May 13th: Painting homes and starting the school site project

Today we got to sleep in until 6am! Some of us ran to the ocean for a quick dip before breakfast. After we ate breakfast, we loaded into the van and car and went off to the work site, Jenny and Gabe too! We painted primer coats on three small houses. Two houses were close together and we split into two groups.

House #1

House #2

We made short work of the first coat and moved to the last house. We attacked the last house all as a big group.

Singing, laughing and painting. As the saying goes, many hands make light work.

The heat of the day rose up as we finished. Sweaty and smiling, we returned to the Sea Turtle and went for a swim. Rest and siesta was the order of the day for the heat of the afternoon.

Around 4:30pm we suited up and went back to work. We went to the school site and started our other projects. We planted and cultivated the front school grounds. We also levelled an area by the latrines and uncovered the septic system so that it could be cleaned out. When we reached the halfway point on these projects, we stopped for the day. Another swim and then our group meeting before dinner.

The food was again, superb: pasta, cheeses, bread, wine, salad, and spring rolls. Well fed and happy, we all were headed for an early bedtime. Dianne is sleeping on the porch again.

Schaana Puetz
DWC Volunteer Participant
Tabogon, Philippines: May 2014