31 – Bye Bye Bacolod

My last week in Bacolod I spent re-visiting all the GK villages I’d been involved with to say goodbye. It was an interesting experience to go alone, unannounced and taking public transport. It gave me an appreciation of how far some of them are from sources of employment. But, beggars can’t be choosers as they say, and when you rely on people donating land for the purpose of building a GK village, you can’t always choose where that land is. Or can you? I think GK is becoming a little more discerning now about their negotiations over land donations.

In one of the villages I organised a rummage sale. The idea came about from Jo mentioning she had some clothing she no longer wanted and wondered if she could donate it to GK, as there is no real equivalent in the Philippines of the “Op Shops” we have in Australia. I spread the word and asked more people to donate unwanted clothing and toys so we would have a critical mass. It was a good way for me to offload some excess baggage before leaving as well! Rather than a handout, we sold the clothes such that the beneficiaries would value the items, yet kept the prices low so they could afford them. The village had prepared a long table for us to lay out all the items like an outdoor Op Shop! It was so rewarding seeing the joy on their faces in finding some new clothes and to know that our clothes were going where they were needed. We raised P4,000 (AU$130)! Half of this money went towards an additional water pump for the village, the other half to a community member in need of dialysis.

As a way of thanking GK for hosting me these past 10 months and to say goodbye to my colleagues and friends I threw a Despedida (farewell party) in GK ERH village. I’ve been in the Philippines long enough to know that I needed to put together an entertainment program for the evening, but that got thrown out the window when my friends took over with various activities they’d planned which I had no idea about!

According to Rachael there were two things I still had to do before leaving the Philippines: ride on the back of a Karabaw (Water Bufalo) and eat Balut! Before the party got underway, Rachael disappeared and came back with a man from the village leading a fat brown Karabaw. I awkwardly hoisted myself up and was lead around the village concentrating on keeping my balance with nothing to hold on to! It was so much fun.

The second challenge was not quite as fun! Balut is an embryonic duck egg – a delicacy in the Philippines. I’d managed to avoid it thus far, but I couldn’t get out of it now. In front of an audience of around 40 guests and probably half the village cheering me on, I somehow ate the whole thing! I had to concentrate very hard on not looking at the grimacing faces of my fellow volunteers nor think about what it actually was I was eating! And the verdict? Well, chewy, fairly bland tasting … I’m not sure what all the fuss is about!

After dinner, the children of the village performed a couple of dance numbers and the GK song, which always brings a tear to my eye, and this time was no exception.

The grand finale was a 36 minute documentary my friends had made complete with footage of my favourite places in Bacolod, GK villages and messages from colleagues and friends! I was so overwhelmed!

In my farewell speech I thanked my colleagues and friends for an amazing 10 months and talked about my experiences as a volunteer with GK. Here’s what I said:

I wanted to throw this despedida tonight to say THANK YOU to GK for an amazing 10 months! And what better place to do it than right here in this wonderful GK village ERH. Every time I’ve eaten here, the food has got better and better. It’s now better than eating in any restaurant in Bacolod!


As I said, I have had an amazing 10 months. I came here because I wanted to dedicate a decent amount of time while I am still young offering my skills to help a developing country, and in the process gain an understanding of another culture, meet inspiring people, challenge myself and see some amazing places. And I think I have done all of these things!


10 months ago, when I was boarding the plane in Sydney airport, I didn’t know much at all about the Philippines. And I didn’t know anything about GK. It was all a new exciting adventure I was about to have.


Over the past 10 months – the more I have learned about GK the more I have grown to love it and believe in the GK model of community development. I love it because:

• it is holistic – it’s not just about building houses but about all the programs that go together to build successful communities;


• it dares to dream big with its vision for a squatter free, slum free Philippines;


• it brings together rich and poor, government and corporate enterprise, locals and international volunteers to work together for the same cause
  

I hope that through my volunteer work with GK these past 10 months, I have demonstrated that you don’t have to be Catholic, or religious at all, to have the heart to want to help the poor. I have really appreciated the opportunity to learn about the CFC family ministries through my work with GK and through attending the CLP. As I said to my fellow participants and facilitators at the dedication last Saturday night, I hope they have also learned from me. They assured me they had and not only that, they had been inspired as well, and I was really touched. There are many different religions in the world and maybe one day some of you will also have the opportunity to travel to other countries, if you haven’t already, and learn about other religions as I have had this opportunity to come here and learn about yours.


The best thing about GK is that it is about helping people, no matter what religion or even if you’re not religious at all. This was demonstrated at the Bayani Challenge recently in Mindanao where Christians and Muslims put aside their religious differences to build a GK village in a week. All those who went said it was a fantastic experience. Unfortunately I couldn’t participate, as my government won’t allow me to go to Mindanao, but perhaps I’ll come back for the Bayani Challenge next year in Palawan!


So what have I actually been doing these past 10 months?


My first 5 months, I spent most of my time with Tito Butch attending meetings, visiting sites, and trying to learn and absorb everything about GK, about Filipino architecture, about the climate, about the type of building materials that are available, about the methods of construction used here, about how people live, (cook, eat, wash and sleep) – because all of these things impact on design. Also during this time:

• I helped Louie for GK1MB in promoting the work of GK at the colleges in Bacolod,


• I went to Manila to help out with the preparation for the GK expo


• I helped out with the groups of international visitors who came for builds


• I launched the Designer Village Challenge to the Architecture students of LCC


• I also helped Butch design the site development plans for some new villages. One of these villages was GK Hua Ming in Handumanan that I have had the privilege to see through from conception to completion of all 50 houses.
  

