Bill Shaw – Co-founder of the Jeepney Magazine; Director of the Homeless World Cup in the Philippines

Empowerment.

This is the primary driving force behind Bill Shaw’s Jeepney Magazine.  Bill, with his wife Debbie, first came to the Philippines in 2002 on a mission under the organization, Wycliffe Bible Translators.  In 2007, they decided to prolong their stay to work directly with the poor.

But Bill wanted to give something more than just reaching out to the destitute.

In 2008, the Shaws established the publication—the first street paper in developing Asia—to provide a sustainable means of living to street dwellers.  Since then, the Jeepney has provided a career to countless poor people, and has had its share of success stories on poverty alleviation.

But more needs to be done.  And Bill’s small team of dedicated men and women are tirelessly endeavoring to widen the magazine’s circulation.
 
Owing to his Christian view, Bill has chosen to expend his time and resources helping poor Filipinos through his publication and Urban Opportunities for Change Foundation, where he sits as executive director, as opposed to helping rebuild troubled communities of Michigan, which is experiencing a 20 percent unemployment rate.

“Family is important but my faith would require me to say that everybody else is just as important,” Bill said.  “Part of our social and Christian view requires us to see the homeless people here in the Philippines at the same value as our kids.”

“Our kids are pretty supportive of us,” he added.  “Even though we love being around them, they love being around us, they would not choose us to come home for them.”

In this interview, Bill talks about Jeepney Magazine, how it came to fruition, and his involvement with the Homeless World Cup.

Listen to and read the transcript of the interview and find out more about Bill’s life as a child living a rural lifestyle in Michigan, and his professional background as an entrepreneur who has set a standard for wages in the state.

All these and more only here on Greater Good Philippines.

Photo: Bill Shaw and Jay-R Patron at the Jeepney Magazine office in Cainta, Rizal.  Taken by Debbie Shaw.

Jay-R Patron:  Bill, will you tell us what you do?

Bill Shaw:  What I do in the Philippines is… firstly, I’m the co-founder of the first street paper in developing Asia, with my wife Debbi, and that means anything related to the street paper, I’m a part the journalism portion, editorial portion, trying to find the funds to make it all happen, dealing and working with homeless partners that sell the magazine, finding locations for them… whatever that has to do with the magazine, I do.  I’ve also been the director of the Homeless World Cup for the last in the last… do you want me to talk about the Homeless World Cup or just the magazine?

Jay-R Patron:  It’s part of my questions…

Bill Shaw:  Ok.  I’m also the organizer of the Homeless World Cup up to this year.

Jay-R Patron:  Will you give us a general overview of your entire career, spanning from the time you were a businessman?  You had a business back in the US?

Bill Shaw:  I was/am a business entrepreneur.  I started a small electrical company in ’91 in Michigan.  We grew to a mid-sized company in the ‘90s.  At one point I employed 65 electricians. With my uncle and another partner, I started a 12,000-square feet grocery store.  But these businesses were by default.  Even being in the electrical trade for me was by default.  I ended up doing that and I think I was relatively successful with it, but it was never a passion. To some extent the business allowed us to pursue a year of missions with in 2002. We were with an organization called Wycliffe Bible Translators and they assigned us to the Philippines. We ended up in Cainta, Rizal at Faith Academy…

Jay-R Patron:  That was your first experience of being here in the Philippines?

Bill Shaw:  Yes, we lived here two years, 2002-2004, but we’ve done some short-term missions in Haiti.  In fact, the epicenter of the earthquake in Haiti, I’ve been there six different times in the ‘90s, so I had some experience working cross-culturally. I also spent a year of my life in England.  Coming here was not really a shock to us because of our experience in Haiti. After two years in Manila we went back to Michigan and went back to work… because we needed the money (laughs).

Jay-R Patron:  What is Jeepney Magazine?

Bill Shaw:  The Jeepney Magazine is a street paper, and is a member of an International Network of Street Papers, INSP.  There are a hundred different street papers in 40 countries that are part of the INSP.  They’re all autonomous.  The one common denominator is that at least 50 percent of the proceeds have to go to the vendor selling it.  As part of the INSP, we also are required to have a bottom heavy organization.  In other words, the money has to go to the workers, not the marketing and management. It’s pretty simple for us because Debbi and I don’t get paid.  The Jeepney Magazine is published to employ marginalized people in the Philippines.  It is also published to communicate a voice of voiceless people.  But our goal is to present that voice in a way that will not humiliate our audience.  What we really want to do is present the poor in a powerful, visual way, in a way that celebrates them, empowers them. 

Jay-R Patron:  How did Jeepney Magazine come about?

