A reflection: "Be the change you want to see in the world"

Cherry thanked us yesterday for coming all this way to build her home and her life. Just saying 'it's our pleasure' does not capture the sentiment, nor does 'sure thing' or 'anytime.' For me, the most appropriate thing to say in reply is 'Thank YOU'. Thank you, Cherry, for your belief and confidence in us, strangers. Thank you for your tireless attitude out there on the build site. Thank you for opening your family, your culture, and your heart to us, who are motivated to work harder by your smile, your determination, and your will to make a better life for your family.

I set off on this trip for an adventure. I wanted to see a new place, learn a new culture. I wanted to have funny stories, exciting moments, and lots of memories. I wanted to be challenged and I wanted to be part of a team. I must say that all was accomplished, and more. The relationships I formed here are much stronger than that of two weeks, and relationships that could only be arranged by a complex twist of fate. That 3 Singaporeans, 14 energetic (and rambunctious) children, one great project engineer, hundreds of workers, the behind the scenes people at Habitat and 6 Americans could come together to build a home and build a family's life, is something powerful, something amazing. In collaborating with others from all over the world on ground that both Americans and Filipinos shed blood for, I am humbled. I am proud to represent my family and my friends who contributed so generously to this cause, and most importantly my country.

Together, hundreds of people are helping to give Cherry a place to sleep, a place to eat, a place to study, but most of all a place for her family to thrive, a place to rely on, a place of opportunity. I take these things for granted: my apartment, my health, the roads I drive on, the food I eat and water I drink, the air I breathe, and most importantly, the opportunity I have. This experience gives me tremendous gratitude that I not only can have these gifts in my life, but that I can help others provide themselves the opportunity for a better life.

Artist Isamu Noguchi said "We are all landscapes of that which we have seen." In experiencing other cultures, we learn our differences, but also realize our common ground, which is vast. We may speak different dialects, wear different clothing, and have different skin color, but when we come together, we realize our power, what we can DO if we work together, and how we can change the world, one home at a time.

Day 9- Thursday- last day of work

The sun was out for our entire last day of work. We shared a prayer of gratitude with Cherry, who thanked us for 'building their home and their life'. It was a beautiful moment and as her voice quivered we all felt the reason why we were here. We are not building Cherry's life, her drive and love of her family is doing that, but we are helping. We are doing a small part to help her reach her dream, a home for her family.

We began as per usual, in the rock pile with shovels and bags. This time, we had to bring the gravel to a different foundation, across Mud Lake. They had built a brick walkway up to both sides of the water, but kept it open so trucks could drive through. We decided to build a bridge across so that we didn't have to walk all the way around with the cart. Good thing too, because after we finished with our gravel bridge, we realized that the cart was broken anyway. So we mobilized and began hauling bags of gravel.

The pile of gravel (that did not exist) at the beginning of the day

George was a pioneer in the gravel bag carrying. He started with the bags on his shoulder like the REAL MEN. We all tried it out, and it's actually not too hard because the bags are closer to your center of gravity. Once the kids saw us carrying the bags, the immediately wanted to try. We tried and tried to distract them and take the bags but they were so into it. We started giving them 'superman rides' on the way back to the rock pile, which definitely did not make them want to leave, so we created a 'kid bag' with 2 scoops and an 'adult bag' with 4 scoops so everyone was happy. I may have taken a kid bag once or twice, shhhhh. The least we could do was reward them with Popsicles when we were done, thanks to Leon.

We broke for our last lunch and introduced jumping photos to the group. The first one is Cassandra and my demonstration... They picked it up pretty quick, huh?

One of the kids makes this pic of Joan so hip and edgy, with the 'I'm handsome' pose...

Everyone stopped work at 2:00 for our dedication and prayer. Cherry's daughter passed out adorable flowers she made and Cherry gave us a very emotional expression of gratitude that, if I could sum up this trip in a moment, was the reason we were all here. It was so heartfelt, sincere, and so thankful that we came all this way to build a home for her. We thanked everyone, Jun, the workers, the kids for helping, and the whole team that collaborated for these two weeks. It was hard to say goodbye, but we all knew that we would be back on Friday.

