Day 5 : Going Home

Bye Marinduque


The Future Looks Bright


So it was the perfect time to go. Short but sweet would be the best phrase to describe the experience. We all decided to go back to Manila today Friday, instead of the planned Saturday. We upfronted the schedule of Friday to Thursday and met with the Dean of the Marinduque School of Fisheries in the morning to discuss the potential livelihood programs for GK Gasan and for the school to support the village's fishpond plans. The dean was so accommodating and the GK Careteaker team and the school will continue the talks.

Ruby, whose insect bite has now 90% dissipated, needs to see a real specialist. She continued to be in high spirits.

You will see it in this pic :)

Ruby was thankful for all the manangs who took care of her day in and day out, she said in her dedication to the village - "my birthday was amazing because of all your smiles. They touched my heart and you made a difference in my life. You brought importance and happiness in my life."

Sa mga bata, your energy was everlasting and I will never forget, I love you all so much and I hope to be back soon." Always, Ruby.


Eliza was as thankful as Ruby and was candid in saying that
"it has been a week that I will never forget and I hope I will be able to come back next year. Mahal kita lahat!"

With that our stay here comes to an end.


The manangs were waiting outside to see us off the pier and I'm sure just like last year, they will all be waiting for our next trip excited and waiting to welcome us again with their smiles, their potong dance, the kids energies, the manong's hardwork and of course Marinduque's beauty.

Here was our last pic - Junnie and the angels. A copycat of Charlie's Angels. Enjoy and til next year!

God will make a way for more youth to come and experience it. Please pray for us!

Day 4 : A Special Day and Treat for Everyone

GKYB 2008 Highlights and Out takes (on Video)
Press Play to Watch the Movie


Youth Build 2008 Version
Marinduque, Philippines

GK Youth Build - "Building Communities. Building the Youth
- and now Building Relationships"

Today was a special day. Via the video above, you'll be witness to a surprise party the GK Village Caretaker team hatched for our birthday girl - Ruby. (Click the movie above and see for yourself.)

The birthday party didn't end during breakfast, after finishing our landscaping of the model house, we continued doing jewelries with the manangs and played with the kids and prepared for the bigger party that night.

We had lugaw party with 60 kids and dancing and swimming and a lot of fun! It was a memorable birthday for Ruby, for the manangs and most especially for the kids.

Looking back at the GK Youth Build program, we were successful in many aspects that Gawad Kalinga has been known for - that is of building relationships and nurturing this with the GK beneficiaries. There is no one-time dole out nor plain outreach. There is a cemented relationship that can last for a long time.

Day 4's activities did a lot of relationship building and a lot of eating and dancing too.

Here is a slideshow of the lugaw party. Click here for the slideshow

Day 3 : Jewelry Making, Cockroaches and Paper Folding

Youth Build 2008 Version
Marinduque, Philippines

"Jewelry takes people's minds off your wrinkles." ~Sonja Henie - Olympian Figure Skating Champ

After the great make over of the Model House, we had enough time to plan our next afternoon's sessions with the Manangs and the kids.

Last year, Therese started with the basics of Jewelry design and vowed to bring back more beads using her influence and charisma to come up with a give-back project called "A Bag of Beads". She collected extra supply of beads from her classmates and had it shipped to Marinduque including pliers and magnifying lenses.

Our job is to follow through her legacy and review the manangs of their learned skills from last year. We were not disappointed. They were able to churn out as much jewelry from the supply given and were ready to go primetime with their finished products that they planned to sell in the bayan for Php 15 each. I had a grand plan of getting them financed through orders from Canada. The quality and workmanship is good and of course it's all for a good cause.

Let's see.

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We had a scare in the middle of the afternoon as Ruby had swollen arms and was breaking out from her right temple, nose and lips. Apparently she was bitten by a cockroach which prompted me to bring her to a doctor, fearing that it could be more than what we think it was. I asked her if she wanted to go home the next day so that she can get treated by a real city doctor. She agreed to stay if she will not get chills or feverish. She was given meds by the doctor, and we have to move out from our newly painted house to a resort across the street.

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Ruby's will to continue and her tenacity to finish the build sked and spend as much time with the kids was admirable. She inspired us to do more that afternoon and provide more quality time with the kids. Eliza volunteered to share her paper folding skills, giving each kid, numbering to almost 40, a paper crane each.

Tired after all morning of painting, fulfilled to see that the manangs can create masterpieces from their own hands, anxious with what bit Ruby, and happy to be around the kids til late in the night, all in one day.

It ended with an afternoon dip and night swimming. A well deserved treat for all the hardwork, and to take away the anxiety and trauma of a cockroach bite :(


Day 3 slideshow is here

Day 3: Painting Job

Paint Job

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Two Tone


Ooops!

