There's so much to say about this event, it's hard to start. See Cade's post also.
As contemplated, Cade and I traveled to the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan to do what we could to help. Our goal was to do what needed done, in the eyes of the locals. Along with several families from the Discovery Bay LDS church branch, we brought donated funds and our backpacks full of clothes, ready to camp or otherwise make due.
Beau Lefler conceived of this plan, and with him we agreed to let local (church, in this case) leadership determine what was really needed, and by whom. There's vastly more need than there are resources to meet them, of course. We didn't know who needed what, or even what type of assistance would back-fire in some way. Thankfully, our trust in the local leaders was well-placed.
Stake President Jesus Olivare greeted us on day 1 in Roxas City, along with his wife Vicky. They know Manoling well, having been there many times. Initial discussions with them taught us a lot, but mostly that the real needs are shelter and labor. Shelter needs other things like "GI" or galvanized sheet steel, the preferred roofing method locally. Labor is needed because there are simply not enough skilled carpenters to build and repair homes. Surprisingly, food and water are not needs - Manoling has excellent mountain springs and intact rice fields among other crops and livestock. So we gathered 50 GI sheets, tools and fasteners hoping to have positive impact as quickly as possible.
By the end of the day we'd also conferred with Manoling Bishop Bourgos, also who also knows the needs well and whose thoughtful consideration of all needs and the responsible way to approach them was really encouraging. He and the other leaders set the priorities beginning with the homes of one very aged and physically challenged widow named Rosette, and a young family whose crops have taken heavy damage. In the end, a lot got done, although much of it by locals who led the way. A list of needs met or arranged for is at the bottom of the page.
We are indebted to many people for the success of the effort. Among them Beau (obviously), the others on the trip, President and Sister Olivare and Bishop Burgos, all of the local elders who did the bulk of the work, and our hosts, Nanay Nelly and her family. The Olivare and Burgos families took considerable time out of making their own livings as a local graphic artist (Olivare) and driver (Burgos). The other Elders also suspended work on their own homes, in fact Remar was the first to leave his own damaged house to help on Rosette's, and he taught us much of what we learned about Bamboo construction.
Here's a brief list of what was done and I emphasize that from a labor perspective this is the work of the locals - we just provided and in some cases introduced better methods.
Extra pictures click HERE.
As contemplated, Cade and I traveled to the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan to do what we could to help. Our goal was to do what needed done, in the eyes of the locals. Along with several families from the Discovery Bay LDS church branch, we brought donated funds and our backpacks full of clothes, ready to camp or otherwise make due.
Beau Lefler conceived of this plan, and with him we agreed to let local (church, in this case) leadership determine what was really needed, and by whom. There's vastly more need than there are resources to meet them, of course. We didn't know who needed what, or even what type of assistance would back-fire in some way. Thankfully, our trust in the local leaders was well-placed.
Stake President Jesus Olivare greeted us on day 1 in Roxas City, along with his wife Vicky. They know Manoling well, having been there many times. Initial discussions with them taught us a lot, but mostly that the real needs are shelter and labor. Shelter needs other things like "GI" or galvanized sheet steel, the preferred roofing method locally. Labor is needed because there are simply not enough skilled carpenters to build and repair homes. Surprisingly, food and water are not needs - Manoling has excellent mountain springs and intact rice fields among other crops and livestock. So we gathered 50 GI sheets, tools and fasteners hoping to have positive impact as quickly as possible.
By the end of the day we'd also conferred with Manoling Bishop Bourgos, also who also knows the needs well and whose thoughtful consideration of all needs and the responsible way to approach them was really encouraging. He and the other leaders set the priorities beginning with the homes of one very aged and physically challenged widow named Rosette, and a young family whose crops have taken heavy damage. In the end, a lot got done, although much of it by locals who led the way. A list of needs met or arranged for is at the bottom of the page.
We are indebted to many people for the success of the effort. Among them Beau (obviously), the others on the trip, President and Sister Olivare and Bishop Burgos, all of the local elders who did the bulk of the work, and our hosts, Nanay Nelly and her family. The Olivare and Burgos families took considerable time out of making their own livings as a local graphic artist (Olivare) and driver (Burgos). The other Elders also suspended work on their own homes, in fact Remar was the first to leave his own damaged house to help on Rosette's, and he taught us much of what we learned about Bamboo construction.
Here's a brief list of what was done and I emphasize that from a labor perspective this is the work of the locals - we just provided and in some cases introduced better methods.
- Hundreds of metal roofing sheets were purchased, sufficient to repair damaged roofs at three elementary schools and one high school, as well as to provide new roofing for approximately 30 local homes.
- Two homes were rebuilt, including one small home for an elderly, crippled woman and the home of a young family of three who had lost much of their home and crops.
- Shipment and delivery of approximately 30,000 bars of soap, which will be distributed throughout several communities along northern Panay Island in January. That is enough for approximately 2,500 people to have soap for an entire year. This soap was provided through our partner Soap Cyclingin Hong Kong.
- Basic school supplies were provided to hundreds of children, including each of the children at two elementary schools and one preschool, and to some of the students at a third elementary school. These supplies were provided through assistance from our partner Help One Future in the USA.
- We purchased basic carpentry tools for 20 men in the community, which will be used to rebuild homes and hopefully provide employment for them going forward.
- A chainsaw was purchased and donated to the local church congregation. This was particularly helpful since lumber is so necessary in the rebuilding effort, but too expensive for most people to purchase, especially with the current increased demand. With the chainsaw, the community will be able to use fallen trees (of which there are thousands) to create the needed lumber to rebuild homes and schools.
- We made a conditional small contribution toward the rebuilding of a hanging footbridge, which is necessary for children attending school. If the local government begins to rebuild the bridge, funds will be contributed to speed up the rebuilding process.
- Arrangement for labor necessary to rebuild approximately 30 homes, providing hundreds of hours of paid labor for many families who would otherwise have to leave their valley to find work.
- Since some of the work could not be completed over the five days we were there, some of the volunteers are planning to return in a few months to follow up on the progress. In addition, we remain in close email contact with some of the leaders there.
Extra pictures click HERE.