Bill Shaw:  My wife and I came back to the Philippines in January 2007, and we begin to explore a way that we could work directly with the poor. Because of my business background, I always think of jobs. Anybody working with the poor can attest that providing jobs is one of, if not the biggest, obstacle.  Knowing a little bit about street papers, I thought this would be a way that we could give employment to marginalized people.  We begin to research and talk to people here.  We went to the International Network of Street Papers conference in Poland.  We met journalists, editors and publishers from around the world that were publishing street papers. We returned to the Philippines in September 2007 specifically to start the Jeepney. 

Jay-R Patron:  How is it working in Jeepney?  In releasing every publication, every issue?

Bill Shaw:  You mean how is it in getting the content and putting everything together?

Jay-R Patron:  Right.

Bill Shaw:  I think anybody that publishes magazines and newspapers will concur there is an element of stress and last minute stuff that happens.  Certainly, we always battle through the layout, we always want something to look a little bit different.  But it is wonderful… I think Debbi and I both love the process even though tempers rise, we get upset, and we want things done in a certain timeframe and it doesn’t seem to quite make it. 

Jay-R Patron:  Any success stories born out of Jeepney Magazine, the vendors that you provide…?

Bill Shaw:  I think every one of our vendors is a success story.  They have a job, they are moving off the streets, paying for the education of their children, getting married, building relationships with people, exploring deeper values, like who God is, things that survival leaves no room for.

Jay-R Patron:  Where specifically are your locations?  Where do your vendors sell? What’s your circulation in the country?

Bill Shaw:  Our circulation is anywhere from a thousand to two thousand a month, which is not where we want to be… Locations are a frustration for us.  We had been able to partner with a variety of different malls: Glorietta, Park Square, Galleria, Trinoma, Metro East, and Eastwood. We also sell at UP.  We have vendors that sell along Katipunan Avenue.  We are legally allowed to be in Intramuros. We are going to be placing vendors in China town. Interestingly, worldwide vendors are just on street corners.   Michigan Avenue in Chicago, downtown London, city square of Melbourne.

I was talking to Illac Diaz.  He has been living in Boston and they have a successful street paper there.  He loved the concept.  And as we discussed our location issue, he pointed out that all the city streets in Boston are public lands, here it’s all private. So the Fort, Ortigas, Makati, Cubao Central, Alabang, all these places would be opportunities for our Jeepney partners we have yet to meet the person or persons who could partner with us, as we partner with homeless people. It is all about partnership. 

I believe trust and relationship with people and governments will open the doors for the Jeepney. The truth is, many of us are here for the same reasons, serving the people and the poor. We have to work together.

Jay-R Patron:  Let’s talk briefly about your involvement in the Homeless World Cup.  How did you get involved?

Bill Shaw:  The Homeless World Cup was started by street papers essentially. The first Homeless World Cup was held in Austria in 2003 and 17 countries were represented.  When we went to the INSP conference in Poland 2007, I was introduced to the Homeless World Cup. When we started the Jeepney, I also introduced the concept of a Homeless World Cup.  This is an annual international soccer tournament, where a homeless person gets a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent his country and change his life. This year in Rio there will be 64 nations represented.

The reality that you can use sport to communicate the issue of homelessness is a powerful use of sport. This year Team Philippines will represent many different faces and areas of homelessness, including, we hope, indigenous people, the vulnerably housed, and internally displaced refugees.

Jay-R Patron:  What essentially is the value or are the values that you see in your involvement with Jeepney and Homeless World Cup and all the other things that you do?

Bill Shaw:  Generosity, justice, forgiveness and sacrifice, but maybe not in that order.  I am in my heart a social entrepreneurship, though that is becoming a catchword. I can’t think of anything I would rather be doing.

I think that much of what people are calling social entrepreneurship is social exploitation.  I absolutely know that the Jeepney is not social exploitation.

The challenge, for Debbi and I, is that we’re spending our security, and we’re spending our kids’ security, and yet at the same time, it’s not that important, in relation to the need.  It is wonderful that I have a wife who does not prioritize money.  She is not worried about material things.  She has a heart for people.  She has got a heart for her family.  In a way that is our biggest struggle because our kids are not here.  We horribly miss them and our four grandchildren.

Jay-R Patron:  They’re all in the US?

Bill Shaw:  They’re all in the US.  They’re very supportive of what we’re doing.

Jay-R Patron:  Who would you consider as your greatest mentor?

Bill Shaw:  <Pause> I think historically for me, partly because, I’ve always felt that I gave myself a lot more opportunity than somebody else.  I’ve worked for many different companies in many different jobs, but I have never felt they’ve given me the element of responsibility and opportunity that I can really take advantage of, no sole mentor comes to mind.  Other than my Uncle Jim, perhaps he would be my greatest mentor, yet we often disagree.

Jay-R Patron:  How was childhood to you like growing up at Michigan?  How was it like?

