May 15th: Painting complete and a celebration dinner

We tried to have an early breakfast, but it didn't happen! This is our last day of painting. On the way to our "homes" we made balloons from our latex gloves. Robin added faces. The kids loved them! They have so few toys.

In short order we finished coat # 3 and the houses look great. The old lady who lived in one of the chattered non stop with Robin. Unfortunately, not in English!

While we finished up, Jenny gave the little kids toothbrush sand tooth paste, and for the older ones caps, pencils and paper.

Back to the Sea Turtle for a swim, lunch and siesta! It is very hot again today. Lunch was as spectacular as all our meals and we each got Halo Halo - a special dessert with a layer of seeds, corn, beans, jello, shaved ice, and cream with a maraschino cherry on top. You mix it all up and dig in!

Late afternoon we go back to the school and plant more under Sally's direction. The plants are in desperate need of watering!

At our debriefing, everyone feels we could have done more work. Probably, we could have painted another couple of houses.

Dinner is a special event hosted by Sally. We lovely ladies are all dressed in sarongs. Our table is set beautifully with flowers.

The meal is delicious - lettuce and potato salad, beef and chicken dishes and lots of excellent wine. Jenny and Gabe thanked us all for our help and gave us each a picture. It was lovely!

Heather Bragg
DWC Volunteer Participant
Tabogon, Philippines: May 2014

May 14th: Green paint and plenty of fun!

Oh what a beautiful morning! Sunshine, blue sea and hearty breakfast gets us in the spirit to load up and head down the dusty road for the next stage of our project. Today, we are rolling on the colour - sort of a forest tree to blend in with the landscape a bit. But just a bit.

When we arrive at the first location, we unload the painting materials and a cooler full of cold water and split into two groups. Debbie, Robin and Schaana head for a home the size of a small shed which belongs to an old man.

No matter what kind of racket the girls make, the old man appears to sleep through. When they need to move inside the house to do some painting, the old man doesn't appear to hear their calls.

Time to bring Gab into the mix. The girls soon discover that the old man is deaf and didn't realize the painting was underway! Before long, he was chattering non-stop to the girls. Unfortunately they didn't understand a word he was saying. But they knew he was some happy to see the paint being rolled on to his home. Even the man's hen seemed to be taken up with all the action!

It was jumping in and out of its basket and flipping around the inside of the shed to check out the girl's work. Heather, Rick, Dianne and Gab worked on the bigger house. The kids from nearby homes were fascinated with the job. Gab soon got the boys some brushes and they joined the work team.

The little girls shyly passed on our offer to have them help out. So Dianne and Robin gave them a camera to try and take pictures while one of them got their hair put into a French braid. She looked adorable!

Back to the beautiful Sea Turtle Lagoon resort -- a bit of paradise by the sea. We headed straight for the sea and a big swim. It was high tide, so Debbie dove in off the ledge, others jumped and Rick did a cannon ball. But the best was Gab who did flips and all sorts of marvellous jumps from on high. We still think he looks like a boy when he gets his hair wet!

After lunch, we went for an adventure along the coast in a small boat. In my head, I was singing "Under the Sea". We were on the look-out for turtles. Alas, there were none to be seen. But we were thrilled to see some small silver fish fly out of the water and skip across the surface like pebbles! Too much fun! Later, we put on some snorkels and snaked around the water searching for brilliant blue starfish, and amazing fish of all colours. It was amazing to see.

We came back too late to do gardening at the local school. But Rick and Gab managed to finish clearing the back courtyard of rock and rubble and checked out the state of the latrine.

Later at night, we dined outside gazing at a beautiful full moon that shed a band of golden light on the gently rolling waves. We are all so grateful to be part of this adventure.

Dianne Clarke
DWC Volunteer Participant
Tabogon, Philippines: May 2014

May 12th: Off to Tabogon

Well, no problem for Team DWC: up before the sun, a very very very strong cup of coffee and some fresh fruit provided enough energy for the car and ferry transport back to Cebu.

