18/5/2010

Ok guys! this is my blog post for 18th May.

18^th May. Tuesday.

Woke up at 5am and packed the bathing bag because I was planning to bathe at the community hall today, and left the house! Breakfast for today is porridge with omelette and egg! After breakfast, we head off to work. I was hindered by the state of my shoes only after 4 days. It was spoilt and I had to bandage it with masking tape and duct tape. After rescuing my shoes, I head over to do construction. Today for me is mainly plastering and mastering the art of plastering. There is a lot of laughter today because the group of people doing brick-laying was cracking a lot of jokes, keeping the atmosphere rather light. At least we won’t be bored doing the same job everyday!

I went over to the Sibol School to see the children for a few times. Their progression is actually rather good, and enthusiastic in their participation. I guess after some warm-up the children are now opening up to us as compared to the first day when Maoying, Michelle and I took the first lesson. After the morning snack, I continued to do plastering until it gets rather boring. After doing this, I begin to appreciate the workers in the construction site in Singapore. The amount of patience and endurance they have to put in for our buildings. It is not even for themselves, it is for us. I had respected them, because without them there won’t be building in Singapore, but now I respect them even more.

Soon, it is lunch time and after lunch, Maoying and I head back to do laundry. We have a lot of clothes accumulated for about 3 days and especially with my windbreaker. Just last night, I realized that my windbreaker had an infestation of ants because I left it on top of my bag (and I did not put the insect repellent gel). My windbreaker has netting and all the ants were infested inside the netting which made it harder to clean. As usual, Joy is around being the Teacher Joy in washing of clothes and handing us hangers and clothes pegs when needed. That’s really sweet of her. Jodis also started talking more to us, which means he is opening up to us more.

After resting, we went back to the study room to do up the photo frame for our host family. Then we went back to the community hall to rest again until about 2pm. I headed over to Sibol School to help out a little although I wasn’t of much help actually. After a while, I head back to construction. The children started doing things for us. It is sort of like plasticine but is made from sand mixed with water instead, with flowers on top. Somehow it looked like flower pots.

My runny nose started to get worse during mid day. Then I was being quarantined from the rest of the people or rather, the rest of the people was quarantined from me. During that period of time, it really felt rather helpless because nobody is supposed to go near you. I was not feeling tired or lethargic in any way, in fact I was feeling normal except for the runny nose. haha. My temperature was slightly higher than normal at about 37.3 degree Celsius. Then Charissa said that if my temperature is not going down by 8pm, I’ll have to be sent to the hospital which is about an hour ride away from Bagong Silang. Ah! That made me sound like I’m seriously ill. But well, hospital has AIR-CON! =X

Maoying packed some of my clothing for me in case I have to stay over at the hospital, and then suddenly she appeared in the study room too! She is caught with high temperature of 37.7 but she is also feeling very fine. My room-mate is quarantined with me. LOL. Temperature is starting to drop but both of us have to sleep in the study room until tomorrow morning. Being quarantined is not anything bad because I get to have a super long bath in the community hall which is heavenly!

-JOANNE

mis na mis kita

This is my second time embarking on the Youth Expedition Project journey. Both are enriching and fulfilling in different way. This project to the Philippines particularly offers me a new perspective in looking at the community-in-need and their living conditions, of which is in many ways different from ours.

Walang Iwanan, as the term explains, no one is left behind. To me, only during and after this trip that I realized, how important welfare is to every human being, no one should be left behind. As mentioned by the GK founder Tony Meloto during a short chit-chatting session with us at the construction site; everyone deserves to be treated just like the others, they are human beings. His words struck me.

As we have always been living in a relatively comfortable and established society, as we have also been traveling to different fascinating tourist locations in the world, as we think that we have seen the world, we have been ignorantly neglecting and forgetting what we have not yet seen, of which I still dare not say that I have seen all of it, but enough for me to firstly, appreciate how fortunate we are to be given what we are having now, and secondly, to feel for these communities.

For these 15 days in this particular GK village, the term ‘community’ comes to me very meaningful. I never felt how well bonded a community could be until I was there in this village. The sense of community is overwhelming when you see the villagers come together to build their new village, and when you see the neighbors can just enter each other’s house from the front or behind, watching television together, chatting and laughing. There is no remarkable boundary within the village, I just feel like I am in it all the time, for the 15 days, that I enjoy my time so much with them.

I had always been sympathizing how less fortunate these people are before I embark on this journey, but from now on I will not use the word ‘less fortunate’ on these people anymore, because they simply have those things that are sought after by many of us – a rather simple life with laughter and love. We are all on equal ground, because we own different things, we are still lacking of something.

“Poverty is everywhere; poverty in terms of money and materiality, poverty of emotions in most developed countries; there is always something to be compromised” Tito Tony Meloto

Coming to something lighter, I set myself an objective for this trip; I am here to serve and to give, I want to help in whatever way I can. However, I think throughout the 15 days in this community, I think I have taken in more than I have given out to them. I really can’t express how much I have enjoyed myself with the community, for the foods they cooked for us, for the ‘hi-5’ from the kids, the smile and laughter they offered to us whenever we see them, these little things form an unforgettable memory we had together with them.

It is a colorful village, the people and the life there I will never forget.

I did not really cry when I was leaving the village on the last day, because I have a feeling I will be seeing them again, or at least, I will be missing them a lot. Salamat po, thank you for the experience, and to all my YEP teammates, thank you for being there with me, may our friendship lasts forever.

Chuhwai

merianda

HELLOO bagong silang!! its merianda time....

Larry's Escape

I am never good with words, neither am I a good writer. When I was asked to write about my experience in the GK Village. I was taken aback. I was afraid I could not churn out a wonderful piece of essay, with mountains of cliche statements. But as I now reflect upon what I experience there, it just flows out so naturally.

I wondered why? Perhaps it was the sincerity of the locals that allowed me to naturally write out this sincere reflection.

Perhaps some sincere declarations. Before I arrived in the village, I kept thinking to myself, what would be the situation there at Bagong Silang? Can I even take the hardship? Being a “pampered” kid since young, and always making it a point to stay in posh hotels for vacations, will Larry be able to take it? My friends even joked, “Larry, do not go there for 1 day, and fly back the very next day.”

I had doubts. I had doubts about my safety, my experience, and even my comfort. But these 2 weeks of stay had indeed changed my view of many things. I had never felt so happy before in my life.

I was indeed touched by how the community were so close together. I was so touched by how all the villagers were so sincere in whatever they do. Simple gestures like hugs had never meant so much to me. Just a simple “I will miss you”, “I love you”, to them, meant so much. But in a busy city like mine, how much do any of the above mean to an individual?

In the midst of our busy lifestyle, we strive for wealth, we strive for status, and we strive for so many things. But to the villagers, having their family with them, and loving god, is all that matters. The love they had for one another is so pure, and so sincere. I felt so loved by everyone there, from the children to the adults. Till now, even when I look back, I can still remember all the little love they showed me, and all the little gestures that mean so much to me.

In this lonely city, we lack love. And within that short period of time there, I felt the love which had been missing in my life for a long time. All I can say is that the villagers brought me to realise how important my family is to me. How I should treasure them, and love everyone around me like how they did in the village.

Perhaps one country may have many skyscrapers, many beautiful architecture. But the one X Factor that makes a place beautiful is the community, their people, their love. And I am proud to say that, GK Village is a true sincere beauty. Thank You for the experience, the joy and the smiles. It will last a life time.

Larry Yeung

Fund Raising

"A Brick of Tomorrow"