# The Downside of Leaving the Philippines



## Maxx62 (Dec 31, 2013)

Well, during the eight and a half years I lived in the Philippines, my wife and did our best to try and help out some of the neighbor kids living around us. For example, there used to be an old man who would come to our house and spend a few hours, once or twice a month, trimming trees, pulling weeds, and so on. His first wife had passed away sometime earlier, so sometimes he'd bring his kids ages 3, 11, 16, and 17 to help him. Of course the older kids got bored and wandered away, but my wife and I got very attached to the two younger kids, and we would look forward to them coming to our house every other Friday. 

Also, one of my mother-in-law's former maids lives just outside our compound wall, and I heard through the grapevine that she was now a single mother, with a teenage son who suffers from learning disabilities. I talked to her a bit about her son, and it appears to me that her son probably suffers from some sort of undiagnosed learning disability such as Asperger's, or something like that. 

Well, since the boy (he's about 15 or 16) doesn't have his own father, I invited to have him come over and help me do simple tasks around our place, and then I'd give him a little bit of money so he could hopefully learn responsibility. Well, we took all of the plumbing parts (boxes and boxes of PVC fittings) out of my storage shed, we put them on the ground, sorted them, counted them, and then I had him make an Excel spreadsheet listing all of the pipe fittings and plumbing fixtures I had in stock. It was a pointless task, but my point was to teach him about inventory control, and to also help him identify different fittings by just looking at them.

However, all of that came to a screeching halt when I got into an argument with brother-in-law this past July, and one of the things he complained about is unvaccinated people coming to our house. Anyway, when I left the Philippines, I didn't have a chance to explain to the boy (not my son) or his mother what was going on, I just left.

Well, the mother asked me if I could help her with son's school supplies, but since I've returned to the US, I honestly can't. Also, I went to the doctor the other day, I have a clogged artery in my hear, a bad thyroid, and maybe a few polyps in my colon. So, at the moment I'm not in good shape. I receive a pension from a former employer, and I'm also Social Security. The medical bills alone are going to kill me. 

So, I guess my question is, are there any brave expats out there who might be willing to take this kid under their wing? He's a good kid. I taught him how to change oil in the car, how to replace wall switches, how to put chlorine in the water tank, and how to change water filters. However, you may need to give him some guidance due to his learning disabilities. Well, if this seems like something anyone is interested in, please send me a private message.


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