Jenny was there to meet us and off we set for Tabogon. Of course, we had to make a quick stop for more coffee and a snack. What better than the opulent Radisson Blue. The hostess who greeted us was wearing a long blue gown, with off the shoulder lace collar and a string of pearls. So Canadian ;) - well maybe I should say so Filipina!

I must say that I was glad to have Cebu behind Although it was "mission accomplished" at the Rise Above facility, I believe we all felt a sense of relief as we left the densely populated, oppressive concrete jungle called Cebu City.

The drive to Tabogon took about 3 hours.

As we drove into Sea Turtle Resort, Jennie pointed out some of the ravages of Typhoon Yolanda. The plan was to get settled in, have lunch and then visit our project sites for Week Two.

Sea Turtle Resort is the antithesis of our accommodation in Cebu. It is a small magical resort (could accommodate 30), sculpted into the side of cliffs overhanging the Pacific. Walkways thread there way through flowering shrubs, around thatched cottages and resting places. Some paths take you to jumping off platforms and stairways right down to the ocean.

We are all housed in one of the guest cottages. Rick and Heather in one bedroom and the rest of the girls in the other bedroom. Dianne has laid claim to the deck where she plans to sleep. This is not just any deck! It overlooks the thatched roofs to the brilliant blue Pacific. A true haven after working in +35C, I'm sure!

Our hostess Sally meets us in the lunch area and provides us with a recount of what happened to the community as a result of the typhoon. Apparently the Philippine government has not really provided much as far as relief or rebuilding resources to this area. Hence, the projects that Rise Above is coordinating/funding.

We also met Grant who is a Canadian who has recently moved/retired here. He is assisting several agencies, including Rise Above with the rebuilding of the area. Grant took us in his van to the various project sites that we will be working on.

I cannot really describe the road. We bumped along a stone, dirt and rock route with an occasional strip of concrete. At one point, we all had to get out of the van, because Grant had to turn around. This particular section had piles of rocks left such that they obscured passage any further. Grant tried but bottomed out.

Our work for this week will be to:

1. Paint three homes that have been built for families that lost their homes in the typhoon. Three coats, one primer of white and two coats of green, all oil based.
2. Gardening/restoration at the school site.
3. Excavation of the septic area at the school.

Once back at Sea Turtle, we took a much needed swim and relaxed until dinner. Grant was insistent that we engage in Karaoke after dinner. Karaoke is so very popular here in the Philippines and I mean popular! Thank goodness we have Robin along. With Robin, it's all about fun if you are doing Karaoke. Her rendition of Twist and Shout got us up dancing.

Then off to bed to be up and at it by 5:30AM to beat the heat.

Debbie Bragg
DWC Volunteer Participant
Cebu City, Philippines: May 2014

May 8th: The Big Pour - Day One

We all are up at dawn again. Robin and I shared breakfast, banana pancakes and poached eggs with coffee and a mango shake.

The van arrived at 6:30 am and we piled into the back and headed for the site.

Heading to the work site!

It is hot and very humid today so we will have to make sure our buddies keep hydrated.

Keeping hydrated

We are now ready to start pouring the concrete. The ground has been levelled. The footings poured and the outside wall erected. The stone has been raked evenly and the rebar is in place.

We are ready for the concrete. The mixing box is made of a plywood base and a skirt of wood about 6 inches high. Heather and Schaana throw thirty shovels of sand into the box which is raked evenly across the bottom.

Mixing all the ingredients

Then a bag of cement is dumped on the sand and raked smooth. Three wheelbarrows of stone is raked smooth and four pails of water is poured over top. Michael and Miguel use shovels to mix up the ingredients and voila! its ready.

 Debbie, Diane, Schaana and Heather form a conga line of pails of concrete.

Debbie, Diane, Schaana and Heather forming the conga line!

 I use a wheelbarrow for the pour. Robin has decided that she has a future career as a mason and is placed under the tutelage of Nario and Romeo. She and Romeo trowel and level the concrete.

Robin leveling the concrete

Group work shot

We repeat this process all morning until half the floor is laid.

At the first morning break, Robin decided that we needed to be entertained. She demonstrated her unique brand of twerking. She sure was shaking and baking.

By the end of the work day everyone was hot, wet, and dirty. We headed back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta. We arranged to meet Jenny at 5 pm to go and see the Cathedral.

