Ian Bennett

Post Production
Bigfoot Entertainment in Cebu, PH
Found us via Google

You know how some kids start bawling their eyes out with mouths wide screaming, and it looks like the end of the world? This kid wasn’t bawling, he was lower. Past the point of crying. Like he didn’t know what to do to make things better, or that it would even get better.

Apparently there are many many people living in these camps, probably too many. So I held out my camera so he could look through it. It took about a minute, but I could tell the strain in his face eased up ever so slightly when looking through the lens.

I wish the kids, and especially that kid, well.

Even in such conditions these kids are still having a good time, and I had a good time with them. The other volunteers were also very welcoming and fun to be around — even though I was a total foreigner!

Yes I will do it again. I don’t know when I’ll be able to go back to Manila, but I’ll keep my eyes open in Cebu too, or wherever else I end up.

Frances Ong

Associate Editor
Ilaw ng Tahanan Publishing, Inc.
A friend of hers told her about Life After Ondoy

What do you remember most?

Angel, the masungit baby. And my little chat with her mother about reproductive health and family planning. Gene took this little boy to see me after the mission was over. The boy wanted to thank me for the book we donated and his face was beaming. Kinilig ako.

Note: Frances was able to convince the company she works for to donate 50 storybooks to the kids in Ciudad.

These are the books donated by Frances' company.

Albert Largoza

Account Manager
Lowe Worldwide
Found us online

What do you remember most?

The lady who was touring us was very memorable (her house is submerged). Despite the circumstances, her spirits were very much up. her joy was very infectious. I remember asking her to dance and she did it more than a coupleof times It was a lot of fun.

Is it something you’d like to do again?

Definitely.

Notes From Stefan:

1. Simply forwarding this or telling a friend about it is already BIG HELP. The three of them found us because of the power of the Internet to get the word out.
2. This stuff is fun. And while it’s for the people we help, it’s also for us. We all want to be freed from Apathy but don’t really know how to do it. Just tagging along is one way.
3. Here are a bunch of photos from Ciudad that just arrived (I used film). It’s scratched up because the night before, I took the roll and wrote on it hoping for the words to appear but only the scratches did. Click here to view the photos.
4. I’m always excited to meet interesting people like these guys in our trips. Hopefully tomorrow I can meet you. Click here to find out more.

Santi hits Pagoyo

For most of us, Santi was just a storm that came and went. So it was a little windy and we had a little brownout. That’s it. Not much to it. But for the people of Pagoyo it was one of those … life changers. I’d assume losing your home is a life changer. Watch the video to find out how devastating it was.

In the article I wrote after Ondoy hit called “When Ondoy Gets Old” I said this:

The truth of the matter is this- 95% of the people whom we are helping now- they needed our help BEFORE the typhoon.
They were hit hardest because they’re the ones who live in shanties…

Any typhoon or calamity that hits them is a game changer. We can’t just be around for the big ones. The little ones are big to them.

Trip #2

Mission:

Feeding and Rebuilding homes at Pagoyo

Bring for them:

• bring eggs
• bring tarpaulines! hammers, nails, industrial staplers.. basic construction tools too.
• sleeping stuff (pillows, mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, etc)
• kitchen stuff (plates, utensils, stuff for cooking)
• clothing, slippers, boots

Logistics:

• Meet at CJRS Building, 9am sharp. Directions: Take SLEX, Exit Sta Rosa, Turn right at exit, keep on going until you hit Mcdonalds, enter Laguna Bel Air 2, and go straight along the main road. CJRS will be to your right, along with a lot of cars parked and happy smiling people.
• We will convoy from there. You can park at Pagoyo, though it might be a little bit muddy.

Activities

• Games for kids.
• We need storytellers!
• While feeding we need to help with rebuilding. Panels/frames are being set up this week. This Saturday, we will be nailing/stapling the tarpaulines to fill in the frames. Please bring tarps that you or your company aren’t using.

Bring for YOU:

• Sun block- hats/caps for the sun
• Off lotion
• Alcohol
• Drinking Water
• We will end around lunch time but come with a full stomach anyway

For More Information:

Email me right away at stefan@lifeafterondoy.com or just comment below.

Click here to Confirm

Another Video: 1 min only.

PS How to Help if you can’t come

Just spread the word. Retweet. Repost on Facebook. Text your friends. Spread the word. Participate in the comments. Care. Think. Move.

Hey everyone! Had an awesome time at Pagoyo last Saturday. Didn’t announce that because I just wanted to work out some details with a few key people and guess what? We’re rolling out this coming Saturday- October 24! Let’s do this bullet point style.

WHAT:

• Feeding Program, possibly Medical (doctors are confirming still)
• It’s for Kids mostly!
• There will be some games. Be ready to marshal the games.

WHERE:

• Ciudad, Sta Rosa, Laguna (See “Community Submerged” in previous blog)
• Community of 50 families
• Around 200 people who lost their homes

We can meet in Laguna Bel Air 2 and convoy from there. Meet at CJRS Bldg, along the main road. (Directions Below)

WHEN:

• Again it’s this Sat October 24
• We meet at 9am sharp
• We’re done before 1pm

WHY:

• Immediate Relief – they’re still hungry
• Intersect lives – there are no long term plans where lives don’t intersect and faces don’t become names.
• Get this party started – There are around 100 people subscribed to this blog and much more on Facebook.
• We can start this whole Life After Ondoy thing we’ve been talking about.