Youth Build 2008 Version
Marinduque, Philippines

Some colors enliven the spirit, some just put you to stupor that it doesn't help staying long enough and be totally depressed. Our model house in Gasan needed that extra punch as the place was faded being nearest the water, and needed a color that will put life back to once the most beautiful house in the village.

So we decided that morning to paint the house. The color was a unanimous choice - yellow!

In half a day, the once drab pink was now a bright colored yellow. Swept the place off dirt and tidied it up as if it was ready for pre-selling :).

We were happy with our accomplishment. The house was now alive. The walls refurbished and painted on. It can now be called back to being called GK Gasan's model house. All in a half-day's work.

Day 2 : Play Time

Remember GK? Gian Karlo - he's 1 year old now


Dead Tired After a Half Day's Work Mixing Cement


Waiting for a Jeepney Ride


Setting and Tossing Lessons


Your Turn


Day 2 - Rest of the Day.

What do they say about Jack being a dull boy? Yes, all work and no play makes anyone dull.

So whenever we had time, we tried our best to go around the village and talk to our GK villagers. My favorite is Aling Amalia and GK, the first baby born in Gasan. He seemed to have grown faster and can even recognize me as he was responding with a smile whenever I call his name.

In the afternoon, the youth were dog tired and crashed literally in separate rooms, while Don and I started to think of retooling the landscape of our model home. Our playtime consisted of plans of teaching them volleyball and a different type of basketball - closer to basketbrawl :)

We went downtown - to Boac - to get our volleyball and basketball and some side shopping too! The trip took 45 minutes - one way, but was a pleasurable treat for everyone too to see some sort of urban life. When we arrived at 5 PM, the games started with drills on serving, stopping, setting up and tossing, and when they were ready to play, we couldn't stop them til late 8 pm.

It was one long day - of work and play. The 2 Jacks in Don and I and the 2 Jills - really were'nt dull at this point. But at the end of the night, after Jack and Jill went up the hill - both came tumbling after - too tired to care and the place was drowned again - by some sort of nasal cacophony. Ok ok, that read - the village heard a lot of snoring. This time not just from yours truly. Peace Zzzzzz.

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Day 2 slideshow is here

Day 2 : Build Time

We Are Near the Heart Shaped Island


All Ready for Work for the Lord


Time to Work


It's like Glass :)


Second day.

We already slept in the GK Village and fairly knew how it felt so eeriely quiet until someone every now and then would disrupt it with a loud snore that easily can be heard across the village. One youth described it as strong enough to blow the entire GK house from the ground.

"Exag" - any teener would say for something that is more than reality. To the uninitiated, it is short for exaggeration, needless to explain.

The house was surely still intact when we woke up. I really don't know. We didn't check. What is for sure is that the snorer - was me.

Despite that ruckus, we were pumped up and ready. We did an early morning walk, which we considered to be our Morning prayers and meditation, absorbing as much fresh air before we buckled down to work.

It may not have been enough to finish one house, yet our efforts which lasted til the rains set in was enough to see the basic foundations of a GK home. We knew we did our best and whoever will live there will surely be happy that all of us ensured that it will be strong and sturdy.

We will know. I'll try to snore inside it to do a stress test next year. :)

Day 1 : Our Arrival

Start of Day : Sunrise of Marinduque


We caught a stray Moriones


If smiles are worth a dollar each, Marinduque will be a rich province


To the Island and Back
Marinduque, Philippines

"How I wish that somewhere there existed an island for those who are wise and of good will"

There are places that feel so familiar from the moment you step into its bosom and be welcomed by its open arms, you know you're safe and that you will have a grand time!

I had the same feeling coming to Marinduque.

Although this time this was not because of places like Paris' towering love edifices or Switzerland's white capped mountains, both places you fall in love deeper every time you visit, but the smiles of the people of Marinduque. Disarmingly different compared to other places in the Philippines, the smiles are so genuine, the conversations that accompany it and the gestures of the villagers-make you feel warm all over.

So when we started the GK Youth Build program last Monday, after waking up at 5 in the morning and travelling from Ortigas to Dalahican in Lucena , Quezon for 2.5 hrs, and to Balanacan, Marinduque for another 2 hrs, all the rigors of the road trip and the unfamiliar movement of the ferry, were all swept away as soon as we saw the giant statue of Mama Mary at the mouth of the port of the heart shaped island.

So today kicks off the first day of the rest of our lives. We are all excited at the prospects of what is in store. Excited, anxious, and just happy to just be there. We are just letting go, loosely opening our stance, and just ready to be cradled in the arms of Marinduque.

Watch a slideshow of the events from our stay in the condo to our arrival in Marinduque. Click Here