During the second 5 months I have been more office based as I worked at implementing what I had learned during the first 5 months. The two main tasks

I was asked to complete were:

• A new design for the standard GK house based on ecologically sustainable principles.


• A Guidebook for Project Directors which we called the “CIP Roadmap”
  

The GK Eco-house concept design:


During my visits to GK villages throughout the province and talking to beneficiaries, I noticed 3 main things with the current house design. They are hot, they don’t have kitchens, and they have to carry water to the house from the well. So I tried to address these in my new design:

• The main living and sleeping space is constructed of light weight materials and elevated off the ground for ventilation and protection from flooding. This should keep the house cooler.


• A separate outhouse is constructed for the kitchen and CR, as a duplex so a wall is shared.


• The rain water tanks collect the rainwater from both roofs and is piped into the kitchen and CR
  

Tito Butch has given his approval for this new design and it will be trialled on the first GK eco-village for Negros Occidental, to be built in Nordson, Victorias!


I really hope this will result in a cooler more comfortable home for the beneficiaries.


The CIP Roadmap:


My other main task was to write a guidebook for the teams on site on how to build a GK village. Earlier this year we held a workshop with all the PD’s and CIP coordinators and brainstormed what should be included in this book. Based on this workshop and some theory of project management, I wrote the draft which was then reviewed by all the full-time GK workers. The final document is now being translated into Ilonggo.


I hope this Roadmap will help all the extremely dedicated teams on all the existing and new sites throughout the province as they build their GK villages from start to finish.


Of course, I have had my challenges along the way:


There have been all the challenges associated with being away from my family and friends plus living and working in a different culture – but at the same time, I wanted to challenge myself in this way, and I believe I have learned a lot from the experience.

A challenge that I did not expect occurred 3 weeks ago. I received the news that my Grandmother died suddenly in her sleep. I was supposed to be going to visit her after I finished my time in the Philippines. I considered leaving straight away for her funeral but I didn’t want to leave the Philippines without saying goodbye and without completing the work that I had started. I knew that she would want me to do that, so I decided to stay.


Then, that same week, I was the victim of a hold-up, here in Bacolod. My handbag was stolen at knife point. I wasn’t worried about the items I lost, I was just thankful that I wasn’t harmed. I found out later that many of the sugar cane cutters had been in town for the Labour Day protests. Apparently, as the harvest ended in March, they haven’t been paid for 2 months. So not only would these men have been fired up from the protest march, but they were also desperate for cash to feed their families. I hope what they got from us helped them. Many people told me afterwards that this is the reality of the Philippines, it happens all the time, and I had now experienced the all sides of the culture! Crimes like this happen in all countries, but this is the first time I had experienced anything like this, so I was quite shocked and just needed someone to comfort me and ask me if I was alright.


But despite the setbacks, my 10 months in the Philippines has been an incredibly rewarding experience.

• I have learned a lot about the Philippines, but also about myself.


• I have met amazingly inspiring people and made strong friendships that I’m sure will endure a lifetime.


• And the most moving and rewarding of all is seeing the joy and gratitude on the face of a beneficiary when they are handed the keys to their first ever home and to know I played a part in that.

And I have also had my funny moments. One that springs to mind was during the GK expo in Manila. I was wearing my expo t-shirt with the slogan “Walang Iwanan” (No one is left behind). I was supposed to be getting a ride home with someone, but they didn’t know this and they went ahead. I turned to Tito Butch and Tito Ricky and we laughed: “Walang Iwanan except for the Australian girl!”
This past week I’ve been re-visiting all the GK sites I’ve been involved with to say my goodbyes. I’d like to share with you the stories of 2 friends of mine.


· Josephine at GK Hope Talisay –
On my very first visit to GK Hope, Josephine came out to welcome us and insisted on chaperoning me around the site shielding my white skin from the sun with her umbrella. I was so touched. Don’t forget me, she said as I left. How could I forget her?! Whenever I went back to GK Hope, I would look for her and say hello and have a chat. She has 3 children and her husband has been looking for work for several months. They had to take their daughter out of 2nd Grade recently because they could no longer afford to send her to the local school in Concepcion. But despite this, she insisted on giving me a fresh buko (coconut) from her plantation to drink when I visited her this week. And then when she realised the reason for my visit – that I had come to say goodbye, she broke down into tears. I held myself together, but I have to admit, I shed a few tears on the jeepney coming home.


· Lorraine at GK Hua Ming, Handumanan -
Lorraine became a GK beneficiary recently when Hua Ming village was completed. She is a mother of 3, separated from her husband. She is actually college educated and her English is perfect. But she can’t work because she has to look after her 3 children. She has a small sari sari store in her house in order to get by. She would be a perfect candidate for Sibol teacher, and in fact, she’d love to start teaching the sibol kids commencing this school year using the vacant house next door to hers until such time as the construction of the sibol school is finished.


I think it is stories like these, real people like these, that inspire us to keep going with the work of GK. It is such important work and I feel privileged to have been a part of it.


While this is goodbye for now, I don’t believe this will be the end of my connection with GK.


Thank you to each and every one of you for making my experience of the Philippines so unforgettable!


The common response from colleagues to my imminent departure was “Thank you for the short time you’ve spent with us”. Ten months a short time? I thought to myself! Well, in the history of life on earth I suppose it is a mere drop in the ocean, all things are relative. And for those who have dedicated their lives to serve GK, I guess it would seem like I have breezed in and breezed out again. But a lot can happen in 10 months, and a lot has. I’m sure what I’ve learned and how I’ve changed will become more apparent as I reflect on my AYAD Philippines experience in the weeks and months ahead.