhere else. They have no belongings so it's easy for them to run.

During my trips to the park, I saw Maria more than a dozen times and eventually became friends. I made it a point to bring her something everyday. She didn't go to school but loved to read and everyday she would get her English children's book and would ask me to read it to her. One day, Maria asked me, "Are you really my father?" The seriousness of the question took me by surprise. Though it was a lie, I played along with her and said, "Yes, I am your father." That made her smile and I told her that I had come to take her home. She didn't know where I lived so she asked me, "It's in Nepal, very far from here. We have to fly to get there," I told her, "Do you want to go there?" She then gets shy and said through her tears, "If you take me home I will call momo." "Momo? What's that?" I ask, thinking it was the name of a don of Ermita. It turns out momo translates to ghost in Tagalo language.

Push cycle
Journey started: Nov 29, 1998
Aim: To cycle around the world to spread the message of peace and hope within 11 years.
Countries travelled: 140
Next leg: Middle East