Today is Monday, Jan. 5th. Back in Toronto, everyone is going to school today. We, on the other hand, are going back to the build!
Mike takes a break from eating rice for breakfast and munches on these instead. (Read the message on the bread stick)There’s is considerably way more traffic since it’s also back to work for everyone who was on Christmas holidays hereWe get on our gear including our steel toe footwear, t-shirts, and name tagsMitch’s gets his daily toothpick (which seems to be getting bigger)The boys show off their pipes! (Especially Geerthan)“That’s nothing” say the girls! (Especially Nicole)Fierce looking bunchYou don’t want to mess with these girlsToday we learn how to cut rebar. It’s so thick we need to use our entire body weight to snap it.Unless you’re as strong as AxileThe locals teach us how to attach the rebar togetherWire is used to attached all intersectionsMimi pre-cuts the wire to be usedWork is easy when you have cute kids to help youThe rebar is used to help support poured concreteWhile some of us work with rebar, others continue “the dig”Everyone’s favourite job 🙂Who needs a shovel!
Tina accidentally steps into a puddle and gets her foot stuck in the clayTina can’t get her feet out without losing her shoe, so she goes in with BOTH feet and continues to dig!The 3rd job is continuing to paintMuch more relaxing then being on “the dig”To keep everyone fresh and energized, we rotate jobs every 45 minutes. It’s Julie’s turn to dig now.This picture shows you how thick the clay is as Leah stands on the shovelLast night Mike bought some tools to try to conquer removing this tree stumpYou need to have a license to purchase a reciprocating saw so this circular saw will have to do (not really ideal for cutting trees, but worth a shot)We made sure to buy an extension cord for powerAnd a hand saw for places the circular saw can’t reach
Step 1 – Mike scores the stumpStep 2 – Marc axes out what has been scored
Step 3: Give up, because it’s not working
Step 4: Pick a more realistic tree to cutTime to learn how to make rebar postThese will be used to reinforce poured concrete pillarsWe will need some more wire MimiLook at those “posers” in the background pretending to do workWe need to clear out this section, so that we can continue to dig. Namely the coconut tree stumpsYou mean these tree stumps? But they are so comfortable.We try lifting the coconut tree with no successAs we wait for the tree to be cut in 3 shorter more manageable pieces, John finds time to pose for the camera.We are ready to conquer that tree (now cut into 3 separate stumps)Rather than lifting, the locals teach us the way they do it“Heave, Ho” we get our backs into it.Much easier than liftingEasier but not easy (as you can tell by the expression on Mimi’s face)Almost there – we need to bring it to the side of the road for pick upHow many people does it take to move one third of a coconut tree?Time for stump #2 – now we’re prosThis is the bottom of the tree so it’s much heavierThe girls tackle the 3rd coconut stump all by themselves using a different techniqueThank God for steel toe shoes!This way ladiesWe switch jobs after moving the 3 tree stumps to give the diggers a much needed breakThe locals teach the new group how to fasten the rebarThe only tool we use is a nail for twisting the wireLibby gets the hang of it (the dirt on her skin shows you which station she previously left)Done! 20 more to go!Before lunch, we do a community clean up.We follow Mike’s instructions like scripture 🙂Axile hands out plastic glovesAnd we get to workIt’s easy not to notice the garbage all around usBut when you pay attention to it, you realize how much is really thereWe also realize that even though we’ve only been there for 2.5 days, we contributed to the garbage on the groundThings like cups, baby wipes, band aids, cough drop wrappers were all left behind by us over the last 2 daysThe kids help out tooWe fill up our bagsAs we scour the entire communityEwwww…..I’m not picking that upJermin’s little helperIt’s remarkable how much garbage we were able to pick up in 45 minutes. Job well done leaders!This little boy gets a head start on snackWell deserved Banana-Q for meriendaLibby can’t get enough “Turon” – banana fried in an egg roll wrapper, dipped in syrup………..YUMBreak time – Like father like son.We take pictures on what’s called a “tricyle” – it’s equivalent to a taxi in Toronto.Let me try the drivers seatThese girls are always so willing to help out with the dishes after lunch. That’s initiative!After lunch we get back to work. One of the stations is arts and crafts with the kidsWe make thank you cards for people back home in Toronto who supported usWe couldn’t have done it without all of you back in T.O.Much easier station then digging!Some really good artistsA new group learns to work with rebarA nail is the only tool you needAnother station is making brooms from coconut palm leavesEach leaf has a hard spine which we try to remove. That’s the part that is used for the broom.John likes this job better than diggingIn the comments below, write us a funny caption for this picture.Mike and the men in the community have a project.A perfect opportunity to teach them how to use the new tools we bought.Mike instructs how to properly use a circular saw (which is using 2 hands)Guess what we are making?All made out of scrap materials found at the build siteWe run out of nails but Mike’s dad saves the day and makes a trip to the local hardware store (prior to making this purchase, the locals were finding nails from scrap unused wood laying around). Now that’s that truly the meaning of RRR – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Still many houses need to be paintedMorning diggers get a break and move to the painting stationArts and crafts is the best station because that’s where the kids are
Share this website with everyone you know!What a smileAmazing art workDyan and Faith explain what to do
The instruction was to draw a nice picture. This kid followed that instruction to a tee!The basketball rim and backboard are almost done!JP finds others uses with the construction paperTime to pack up and call it a dayToday, more then ever, we realize how exhausting it is to build in the hot sun.Tomorrow being our last day, the community starts to prepare a party for usMarc and Mitch don’t want to leave
After leaving the Tala build site, we make our way to the Mall of Asia for dinner.
