Manny Pacquiao Builds Hundreds Of Houses For Homeless Ahead Of Big Fight

Manny Pacquiao: Jack of all trades...master of all trades. Seriously, it seems like everything Manny does, he becomes great at. Boxing, politics, loving Jesus, and, apparently, helping the homeless in the Philippines. 

The fact that one of boxing's all-time greatest fighters has a bout coming up early next month (November 5), hasn't stopped him from doing his job as a man who serves his people. It's rare that athletes maintain their level of fame outside the sport that made it famous, but Manny has yet again proven that when you're given fame and money, the best thing you can do with it is help other people.

Poverty in the Philippines is, unfortunately, very high.

The National Statistics Coordination Board's (NSCB) most recent report on poverty in the Philippines came on April 23, 2013. The results of the survey, which is taken every three years, showed that as of the first semester of 2012, 27.9 percent of Filipinos were living below the poverty line.

Unfortunately for Filipinos, this number has gone relatively unchanged since 2009.

In the nation's capital city, Manila, the homeless population is the largest in the world.

3.1 million people in Manila live on the streets. That's more people than live in Chicago. Of the homeless in Manila, 70,000 are children. In the country as a whole, the homeless population includes 1.2 million children.

It's safe to say the conditions are dire, and you can see that in the picture below where skyscrapers are contrasted with Filipino-styled favelas.

Is there a cure to all the poverty and homelessness? That's debatable. But help is on the way from one of the Philippines' biggest celebrities.

A project is underway that will see 1,000 houses built in the Sarangani Province in the south of the country. The best part? The houses won't come at a cost to the people living in them or the taxpayers. It's all privately funded.

Manny Pacquiao to the rescue.

The boxer-turned-politician announced in a Facebook post how proud he was to be able to bring this project to his constituents.

"I'm so happy giving this houses free to my constituents in Sarangani Province from my own pocket. More than a thousand families are the beneficiaries. And I’m still building more because I always believe what the bible says..."

From beating up people in the ring to beating up poverty.

Manny Pacquiao, for the handful of people who don't know, was a professional boxer and arguably the biggest fight celebrity in the world during his reign. His career record was 57 wins, six losses, and two draws before he decided to hang up the gloves (temporarily) to run for Senator in the Sarangani Province of the Philippines.

Life as Senator.

"The Filipino slugger garnered more than 16 million votes, landing 7th among 12 new members of the Senate, a traditional springboard to the presidency. Earlier this year, he said that he planned to retire from boxing to become a full-time politician," reported the Toronto Star.

Since becoming Senator, rumors have run wild of Manny one day running for president of his beloved home country. Currently, though, Manny is still Senator, and he hopes to make the long-lived Filipino dream of offering free elementary-to-college education to the nation's poorest families despite the high costs of doing so.

"In a populist stance, he said the first bill he would file would grant free elementary-to-college education for children from poor families, a proposal that has not been realized in the past due to the extensive costs it would entail. More than a fourth of the more than 100 million Filipinos are considered poor."

Pictures of the 1,000 houses are on the next page.

A man of faith.

The born-again Christian has referenced his faith in many of the decisions he's made in his career, his personal life, and his life in office. This decision was no different. In his Facebook post about the initiative, he cited scripture from the Bible:

1 Peter 4:8-10 NIV

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. [9] Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. Thank you Lord for everything, even some people are criticizing me but I’m still happy because you live in me."

Re-entering the ring.

As if the Senator didn't have enough of his plate, he is set to re-enter the ring on November 5 to fight Jessie Vargas, a 28-year-old fighter out of Los Angeles, California. Vargas is currently 27-1 with 10 knockouts to his name and is ranked 8th in the world, whereas Pacquiao is ranked #1.

You just KNEW he wouldn't be out of the ring long.

"Boxing is my passion. I miss what I’d been doing inside the gym and atop the ring," said Pacquiao, who has won titles in a record eight divisions.

Boxing is also Manny's main source of income.

And despite making nine figures in his loss to Mayweather, Pacquiao would still like to rely on something outside politics to support his family.

"Boxing is my main source of income," he said. "I can’t rely on my salary as a public official. I’m helping the family of my wife and my own family, as well. Many people also come to me to ask for help, and I just couldn’t ignore them."

It's hard to give up something you love. So why not box AND give back to the people of the Philippines?

Manny said in an interview with Boxing Junkie:

"First, when I hung up my gloves and I realized, I feel lonely because when you are thinking that the sport you love, you’re no longer active, I felt lonely and thinking about it over and over that boxing still likes me. Boxing loves me and I love boxing," Pacquiao said. "So why should I stop my boxing career? That’s why I changed my mind. So I decided to continue my journey as a boxer."

I think everyone who's missed playing a sport they love can understand where Manny is coming from here.

So what do you think?

Do you like what Pacquiao is doing with the free housing? Are you going to tune in on November 5 for his fight? Let us know in the comments section.