ABSTRACT
At 80 years of age, Ilang de la Cruz is actively involved in all the chores in the house which she shares with her youngest son, a friendly man of about 40, who has Down’s syndrome. To earn extra money, she has rented the upper part of her house to some young women who have come to the city to work as salesgirls in the department stores. Her house is located on a privately owned lot; although she and other families have lived or ‘squatted’ on this lot for a number of years, they constantly fear the threat of demolition. In spite of her age, Ilang is rarely at rest. From morning until night, she is busy with a wide variety of activities: marketing and selling vegetables, taking care of her pigs, going to church, doing apostolic work as an active member of a church organization, attending meetings or doing some kind of community work as a leader in the Basic Christian Community of the parish. She is also a member of the urban poor community theatre group that performs in the church, in communities and on the streets during rallies and other occasions.
