Further to the Open Hands seminar which I described in the last posting, I would like to update you on my actual service trip to the Phillipines.

We spent two full days in a small village, located about an hour drive from Manila.  Our primary task was to clean the filters for water kits that were installed previously by Open Hands. We stopped by the houses and efficiently cleaned the filters by using a syringe and made sure that the drinking water was safe. We also deliverd new kits to homes that were in need of water purification.

On a separate note, we were introduced to a local volunteer teacher named Cherry from Open Hands who was facing difficulties of teaching in such an underprivileged environment. We learned that many children could not access proper public schools since they were not able to receive their birth certificates.To provide the children a better learning environment, we gave out school supplies such as whiteboards, notebooks, pens, pencils, and crayons and played with the village children. We taught them songs and dances, and played bubbles together. During this time, we were simply glad to be able to be part of their lives. Also we made approximately 200 servings of bread on our own, which we later served to the village kids.

It was a humbling experience and we hope to continue supporting this project by raising global awareness of these environmentally polluted areas and their needs.