Unlimited tamban fish for 5days - breakfast, lunch and dinner.
What was supposed to be an overdue interview for an article on communities for our school publication, turned out to be a random invitation to volunteer for Bayani Challenge 2013.
At the back of my head i thought 'Volunteer work. House builds. Sure..i can do that" not knowing that i was going to to be assigned to the media team given my so called 'expertise'
The 'work' i expected in this set up was the kind that i would usually do when volunteering. i was one of the carry-the-n-number-of-hollow-blocks, dig-grave-deep-pits, paint-the-soon-to-be-rainbow-colored-houses, teach-play-and-frolic-with-the-hyperactive-kids people,
So it was a new experience for me to step aside from what i considered as "volunteer work" to cover the event and still call it volunteering.
Because if you'd ask me my definition of volunteer work, it would require sacrifice, of getting out of my comfort zone... Manual labor for me was out of my comfort zone (yes, i consider playing with sugar high kids manual labor) But covering events? Taking pictures, writing captions, making noise on the net, interviewing people, typing away in a laptop? This wasn't what i would consider work. This was my quiet passion. And if one would insist it was work, then i was working in my comfort zone- Behind the laptop, camera, behind my words, behind the scene.
So with the job description set, I was introduced to our small, determined free spirited colorful team and was sent to the field to 'work, it was really nice to step out and see volunteering from a new perspective. Since being part of the media gave us freedom to travel from one area to another, there was more to see and was more to tell.
You get to see and capture the faces of unprepared volunteers with no equipment yet still find the initiative to help somehow, of teens who held shovels for the first time, of grownups being more like kids to connect with the kids, of stressed out and sleep deprived organizers, of friends, frats, and couples coming together, basking in the summer sun and choosing to get their tans at the site rather than at the beach.
And while you see all these people working their asses off, you'd often see me at the side seemingly texting... I was trying to get through to the internet okay?! I was told to cover and post the pictures i got online in real time. One of the many assignments i failed working under my head and i'm sorryyyy.
It was sad though because i wasn't there the whole 5 days to work, but prior commitments kept me from seeing and doing more.
But being there and spending what time i could, strengthened my faith in people. That even though with already uncomfortable conditions they still adopt with the clashing personalities to pull through for their team. That there are those who still cared to break from their routines and from themselves for the benefit of others....
I will be forever grateful for the gift of people and the opportunity to be part of Bayani Challenge 2013.. To the incoming challenges we face....
Volunteers off to their room assignments. Get ready heroes. later, the challenge begins!!
The father of Gawad Kalinga, Tito "Tony" Meloto sharing his story on volunteerism.
Team Alpha Kappa Rho gettin' ready for the house build.
BRIDGING BLOCKS. bayani challenge has begun! volunteers pass on hollow blocks to the site.
NO INJURIES TODAY. red cross volunteers went beyond their job descriptions and lent a helping hand.
BIBLE SESSIONS. while the volunteers work, kids in the community learn about God and the bible.
FAMILY OF HEROES. supports Paraisong Pambata.
"I will not wait for other generation to build my nation..." -batang bayani, kasali din kami jan!
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