I do not own a home, nor a mansion, and I work every day as a teacher and as an administration officer for one of Metro Manila’s universities but I am far from the situation of homelessness and extreme poverty faced by millions of Filipinos. This does not change the fact that nobody wanted to be born into poverty and most are ill equipped to deal with the worsening circumstances that follow. I do not think I would be where I am today without the social conditions that brought me here.