A Blessing for Ate Zeny

No longer able to work because of end stage renal failure and partial blindness, “Ate Zeny’s” (“Ate” means “Auntie”) legs are swollen and one leg shows signs of gangrene.  At 57 and never married, her step-sister “dumped” her 

in a place described to us by our Philippine partner-on-the-ground as “dirty, dusty, littered and cluttered with tricycle junk.”
Our reporter said, “I can only observe her  in awe as  she still finds it in her heart to be grateful and joyful in  her situation. She says ‘my blessings come from everywhere.’ ”  

Raised by her grandmother, Zinaida worked to send herself to a secretarial course in Manila and later worked in sales, selling steel filing cabinets. Wanting to help a group working with Muslim people, she quit her job to serve them as cook and cleaning lady.  

Today International Baptist Church in Makati members raise funds for Ate Zeny to undergo dialysis treatments three times a week.  

It is a privilege to donate a wheelchair to lovely Ate Zeny.