‘Father Joe' still on a mission

[Guest reader]

 

From Bangkok Post
 

The young priest, always something of a misfit, chose an unconventional spot to start his preschool: a former pigsty near a slaughterhouse in one of Bangkok’s poorest neighbourhoods. For a fee of a penny or two a day, the Rev Joseph Maier took in children from the most destitute families, teaching them to spell their names in Thai and feeding them what was often their only meal of the day. 

He also lived nearby, his neighbours the castoffs in the capital: butchers, scavengers, street vendors, professional beggars, thieves and prostitutes. Wooden planks formed walkways over the muddy ground, which turned into polluted swamps during the rainy season. 

Fifty years later, Father Joe, as the American Roman Catholic priest came to be known by his neighbours, is still there, ministering to the residents of what remains one of poorest neighbourhoods in what is now a modern metropolis. 

“Nobody wanted me around,” he said in a recent interview. “I was drunk; I was always angry about something, an angry young man. I didn’t fit in.” 

But in Klong Toey, Father Joe, now 82, found his place in the world, an outcast among outcasts. 

Continues at
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2415085/father-joe-still-on-a-mission



 

 

[Olddaddy]

I always think Bangkok slums are no where as bad as the Philippines 

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

I always think Bangkok slums are no where as bad as the Philippines 

That's the competition nobody wants to win

[kjun12]

I sent a donation today.  Sounds like a deserving organization.