We make it to Manila Bay just in time to see the beautiful sunsetBefore dinner we decide to partake in some great Canadian fun – SKATINGThis is how you check your skate size – all rentals are “figure” skatesCan’t skate, easy peasy, you have multiple friends to assist youBecause that’s what friends are for!We tell this guy he has to get off the ice while us Torontonians are skating (Habs fan)Forever bonded by this service trip#TeamPH2K14Time for dinner at Max’s Chicken – There’s actually one in Toronto where Mike says we’ll have our reunionWinning team from last night’s scavenger hunt gets “Halo Halo” (traditional Filipino dessert)After dinner there just enough time to ride the Ferris wheel before going back to the hotel
What a jammed packed amazing day. Thanks for following our travels.
Feel free to leave a comment below.
Below is a picture of Michael and Mitch filming part of a music video. This is just a teaser of what’s to come (to be released at a future date!)
Welcome back everyone, I saw Axel’s video from the trip on Thursday night, it was amazing!
God Bless your incredible work!
Peace and Hope, Steve De Quintal Teacher, St. Mary’s CSS, 66 Dufferin Park Ave. Toronto, Ontario M6H-1J6. 416-393-5528 ext. 84293 “that they may have life and have it the full.” http://www.redcross.ca/blog/2014/12/haiti-five-years-on–an-fom ****You can always email but a call or a visit will get a quicker response***** ________________________________________
Build day 3 of 4… Almost there. We’ve gotten so much done compared to day 1, the changes are visible. It is amazing to see how much a big hard working group can get done in such little time. But there is still so much that needs to be done. Moving the coconut tree was the toughest yet funnest part of the day. It tested every person to work in unison and listen to the leader in order to know when to pull or stop pulling. It became easy work once we got that down.
Another hard yet rewarding d of building. Each day I feel closer and closer to the community. Slating was so much fun and it was even better that I got help from my friends in the PH fam as I cannot skate, I didn’t even fall once thanks to their help! Dinner was so good (especially the Halo Halo go team 4!) loved the Ferris wheel the view was beautiful.
Whoo! my second day at work! I got to try all sorts of jobs from digging to rebar attaching to dish washing. Everyday I’ve been able to meet new people. I met Dexter at painting, Aldrin at digging and my now close friend Katelyn at dish washing! Being able to make relationships with the people we are building houses for is my favourite part!
Rebar was definitely one of the easier jobs we got to do. It was also a lot of fun. Christine and I got into a fast paced work ethic doing it! Learning from the workers in the village was great. Sometimes it seems like we may be slowing them down, but they always appreciate our efforts and help us work so that we achieve more. We’re incredible blessed for all their hospitality and patience.
This day was full of hard work from what I can see! I am so proud of everyone. Unfortunately, this was the day I timed out completely because I felt sick. From my drifts in and out of sleep, I could hear everyone working hard in pulling the trunks and the laughter from playing with the kids. Getting sick made me realize the value of our healthcare here (thank goodness I wasn’t too bad) as well as the value of one day. But the community members took good care of me and even let me lie in their bed. I am so grateful for them and I wish to bring the same hospitality they have shown me here in Canada.
It’s amazing to see how much of a difference there was from day one to day three. We’ve gotten a lot done, and even got the chance to do some garbage clean up. What I realized during the clean up was that this area was polluted with many little pieces of trash everywhere. In the end I was happy to see most of it was gone and away in garbage bags.
thanks to all good memories,teachers michael and julie, /geerthan,melissa chloe,tina libby,mitch,marc,jermin,faith,dyan.dana,nicole,adrian,jillian,john,christine,emily,kaisha,mimi,leah,axile/and pope francis.GOD used you all as an instrument even you had miles away from philippines/dont stop doing good to the people ,i miss you guys, specially in digging/GODBLESS us all/
TEAM WORK! So much was accomplished by the team today. Our building days are almost coming to an end. It was such a joy getting to know each and everyone in the community. They are family to us. Love really transcends age, time, language, race, and status. In Tala, I felt welcomed and loved like I was their own. I have learned how to truly love from them. Words are not enough to express how thankful we are to have met and be a part of the Tala community! We ❤ you so much!
