3-20-10
This week we stayed in Manila we have some emergency relief funds left from the Typhoons last fall and we wanted to see if there were any schools that needed repairs. We have visited several schools. The kids are always friendly, polite and very curious about these huge white people. They love to try their English on us, and it is always very formal, “Good morning Sir, how are you?” I always try my Tagalog on them which causes much laughter. We are definitely a disruption to the educational process. Yesterday we visited a school in Manila, one third grade teacher (who had been teaching at that school 30 years) had 68 students. That was not an unusual number. The school was neat as a pin. There were vegetable gardens in the front of the school, the school was painted cement blocks, and clean. (Its the custom even in the urban schools to plant vegetable gardens for the children to tend and use, also the children do the basic cleaning of the school) The school had received clean up funds from a large chain of fast food restaurants. The parents in the community got together and did the repairs, and they were major. We visited another school in the same area and it was so terrible tears filled my eyes just seeing the conditions those poor students had to endure. The school was flooded and after the water reseeded it looks like very little has been done. The ceilings were sagging or non existent, the walls were buckled, the outside walls made of cinder blocks were so badly cracked that you could stick your hand in the crack. If there was an earth quake, or even another typhoon the building would crumble. Needless to say we got a contractor out there the next day. But really the school should be torn down. What a blessing to live in the USA, we have so much and we don’t even realize how fortunate we are.
There are so many good people here in the Philippines, for example there are two that we (LDS Charities)partner with. First is, "Tahangny Walang Hagdanan" translated "house without stairs" here a catholic nun came from Belgium about 50 years ago and started a huge campus for people with handicaps. There are workshops, school, medical clinic, physical therapy. In addition to rehabilitation facilitates and dormitories, there are small factories where workers who make all kinds of stuff like, silk screened canvas bags, fishing flies, wood tables and chairs, packaging medical samples, educational toys, dental apparatus like dentures,crowns and wheelchairs. We will be ordering 1,000 wheelchairs from them. Here in the Philippines there not the rules against discrimination so these folks could not work on the outside. An example of the discrimination this was a help wanted sign we saw, "Wanted Waitress, must be attractive"
Another partner for our vision projects is Mabuhay Deseret. Dr. Jackson, a Utah Mormon Ex-Philippine mission president and eye doctor purchased the house as a place people and their caregiver from the poor rural areas could stay while preparing for and recovering from free eye surgery he performed at local hospitals. (Like a Ronald McDonald house) That was 30 years ago and now they also do cleft palates, club feet and burn constrictors. Doctors volunteer for up to a year at a time and there are 2 other houses and rural clinics in the Philippines and other similar facilities elsewhere in other developing countries.
Our left over emergency money from the typhoon can be used to ease suffering from the drought, so most of next week will be spent up north talking to people and making plans as how to best use the resources. We also will be taking up cases upon cases of sadrines (yuck) left over from the typhoon relief. Also we need to look at two potential water projects.
This week we stayed in Manila we have some emergency relief funds left from the Typhoons last fall and we wanted to see if there were any schools that needed repairs. We have visited several schools. The kids are always friendly, polite and very curious about these huge white people. They love to try their English on us, and it is always very formal, “Good morning Sir, how are you?” I always try my Tagalog on them which causes much laughter. We are definitely a disruption to the educational process. Yesterday we visited a school in Manila, one third grade teacher (who had been teaching at that school 30 years) had 68 students. That was not an unusual number. The school was neat as a pin. There were vegetable gardens in the front of the school, the school was painted cement blocks, and clean. (Its the custom even in the urban schools to plant vegetable gardens for the children to tend and use, also the children do the basic cleaning of the school) The school had received clean up funds from a large chain of fast food restaurants. The parents in the community got together and did the repairs, and they were major. We visited another school in the same area and it was so terrible tears filled my eyes just seeing the conditions those poor students had to endure. The school was flooded and after the water reseeded it looks like very little has been done. The ceilings were sagging or non existent, the walls were buckled, the outside walls made of cinder blocks were so badly cracked that you could stick your hand in the crack. If there was an earth quake, or even another typhoon the building would crumble. Needless to say we got a contractor out there the next day. But really the school should be torn down. What a blessing to live in the USA, we have so much and we don’t even realize how fortunate we are.
There are so many good people here in the Philippines, for example there are two that we (LDS Charities)partner with. First is, "Tahangny Walang Hagdanan" translated "house without stairs" here a catholic nun came from Belgium about 50 years ago and started a huge campus for people with handicaps. There are workshops, school, medical clinic, physical therapy. In addition to rehabilitation facilitates and dormitories, there are small factories where workers who make all kinds of stuff like, silk screened canvas bags, fishing flies, wood tables and chairs, packaging medical samples, educational toys, dental apparatus like dentures,crowns and wheelchairs. We will be ordering 1,000 wheelchairs from them. Here in the Philippines there not the rules against discrimination so these folks could not work on the outside. An example of the discrimination this was a help wanted sign we saw, "Wanted Waitress, must be attractive"Another partner for our vision projects is Mabuhay Deseret. Dr. Jackson, a Utah Mormon Ex-Philippine mission president and eye doctor purchased the house as a place people and their caregiver from the poor rural areas could stay while preparing for and recovering from free eye surgery he performed at local hospitals. (Like a Ronald McDonald house) That was 30 years ago and now they also do cleft palates, club feet and burn constrictors. Doctors volunteer for up to a year at a time and there are 2 other houses and rural clinics in the Philippines and other similar facilities elsewhere in other developing countries.
Our left over emergency money from the typhoon can be used to ease suffering from the drought, so most of next week will be spent up north talking to people and making plans as how to best use the resources. We also will be taking up cases upon cases of sadrines (yuck) left over from the typhoon relief. Also we need to look at two potential water projects.
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