Bill Shaw:  It was great.  We lived in 40 acres.

Jay-R Patron:  A farm?  What kind of farms was that?

Bill Shaw:  It was not really a farm.  We never farmed but occasionally we would have some animals.  We had a steer for a while.  We had a garden.  We were surrounded by fruit orchards, and so we would pick cherries in the summer for work.  It was fairly reclusive.  Summer was building forts, working, running around the field, playing ball.

Jay-R Patron:  How important is family to you?

Bill Shaw:  Pretty important (laughs).  We have four kids, two boys and two girls.  We are a close family. We love being around them, they love being around us, though they would not choose for us to come home, for them alone.  Family is important but my faith  requires me to say that everybody else is just as important.  Jesus made it clear that you must see the whole world. He does not see just one family.  He does not see just one community. He does not see just one country.  Essentially, as a Christian we are required to have his view of people and earth.  That means that you can’t take your family and your gardens and just care for them, and leave and ignore everyone else’s. My Christian view requires me to value the homeless people here in the Philippines at the same level as my own children. It’s very difficult to do but essentially in my mind that is a Christian requirement—that we see the same way that Jesus is seeing.

Jay-R Patron:  In effect you’re saying that faith is, not dictating, but is the basis of everything that you do now?

Bill Shaw:  I think so because the constant challenge for us is to sacrifice our lives. Faith is trusting in something non-material, something we cannot hold. I don’t think anything is going to happen unless we are willing to sacrifice.  Certainly, idealistically I believe a person who will sacrifice everything will change the world.  I can’t pretend to do that, but I can identify historical figures that have done that. I think people are fooling themselves if they think they’re going to change much if they’re not willing to sacrifice their own lives and their own resources. That’s the ideal, sacrifice everything for the greater good.

Jay-R Patron:  And that’s probably also one of the greatest challenges, sacrifice amidst all that we have…

Bill Shaw:  It’s really hard to sacrifice (laughs). In a lot of people’s eyes we are sacrificing but is it really sacrifice? Look at what we get to do.  We get to be here.  We get to do something that we love.  We get to see people’s lives change in a lot of ways. But, yes, a hundred percent sacrifice that is the greatest challenge.

Jay-R Patron:  What’s the most important lesson that you’ve learned that you still use to this day?

<Pause>

Bill Shaw:  There a lot of lessons out there but I’m thinking of one lesson, though I don’t know if it is the most important lesson.  I think you have to get dirty in life.  You have to be willing to do whatever it takes.  It does not matter what job it is.  I think I learned in construction to get dirty. That lesson has served me well.

Jay-R Patron:  And to the best of your abilities…

Bill Shaw:  …to the best of our abilities.  And I find I like everything I do.

Jay-R Patron:  What was your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it?

Bill Shaw:  My greatest challenge is to continue on, to continue giving up the things that bring a lot of comfort, like money, our home in Michigan, our cars, the touch of our family. The fear that you really have to sacrifice everything. That’s the biggest challenge, overcoming the fear of giving it all up. 

Jay-R Patron:  What would you consider as your greatest achievement so far?

Bill Shaw: Oh I don’t know.  I don’t know if we have any greatest achievement.

Jay-R Patron:  Maybe anything that you would consider at least as an achievement?

Bill Shaw:  It’s a process.  I mean it was wonderful to publish the first magazine but what you do today is only as good as what you do tomorrow… tomorrow is my greatest achievement.

Jay-R Patron:  At least you’re upping the ante.

Bill Shaw: Our greatest achievement is going to be if we can get the Jeepney sustainable, yet that will be more than our achievement. That will be an achievement for the Philippines. We will join the developed world in giving jobs through street papers.

Jay-R Patron:  What can we expect from Bill Shaw and Jeepney Magazine in the next months or years?

Bill Shaw:  I hope that, first of all, Jeepney Magazine becomes a poverty solution not just for a few people but for many people.  I hope that it becomes a voice for people who are voiceless that it can change society for the good.  I hope that it can launch opportunities to connect organizations together.  As we look at different things we’re doing, I hope we can come up with ideas that are creative and wonderful for homeless people.  I want to see our fashion section do with fashion what the Homeless World Cup does with football. In our food section a lady we featured is now selling double what she sold before. We want to build on that, empowering homeless people through communication.

Jay-R Patron:  Is there anything else you would like to add?

Bill Shaw: I want the readers to understand more than anything else is that when they buy the Jeepney Magazine, they are not just buying a magazine.  They’re giving someone a job.  They’re interacting with people.  They’re giving dignity.

I also want to thank the readers who are willing to sacrifice with us to give long-term locations for our vendors, they have moved from projects to partnership and that is a must if we want to change this country.

<End of interview>