Sadness in Public

Yesterday, I was driving through the center of our town of 96,000 residents at 8:30 AM when I saw a lady standing in the middle of the road. Buses, jeepneys, trucks and private vehicles were going by on both sides. If you live where we do, none of this would sound strange. People regularly stand on the center line waiting for traffic to clear.

What made this unusual was the fact that the mature woman, in her 30's, was naked from the waist down. It is not common but it does happen from time to time. We have been here for twenty six years and this is the second instance for us.

One of the things that comes with poverty is a reduced insulation from problems in the world. This woman, I have no idea what was "wrong", was obviously in need of some assistance. She was distraught.

This society does not have institutions for these kind of situations. There is no place for this woman to "go" so that she will not be seen.

Carol saw a similar situation where the woman was totally naked and pregnant. She went to a local agency of a well known Christian organization that provides help to these kinds of people. She was told that the woman had been there earlier and when they tried to provide clothing she broke the door getting out of there.

I cried. I am not sure what else I could have done. I need to think of something better to do.