George and I squished into a motorcycle tricycle and took the Jeepney called 'Christ the Conquerer' home. George said that he liked the feeling of being a rockstar, which is just how we felt when all of the children were walking us to the motorcycle stop. What a farewell that was. By the way, I have not yet seen one Jeepney with any dashboard gage that works. I think they are just for show.

And finally at dinner, we organized all the photos for our pins. Joan had the awesome idea to make all the kids buttons with their pictures on it. We passed a cart in the mall and went back to get about 30 buttons made. It was quite an adventure. Once the mall closed and the lights were turning off, after taking photos with Marcos, after packing up all his other jobs so he could focus on ours, we got our buttons, and they look great. We can't wait to see the kids' faces! Leon also got the kids a couple basketballs and the team sprung for 2 wheelbarrows for the workers.

Day 8- Wednesday- a trip to Pasig City

Today we had the opportunity to see another Habitat project in Manila that people have already moved into. Pasig City is on the other side of Manila, southeast of Manila City. It took quite a while to get there which may be why our driver decided to put on a DVD of the Manny Pacquiao fight while he was driving.

I sense a trend... Here is a picture in the mall of everyone standing around watching Manny Pacquiao on MTV cribs...

Anyway, we were given the grand tour by Mimi, a home partner who has lived in the same neighborhood (barangay) for 37 years. We basically walked down a really long sidewalk, with a wall to our right and homes to our left. What I didn't realize right away were that the homes were all built over the water. A few had boats underneath, some had hammocks, and I am pretty sure the bathrooms drain directly into the river. There were lots of roosters, mostly tethered down, and lots of women doing laundry. The sidewalk was long and narrow and it was hard to imagine anyone needing to bring anything large or heavy to their house, we were sweating with just our day packs. there were water pumps every 50' or so too, where people were filling their basins. The inside of the houses was actually very neat and clean.

Laughter house? Context clues say no........

Mimi explained that the area was flooded in 2008 and the water inundated the houses, the water level was about 5 feet above the sidewalk. All of the residents had to move into the local school until they could move back home. The government decided that this area was unfit to live in, so they partnered with Habitat to construct Pasig 1, the first of many buildings with the intent of relocating all of the residents, and then clearing the areas I the flood zone.

Homemade kite... Resourceful yet again!

Leon showing the basketball players how it's done.... He got lots of stares today.

View across the river... Only 2 pesos boat ride.

When people move their houses, they really move their houses. They pack up everything, dismantle the house, and even pack the wood and materials used to build it. The families we saw were all very excited to be getting a new home.

Pasig 1 houses 144 partner families. All needed to put it 1000 hours of sweat equity, and all will have a mortgage payment. Habitat seeks to provide housing for those who have the means to pay for it... "a hand out, not a hand up". The community is built differently than ours in navotas, the infrastructure and roads seem to be last to be built, whereas we have many plots of land that are surrounded by roads but no houses yet. These buildings were built with interlocking concrete blocks, which is also different than the hollow blocks we are using.

The children at Pasig 1 were all in school, and there was a real sense of community. It was apparent that the people were benefitting from having their new home. They were very proud, with many people saying "welcome to my home." Some were having tile installed, others linoleum floors, but all were making it their own. The living space has many functions, from sleeping to eating to resting to working. But the outdoor space between the 2story buildings is another place for recreation. Would love to see some gardens pop up here???...

We took a walk over to the orphanage next to the Pasig site so Cassandra could drop off some clothes and crayons for the kids. Family means a lot to the people of the Philippines, and they put a lot of value on sticking together. This gave us more motivation to see the children who do not have a family, say hello, and bring gifts. Unfortunately, we were not allowed inside because we didn't have clearance, but when we left all the children were waving at us through the windows.

I went on my own excursion to Intramuros, the old walled city in Manila. I saw the beautiful St. Augustin church, which has an adjoining monastery and museum with a huge collection of interesting things.

I also walked down to the Manila Cathedral and over the bridge to Chinatown, where I was when the sun set. I had quite a time finding a cab back to meet everyone for dinner, no one wanted to sit in traffic to get there!! Once I found one to take me, I realized why... LA traffic does not compare to Manila. Drivers even have one day a week they cannot drive (based on the last digit on their license plate). Doesnt seem to help....