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.