To turnovers we will go! Last week was a week of lots of driving! And not to apple turnovers or pumpkin pie, but to turnover of donations. The first was for a very rural health center in Baler, the surfing capitol of the Philippines. We were basically furnishing this tiny new health center in a barangay in Baler. We didn’t actually go meet everyone when the project proposal came about. Another couple, the Tidwells went with Ryan, our Welfare and Self Reliance manager for this area. So it was fun to actually see the place and meet the cute health worker ladies that are out there in the little villages taking care of the people. It was even more exciting to have ALL the promised goods there AT the TURNOVER!!! Even the two motorcycles with the kolong-kolongs (tricycles) were there! That was what the ladies were MOST excited about. They said it was like Christmas morning for them. And it would be! The equipment we gave pretty much filled their tiny little health center. One of the items we gave them was an ob examining/delivery table. This was right next to the front desk. I asked if maybe this would be rather difficult to examine a lady right in front of everyone. They said they would hang a curtain. Tiny!!!

This building was a collaborative effort with the U.S. and Philippine military. Kind of cool! We also enjoyed just being in Baler. We decided to stay at the nicer hotel this time, which was a good choice. The pool was lovely, the food was amazing and we were right on the beach. They have a long beach here, so good for walking. It is a dark sand beach, so not as beautiful as Hawaii oceans, but the waves are good for surfing. We also managed to squeeze in time for a beautiful hike to a waterfall. The entire 40 minutes we were walking along the river through the jungle. Very nice! And of course, we had to have a guide, but our middle aged woman guide was very helpful and held onto me as we had to cross some rocks and the river. We were glad we got to see something. We had planned to see more, but just didn’t have time. Notice their Christmas tree which is decorated completely with local plants. The white flowers are made from coconut husks!

Zambales Farmer/Fisherfolk Turnover

After a very long (10 hours to be exact) drive over the mountains, through the rice fields, we arrived after dark to Botolan, Zambales. So we traveled from coast to coast that day. We were staying at a campground that a congresswoman owned and so she sponsored our rooms. Also staying there was Elvin from RiceUp and his partner Paolo and family. We arrived after the restaurant was closed, but the place had prepared some food for us. It was mostly seafood, and after my horrendous experience while in Palawan with seafood that had been sitting out, I decided not to partake. I did eat some of the sinagong soup that was still warmish and had some rice. Then the next morning, we were too late for breakfast, so I was nice and hungry by lunch time. This was a turnover that we had nothing to do with. We just had to show up and represent the church and have a nice time with many, many farmers. It was connected with a disaster response project during the summer when a bad typhoon hit the area. When this happened, of course, it destroyed farms and fisherfolk couldn’t go out and fish.

The farmers received big bags of fertilizer and the fisherfolk just got some deep sea flashlights. They were also able to apply for interest free loans from a bank there and Elvin talked to them about becoming self-reliant and taking advantage of the agribusiness classes they have for free. RiceUP got started at BYUH, actually. They were the big winners of an Enactus project and then really came back and got things going here. They are trying to help the farmers become more prosperous and form their own associations so they can cut out the middle man (If I understand everything correctly). They are also encouraging them to grow other types of crops, not just rice. Farmers from three municipalities were there, as were many mayors, the senator, and some church leaders. It was quite the event!

On our way home, we made a slight detour and drove in to see the “New Zealand of the Philippines”. We had heard of families coming to this area to camp and heard how lovely it is here, so we gave it an hour of our time. We had to drive on a dirt road, then came to a checkpoint where we had to pay an environmental fee to get in. We were happy to do that. However, the tribal people were trying to insist that we needed “a guide”. For what? To drive on the road to get to the lake? So crazy!! And they wanted 600 pesos! We just about turned around, but I was determined to see the place after we had driven that far, so I asked if a guide was totally necessary and why we needed a guide to drive there. In the end, we didn’t take a guide, we drove there alone and we were perfectly fine. The road was actually quite good and was even paved. I tell you! We did have to pay 500 pesos to take a little boat ride over to the actual area. This is where everyone camps. It seems like it would be a nice peaceful place to camp. It was good to see local families doing just that. I don’t know what you would actually do there, though. I don’t think you are allowed to go in the lake. It was created when the volcano erupted a couple of decades ago. I’m sure it is filled with ash and things that aren’t that good for you. We walked around, bought a papaya from an Aeta woman then took the boat back. So we have now seen the New Zealand of the Philippines!