This is JohnJohn. He is an orphan child and lives in the Ramada orphanage in Valencia. He was one of the saddest cases of children I saw. When I got there they told me that he was mentally retarded and that he had a skin disease. I looked at his skin and he had 3 ringworms, one on his arm and the others on his legs. He was not being treated and the ringworm was as big as a silver dollar. That night I went to the Pharmacy and bought the anti-fungal cream and asked that it be put on the boy twice a day. He was a lot better 1 week later when I left but was still not cured. I think that if he were in America we would say he was "autistic." And that he had behaviour problems...maybe ADD. We would get him some special education classes and send him to school. But that is not an option in the Philippines, unless you pay, it is very expensive for them. So Johnjohn...is just existing; not being educated or properly cared for. He will forever be at the mercy of those around him.
He has only a mother, who lives many hours away, his father is dead. His mother is remarried and cannot care for Johnjohn. She abandoned him at the orphanage. The night I arrived he tried to tell me his story and sat on the dirty concrete floor and cried for an hour. I could not understand him...except for the word, "momma."