"Rick was very exhausted so it turned out to be a laddies trip. Jenny and Gabe were quite nervous about our safety as the Cathedral is right downtown in the most dangerous part of Cebu. We drove down found parking and headed in. It was nothing like I expected. It was very open with a huge courtyard in front, where there seems to be a constant service in progress. Don't these statues look like angel garden gnomes? " - Robin

Angel Garden Gnomes!

Around these statues there were some sort of grottos and fountains where people could light candles. From there, we headed inside which took us to a lovely courtyard with another grotto and fountain.

Priest statue

We headed out, checking out the art work as we went. It was fascinating as it depicted a celebration of the priests bringing christianity to the filipino culture.

Because we are leaving for Bohol tomorrow afternoon, we will pack tonight and eat at the hotel. Unfortunately, we picked the night where they were also hosting a wedding and our dinner was very slow arriving at the table, but once it came was delicious.

Everyone heads to bed early as we have another big pour waiting for us.

Frederick Bagg
DWC Volunteer Participant
Cebu City, Philippines: May 2014

March 10: Typhoon Haiyan Rebuilding Update #6

An update from Grant Iverson, a local Kamloops resident and past Developing World Connections participant. Grant has recently finished a four month stay in the Philippines assisting with Typhoon Haiyan relief and rebuilding efforts in northern Cebu province with our Host Partner, Rise Above Foundation Cebu.

I am happy to report though that the initial project is all but complete. We have managed to build 29 of the 30 homes that we had budget for and add 15 extensions to Mike’s homes. Including Mike’s homes that brings the total to 44. The reason the last home has not been completed is that while we delivered the materials, unfortunately the father passed away before we could start building the new home. Now that the funeral is over and some time has passed for grieving, we have started building the home for the mother and her 2 boys.

Emilino and Galerma's house with make-shift roofing and walls.

Emilino passed away on February 14th. Here is with his wife Galerma.

Life goes on in Tabogon: schools, while not rebuilt, are holding classes; churches, many without roofs, are still having services; small businesses, in damaged premises, are doing their best to make a living. People die and babies are born. Yolanda (Haiyan) tried to break these people but she didn’t succeed. Never have a met people more resilient than the people of this area.

In the past few days I visited most of the 30 families that we built homes for to say goodbye for now and let them know they will be forever in my thoughts and in my heart. The hardest one of all was saying goodbye to Sheila-Mae. She asked me to please don’t cry because I am leaving, but to come back and see her when I return. She will be first on my list to visit when I get back.

Sheila-Mae in her new home.

There is still a great need here in Tabogon, from rebuilding homes & feeding the hungry to providing them with a livelihood so they can move forward on their own which includes building banghas for the fisherman. We are looking at a variety of other livelihood programs and hope to have some up and running shortly. These people are proud people who want to provide for themselves and hopefully with a bit of assistance, they will be able to do just that.

There have been many rewarding moments on this trip but one of my fondest happens on my daily treks to the local barangays. I am always met with warm hellos and big smiles. In each place I have a small group of children (sometimes as many as 40) following me around as I check on the progress of the homes we were rebuilding. It is truly overwhelming to be so far away from home and yet feel right at home.

Some of the local children.

It is hard to belief that I am on my way home now. What seemed to be such a long time when I got here, passed way too quickly. It is with a heavy heart that I leave the people of Tabogon knowing that so many families still need help.

I plan to return in mid April this year to get an update on the home building and visit the many friends I have made in the area. Hopefully we will be able to build a few more homes while I am away and provide other much needed assistance to the families most in need.

I have many pictures, videos and stories that I can’t wait to share with my family and friends in Canada. The stories include how a simple spider could put a determined man into hospital.

Goodbye to the Philippines for now, but I will return.

Take care to all.

Grant Iverson
Past DWC Volunteer
Tabogon, Philippines

January 24: Typhoon Haiyan Rebuilding Update #5

An update from Grant Iverson, a local Kamloops resident and past Developing World Connections participant. Grant is in the Philippines assisting with Typhoon Haiyan relief and rebuilding efforts in northern Cebu province with our Host Partner, Rise Above Foundation Cebu

A belated Happy News Years to all of my friends and family!