The merienda on day 3 was on point! I think the banana q we had that day was the best I had ever tasted! One of the things I really miss about the Philippines, besides the kids and communities we visited was definitely the food. Everything they fed us there was so good and the fruits and everything were so fresh and were 10x better than the ones in Toronto, just thinking about it make me hungry 😦 MOA was so fun too! I loved going skating that day, made me feel a little less homesick, that’s for sure. Of course, the shopping was great too! Me & Geerthan literally shopped until the stores were kicking us out at closing lol 😀
A lot of team work and communication happened. Felt like a team when we carrying the tree trunk out of the work area. And cutting rebar was so much fun too. This was also the first day I painted, and let me tell you painting isn’t an easy job. It is as hard as digging. All in all it was a very productive day.
Today was a great day as we put in a lot of work in the community, so we got rewarded by going to mall of Asia and skating. the ice rink was in a mall switch i thought was so cool. i love skating so getting to skate in the Philippines was wild, only problem is that we had to where figure skates.
My favorite part of the day was the community members made a basketball net for us and we got to play a good game of basketball with everyone.
We did soo much this day! Working and riding in “Tricycles” and skating ets. We were also able to get a lot done. These days are the best because at the end of them you feel like you have really made a difference. Each day we learn more and more about life here but we are also learning more about each other and our selves as we work along side one another all sharing the same end goal. To make a difference and help in any way we can. 😀
This day was just doing all sorts of different jobs from digging, rebar attaching (which I almost got my index finger cut off , it was way too hot that day and we were all doing jobs that involved physical activities so I was really sweating and wearing the safety gloves was not making me efficient with the rebar job so I took it off, and while doing it my index finger got stuck and i let go and it just started gushing blood 🙂 but it’s all good) At the end of the day, my job was to help kids make Thank you cards and that was a nice way to end my day, just interacting with the kids. Fun day!
Today was a really entertaining day. It kind of showed me that even if you have a lot of work to do, you can manage to find ways to make it a lot of fun too, so the hard work doesn’t seem like a lot of work. We did a lot of different jobs and had some sort of rotation going on, so we got to do some unique stuff like making brooms out of palm tree leaves and cutting rebar with some special machines. But in between all of that we took some funnier pictures, danced and filmed for the video, and even went skating afterwards. It was a lot of fun, and overall made the entire work experience feel less like work, and more fun, with all the laughter.
Another busy day of building! Again, we all had so much fun but it was super tiring but rewarding! The MOA was soooo big! Dyan and I was lost but we found our way eventually! I had a great time skating around too! Who can say they went ice skating in the Philippines? haha
I like working in the mud its nice and cooool.
I LOVE turon! I definitely need to find out how to make this.
Kaitlyn brought me on a tittle trip around the neighborhood while we got water a very interesting system!
Catholic Student Leadership 
Welcome back everyone, I saw Axel’s video from the trip on Thursday night, it was amazing!
God Bless your incredible work!
Peace and Hope, Steve De Quintal Teacher, St. Mary’s CSS, 66 Dufferin Park Ave. Toronto, Ontario M6H-1J6. 416-393-5528 ext. 84293 “that they may have life and have it the full.” http://www.redcross.ca/blog/2014/12/haiti-five-years-on–an-fom ****You can always email but a call or a visit will get a quicker response***** ________________________________________
Build day 3 of 4… Almost there. We’ve gotten so much done compared to day 1, the changes are visible. It is amazing to see how much a big hard working group can get done in such little time. But there is still so much that needs to be done. Moving the coconut tree was the toughest yet funnest part of the day. It tested every person to work in unison and listen to the leader in order to know when to pull or stop pulling. It became easy work once we got that down.
Great job; it is our hope that you now appreciate the TRUE value of HELPING and SHARING.
Thank you Tito Romy for all your amazing support 🙂
We are definitely incredibly grateful and inspired after leaving our trip.
Another hard yet rewarding d of building. Each day I feel closer and closer to the community. Slating was so much fun and it was even better that I got help from my friends in the PH fam as I cannot skate, I didn’t even fall once thanks to their help! Dinner was so good (especially the Halo Halo go team 4!) loved the Ferris wheel the view was beautiful.
Whoo! my second day at work! I got to try all sorts of jobs from digging to rebar attaching to dish washing. Everyday I’ve been able to meet new people. I met Dexter at painting, Aldrin at digging and my now close friend Katelyn at dish washing! Being able to make relationships with the people we are building houses for is my favourite part!