——————————————————————————————————————–

Some more Details:

What to Bring:

• Food: biscuits – like cookies or wafers – for around 5 kids
• Lots of hard boiled eggs! 3 Dozen each?

Fun for Kids:

• Be ready to marshall games
• Brainstorm for next time: maybe storytelling (pinoy storybooks), movies/cartoons for kids via a projector. The sky’s the limit. Come and see so you can help pitch ideas for the next one!

Transporation – Convoy

• Ciudad is around 30 mins from sta rosa exit. No floods don’t worry
• Meeting place is like this: Take SLEX exit Sta Rosa. Turn right when you hit the main road and keep going till you see Mcdonalds on your right and Laguna Bel Air 2 on your left. Enter the Village and say CJRS Building- it’s along the main road.

What now?

• I need to find out how many are coming so please confirm!
  Email me at Stefan@lifeafterondoy.com right away!
• Tell me how many eggs you can bring
• 3 dozen per person is great. if you can bring 5-6 dozen that’s awesome
• Cook them eggs in the morning for best results!

Make this a Fun thing.

• Bring your friends!
• Last Saturday someone who wanted to celebrate her birthday asked me if there was any activities. She had the right idea.
• Tagaytay is really nearby. You can volunteer in the morning and hang out after lunch.
• This isnt supposed to be traumatizing for you! It should be fun! We’ll all make it fun!
• We can do it again and again.

We’re trying to come up with Big Plans

• and we need more people in the conversation
• the conversation happens live when we meet these people
• we start here in laguna and make our way up north
• we can duplicate any successes we experience here
• you can be the pointperson for your area!

Any Questions? Reply! Comments! Retweet! Repost!

“Relief is temporary. Commitment is not”

After posting what I posted yesterday, and being a little overwhelmed with the results (in a good way), I spent all day thinking about what the next step would be. I read every single comment and took it from there. The first thing I was thinking was this:

• This discussion can’t stop
• More people need to be in it
• We need to share all our thoughts and ideas
• We need to stay connected so we can turn those ideas into concrete, doable, sustainable action plans.
• Then we need to carry out those plans ourselves.

If it sounds like I’m making it all up as I go along, that’s exactly how it is. But what we have here is an opportunity to turn this into something permanent. As I’ve said before: momentum is on our side. Momentum can do two things… it can speed up… or slow down. It all depends on how much action we take and how fast we take it. I know there will never be a perfect plan, but the worst plan is the one we wait too long for to carry out.

So I spent all night fixing this website. We need a way to be connected before that post of ours– and all your precious comments– before the post starts to drown in a sea of Facebook mundaneity. All I ask of you is to:

• Sign up by entering your email address on the right. You’ll receive an email every time there’s a post on this site.
• Tell other people to visit. Show them what you wrote. Tell them to keep the discussion alive. Then tell them to sign up too. Remember that this site is available to the international community. Tweet about it. Repost it. Email your relatives abroad. Just connect.
• Decide how involved you can afford to be, then commit to it. Because we’re gonna need people to volunteer- which takes me to why the title is “The Next Steps over Coffee”

I just arrived home from coffee with my friend Gene, we lost track of time and the mall closed on us. Gene Battung has been involved with a reputable microfinance organization for a while now and is very exposed to the nation’s situation- in all of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. He does not run out of stories to tell. He said he’s been waiting for a chance to tell his stories to people… So you guys are gonna hear them, see the faces of the people he sees, and hear about about all the things they need, and all the opportunities to help. As we go along, you’re gonna be feeling things that you’ve never felt and your lives will change. Then you’re gonna be thinking of ideas and creative ways to help- and their lives will change. That’s the point of all this.

Anyway, back to Gene. He’s also very connected with other groups so when our discussion entered the world of Possibilities, things became REALLY interesting. Our conversation touched:

• A certain machine that can purify water to the point that even the smallest virus (which is Polio apparently) is eliminated. He knows how to get that into communities. (in Banda Aceh and most other calamities in the past the first problem was always potable water- and again many communities needed access to clean water BEFORE the calamities happened)
• A certain reading program that takes someone who can’t read or write- and brings him to a 4th grade comprehension level- in 6 months! Some people commented about education and wanting to volunteer as a teacher. This is it.
• A certain group that has been feeding people before Ondoy came. They concentrate on a village until every kid get’s even just a little- chubby! Even after we feed the victims of Ondoy, we can keep on feeding our hungry countrymen

As you can see I got more than a little excited about it. But there’s also one thing- one need- that is so… pressing and sobering- that we cannot do any of these things without considering it. If I talk about it here, this post will get too long for most people to read so I’ll save it for another day. Before I end this, there’s one last thing I need to announce:

This week I’m going with Gene to a certain area that needs help- it’s in Laguna- to check it out. The week after, I’ll be asking you guys to come along. We’ll organize the meeting place, and discuss other logisitic stuff. So tentatively, 2 weeks from now, we all get to meet face to face- and start this thing together. Till then, please help by bringing people to the site- or to the Facebook post that got us connected in the first place.

I know what you’re thinking… “is this for real?”. I was thinking that too. Guys I’m just a normal guy- I have no experience doing this, I’m no social action hero. But that question- “is this for real”- we need to answer it.

“This is as real as we choose to make it.”

And we’ll take it one step at a time- together.

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