It has now been 1 month since my last update, and I apologize for not getting one out sooner but it has been quite a busy month so far. After taking a week off between Christmas and New Years, I headed back up to Tabogon on January 2nd. I stayed there for 10 days organizing the rebuilding of homes and distributing goods to the locals.

I came back to Cebu for 5 days as I was invited to play in a local golf tournament. I headed back to Tabogon on Sunday, January 19th and stayed there for 5 more days getting updates on all the homes we were building. By this time, all of Mike’s 15 homes have been completed and we have 15 homes at some stage of construction. In fact, 5 of those additional 15 homes are 100% completed and the families have already moved in. One of the families that have transferred is Sheila-Mae’s family - the blind girl mentioned in earlier posts. To see her in her new place was extremely heart-warming to say the least!

I head back up to Tabogon tomorrow for 4-5 days with the goal to ensure the remaining 12 homes of our original 15 are fully completed and the families get transferred. Also, we have identified the next 10 families to get a home built. When I left on Thursday, most of the materials were delivered to the sites so I will check on these 10 as well to see how much progress has been made.

As we are getting close to spending all of the funds that has been allocated for home building, we will now start only identifying 5 families at a time to ensure we do not make a commitment we cannot keep.

In addition to home building, we have also been busy distributing GI sheets (roofing) and nails to families that lost their roofs, but the structure was still basically intact, as well as giving out more relief packs to families who are struggling against starvation and handing out blankets and pillows to the elderly. Hopefully, we've also shared a little bit of hope that things will continue to get better.

None of this would be possible without the generous support of Sally, our gracious host & translator; Wilma, our main coordinator in Tabogon; Mike and Bee Smith who continually find a way of getting funding for such things as a new well for Camoboan Elementary School and a new roof on one of the school buildings in San Vicente; Sue Adlington, a British “bird” who purchased an unbelievable amount of supplies for the families and treats for the children; Ron, whom I have not even met for contributing 500,000 Pesos towards home building; and of course, the Rise Above Foundation and Developing World Connections.

We did take an evening off while I was there and put on a karaoke competition for some of the locals and Sally’s employees. Let me tell you, these Filipinos can sing! There was around 100 people there and a good time was had by all. Great food, great company, great entertainment! Just what the doctor ordered to get people’s minds off the tragedy, if only for one night. A big thank you to Sally for sponsoring it. And of course to no one’s surprise, Sheila-Mae took first prize.

One more thing (don’t tell my sister) I bought a motorbike and when I am in Cebu, I have enjoyed going on rides around the area including one trip into the mountains. I also rent a bike when I am in Tabogon so I can get around the hills and the very poor roads up there. It is somewhat treacherous, but I go slow and manage okay.

Well as I said, I head up again tomorrow and will provide another update in hopefully 2 weeks.

Take care!

Grant Iverson
DWC Volunteer
Philippines

December 24: Typhoon Haiyan Relief Update #4

An update from Grant Iverson, a local Kamloops resident and past Developing World Connections participant. Grant is in the Philippines assisting with Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts in northern Cebu province with our Host Partner, Rise Above Foundation Cebu.
 
It's been another very busy 11 days since my last update. I traveled back to Tabogon with Gabe on Monday, December 16th, and we stayed there until Wednesday, December 18th. The main purpose of this trip was to identify the first 5 families that we were going to build houses for and purchase the building materials. We were able to accomplish both tasks, and the ordered supplies would be delivered over the next 3-4 days.

A bit of an update on the area we are helping: close to the barangays of Camoboan and Salag are the barangays of San Vicente and San Isidro. The population in total in these 4 barangays is approximately 3,800 people. This is the area that we are directing most of our relief work. Up until now, there has been minimal help from the government in this area. The landscape of the area is quite hilly and the roads are very crude which makes getting aid to this area a bit difficult, but between a few small vehicles, motorbikes and, of course, some pretty good walks, we have been able to reach basically all of this area.

We toured the area again meeting some of the first 5 families and letting them know that their new homes will be started very shortly. To say the least, they were extremely happy and very grateful to have someone finally providing them shelter for their families.