Rebar was definitely one of the easier jobs we got to do. It was also a lot of fun. Christine and I got into a fast paced work ethic doing it! Learning from the workers in the village was great. Sometimes it seems like we may be slowing them down, but they always appreciate our efforts and help us work so that we achieve more. We’re incredible blessed for all their hospitality and patience.
This looked like a amazing trip, Sir!!!
This day was full of hard work from what I can see! I am so proud of everyone. Unfortunately, this was the day I timed out completely because I felt sick. From my drifts in and out of sleep, I could hear everyone working hard in pulling the trunks and the laughter from playing with the kids. Getting sick made me realize the value of our healthcare here (thank goodness I wasn’t too bad) as well as the value of one day. But the community members took good care of me and even let me lie in their bed. I am so grateful for them and I wish to bring the same hospitality they have shown me here in Canada.
It’s amazing to see how much of a difference there was from day one to day three. We’ve gotten a lot done, and even got the chance to do some garbage clean up. What I realized during the clean up was that this area was polluted with many little pieces of trash everywhere. In the end I was happy to see most of it was gone and away in garbage bags.
thanks to all good memories,teachers michael and julie, /geerthan,melissa chloe,tina libby,mitch,marc,jermin,faith,dyan.dana,nicole,adrian,jillian,john,christine,emily,kaisha,mimi,leah,axile/and pope francis.GOD used you all as an instrument even you had miles away from philippines/dont stop doing good to the people ,i miss you guys, specially in digging/GODBLESS us all/
Thanks for showing us the ropes Aldrin. I don’t know what we would do without you. God bless!
TEAM WORK! So much was accomplished by the team today. Our building days are almost coming to an end. It was such a joy getting to know each and everyone in the community. They are family to us. Love really transcends age, time, language, race, and status. In Tala, I felt welcomed and loved like I was their own. I have learned how to truly love from them. Words are not enough to express how thankful we are to have met and be a part of the Tala community! We ❤ you so much!
The merienda on day 3 was on point! I think the banana q we had that day was the best I had ever tasted! One of the things I really miss about the Philippines, besides the kids and communities we visited was definitely the food. Everything they fed us there was so good and the fruits and everything were so fresh and were 10x better than the ones in Toronto, just thinking about it make me hungry 😦 MOA was so fun too! I loved going skating that day, made me feel a little less homesick, that’s for sure. Of course, the shopping was great too! Me & Geerthan literally shopped until the stores were kicking us out at closing lol 😀
A lot of team work and communication happened. Felt like a team when we carrying the tree trunk out of the work area. And cutting rebar was so much fun too. This was also the first day I painted, and let me tell you painting isn’t an easy job. It is as hard as digging. All in all it was a very productive day.
Today was a great day as we put in a lot of work in the community, so we got rewarded by going to mall of Asia and skating. the ice rink was in a mall switch i thought was so cool. i love skating so getting to skate in the Philippines was wild, only problem is that we had to where figure skates.
My favorite part of the day was the community members made a basketball net for us and we got to play a good game of basketball with everyone.
We did soo much this day! Working and riding in “Tricycles” and skating ets. We were also able to get a lot done. These days are the best because at the end of them you feel like you have really made a difference. Each day we learn more and more about life here but we are also learning more about each other and our selves as we work along side one another all sharing the same end goal. To make a difference and help in any way we can. 😀
This day was just doing all sorts of different jobs from digging, rebar attaching (which I almost got my index finger cut off , it was way too hot that day and we were all doing jobs that involved physical activities so I was really sweating and wearing the safety gloves was not making me efficient with the rebar job so I took it off, and while doing it my index finger got stuck and i let go and it just started gushing blood 🙂 but it’s all good) At the end of the day, my job was to help kids make Thank you cards and that was a nice way to end my day, just interacting with the kids. Fun day!
Today was a really entertaining day. It kind of showed me that even if you have a lot of work to do, you can manage to find ways to make it a lot of fun too, so the hard work doesn’t seem like a lot of work. We did a lot of different jobs and had some sort of rotation going on, so we got to do some unique stuff like making brooms out of palm tree leaves and cutting rebar with some special machines. But in between all of that we took some funnier pictures, danced and filmed for the video, and even went skating afterwards. It was a lot of fun, and overall made the entire work experience feel less like work, and more fun, with all the laughter.
Another busy day of building! Again, we all had so much fun but it was super tiring but rewarding! The MOA was soooo big! Dyan and I was lost but we found our way eventually! I had a great time skating around too! Who can say they went ice skating in the Philippines? haha
I like working in the mud its nice and cooool.
I LOVE turon! I definitely need to find out how to make this.
Kaitlyn brought me on a tittle trip around the neighborhood while we got water a very interesting system!