Allan Antonio
Allan Antonio was born in Manila and his family lived here until he was six years old. Then his parents moved their family home to the province of Leyte. Allan went to school there.
As an adult, he earned a living by driving a padjak, a motorcycle with a sidecar. His wife ran a small sari-sari store. “My wife Purificacion and I weren’t earning big, but it was enough for our family. We had three children. Then Yolanda happened in 2013. In that devastating typhoon, my wife and one of our children went missing. I lost interest in living, I had no interest in working for several years because my wife was gone.”
Eventually, Allan was able to cope with his grief. “With advice from some people, I was able to pick myself up. But there was little work in Leyte although I had experience as a security guard, a janitor and a construction worker. I left my children, who were For Peace beneficiaries, with my mother’s brother and took a chance on making a living in Manila.”
That first year in Manila, he had a job in construction. When that project ended, he looked for other work, but couldn’t find any. He lived on the streets and sold foil mats to picnickers in Luneta.
He recalled, “I just stayed in Luneta. I befriended other street dwellers and joined them in scavenging. They brought me to the feeding centers and here to Hospicio in 2016.
“A few times, I was recruited to work in Nueva Ecija to watch the rice fields and take care of the ducks. I was supposed to study baking in Hospicio, but I disappeared and went to Nueva Ecija. That work was not permanent. I kept going back to Luneta whenever I was jobless.”
In November 2019, Hospicio recruited people who would study cookery and Allan signed on. Hospicio brought them to Jardin de la Virgen Milagrosa, a property it owned in Norzaragay, Bulacan, for training.
“We went there to study cookery. I persevered and we finished in February 2020. When we got back to Hospicio, I became a volunteer parent in St. Vincent Dorm right away. I watch the lolos (old men), help feed them and I do other chores.” For this, he receives an allowance, free food and a place to stay in Hospicio. No more living in Luneta for him.
“I am grateful that Hospicio is helping me because life here in Manila is so tough. I am hopeful that this will continue and I hope I will become stable so I can help my two children who are studying. I miss them so much. It has been years since I last saw them. I want to be able to rent a house in Manila where we can live together and be reunited as a family.”
Allan is so grateful for this leg up in life that he has a message for other homeless people. “I want to tell street dwellers to have a purpose in life, and not to rely on whatever charitable services are at hand but to strive for something stable so they can support their families. I wish they would secure their family’s future, use the help they are given to improve themselves, avoid bad activities and discard negative attitudes. The important thing is to uplift their lives.”