We also met up with Jimmy, the chainsaw operator. Unfortunately, the chainsaw was out of commission with a broken piston ring. We have ordered a new part and hope to have it back in use in 2-3 days. That chainsaw has probably had the equivalent of 6 months use in less than 1 month!

A lot of this visit was spent organizing with Sally and Wilma regarding the construction of the first 5 homes. Bamboo can’t be ordered from the lumber yard so a separate supply for that needs to be located. The bamboo is used to make the floor. It is cut into strips about 1-1 1/2 “ wide and nailed to the sub floor. This takes time to get done, but hopefully when our first 5 homes are ready for the flooring, it will be available.

We headed back to Cebu City on Wednesday afternoon. For me it was an eventful trip as I drove from Tabogon to New Mandaue (the first subdivision as you enter Cebu.) Don’t think any dogs, bikes or people got hurt. I now know why they use the horn so much here though, without it people just stay in the middle of the road. The horn is their signal to move aside. It seems to work pretty well and there's no where near the amount of road rage we see in Canada.

I was "home" (my home away from home home) for 2 days and then headed back up to Tabogon. Along with checking on the delivered lumber, I also took part in delivering 10 house warming gifts for Mike’s first 10 homes. Basically each family got new plates, bowls etc. which will making eating a bit more pleasurable. Through Mike’s generosity, we were also able to purchase 250 kilos of rice which we divided into 2 kilo bags and delivered them throughout the area. A British lady, Sue, and her helper, a Filipina from Manila, Anna-Lynne, were also there and had brought up a lot of different things to give away. These things included diapers, clothes, stuffed animals, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. Over the next 2 days, all of the items were distributed to whatever families we happened to cross paths with.

During these 2 days along with distributing goods to the people who needed it, we also experienced some very special moments. The first happened in San Vicente. We will be building 1 of our first 5 homes in this barangay so wanted to meet the people we were building it for. It was for 2 single women: one who is 75 years old; the other who is 86 years old! Since Yolanda, they have basically been living under a tarp amid the rubble of what use to be their home. They were extremely thankful that they would be getting one of the first homes.

As we headed back to the village square where we were parked, the ice cream man just happened to be peddling his bike into the area. It would have been impossible to just buy for a few of the children so Sally and I bought his entire cooler full of treats. As it turned out, there was just enough in his cooler to make sure everyone who wanted ice cream got some. I think Sally would agree that the 500 pesos each that we spent was probably the best 500 pesos we had ever spent! Not only did all the children get something they don’t usually get, but the ice cream man sold a week’s supply of his product and, to top it off, also got a 2 kilo bag of rice!

The other special moment happened on our last afternoon there on December 22nd. I mentioned in my last update about the young blind girl we met so this morning we were going to visit her in Salag. During my trip of December 7th, Sally and I decided to go in together to build her and her dad a new home. Visiting her would give us a chance to get the construction underway. I am happy to report that she will no longer be referred to as the blind girl, but from now on she will be Sheila-Mae Compia. It was great finally knowing her real name! Knowing that was special enough but that is only a small part of what we were going to enjoy.

Sally was talking to her about a special gift that was being given to her by Sue, a radio so she could listen to music. You could tell that she was very pleased to have gotten it. I should note that the first time I met Sheila-Mae, she barely spoke a word. I’m not sure what Sally said to her but the next thing I know she is singing a traditional Christmas Carol in English! Her voice was amazing and I think the whole group of us were in shock. Well to top that off she then sings My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion & she sings it beautifully! Along with our group of 7, there were about 20 local villagers gathered around. When Sheila-Mae was finished singing, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. I now had the best Christmas present I could have ever dreamed of and a memory that will stay with me the rest of my life.

I will have about a week of down time to rejuvenate the batteries and play a few games of golf. My plan is to head back up to Tabogon on January 2nd and stay up there for a week or so checking not only on the first 5 houses but also on the progress being made on Sheila-Mae’s home.

This has truly been a Christmas to remember!

Grant Iverson
Past DWC Volunteer
Cebu City, Philippines