We started our day back in Tolosa with the Marcos group. We had coordinated a medical mission to join us there to see patients and we spent our morning looking over the work we initiated the prior day to close the roof of one of the schoolhouses so it could be used as a medical clinic for the day. Next we set up the clinic and pharmacy and several waiting areas to help cue up the 150 patients that would be seen that day.

Once that was all in order we attended to the children of the community. This entailed some reading to the young class, some singing and as we did so it became obvious that one boy was keeping to himself – not smiling, not even participating. Oscar noticed it first and took the time to engage him one on one by drawing pictures with him. It was obvious he was traumatized but all we could do was to give him more individualized attention and it just was not enough – it was obvious he will need much more help…

When it became clear the Muslim charity’s, relief teacher was ready for a break, Oscar proposed an outside game that the kids will remember for years. Half gym teacher, half clown, he lined them up across a field, boys on one side and girls the other – he had them count off – 19 per side and started the simplest game where a handkerchief is held in the center and when your number is called, you run to the center and grab it before your opponent can and run to your side without getting tapped out. A simple enough game but one which had the children wailing in laughter due to the game itself and Oscar’s hysterical antics.

At a point the cranky doctors insisted that we stop the game because all the laughter was making it difficult for them to speak to their patients – totally missing the point that the smiling kids was a cure of its own and was freeing up the parents to be seen.

After lunch we had agreed to move south to see a community and a school project proposed by a member of the Rotary club who we had met earlier in the week.

On our way, Oscar stepped out of the van to have a smoke and met this incredible family who had created a “storefront” at the edge of the street while living out of a neighbors house after their house washed away entirely. Edith, Joel, Joelma and 7 year old ? now live at the side of the road with their pig in a borrowed space and no idea what the future will bring for them, and yet – like everyone we meet here – they are nothing but smiles, they invite us in to show us their “home”, their pig and where there house once was. They are as interested in our lives as we are in theirs and ask for nothing, but they let us give them our PB&J sandwich, take a mosquito net for the children, who have none and they let us overpay for cigarettes and beer while throwing in a free energy drink because they are guilty for the overpayment.

Gilbert, the Rotarian met us in the town of Degami which is south of both Tolosa and 1 hour South of Tacloban. Degami is a primarily agricultural based community (rice, corn, coconut, and banana) with over 35,000 people and an average family size of 5. Nearly 40% of the population are children, 56% are in the active workforce and with over 50% of the community living under the poverty level, the average annual family income is only $1,045. Over 70% of the schools in the southern Philippines are said to have been badly damaged – this number came from a contact with no backup but it does match our experience – I have not yet seen a single school without serious needs. Dagami supports its nearly 8,000 students in 33 elementary schools and 4 high schools.

Gilbert brought us to the St. Mesa National High School which is the largest in the municipality with over 1,300 students in 26 classrooms and a student to teacher ratio of 1:48 which slightly exceeds the 1:40 recommendation but St. Mesa also has the most teachers in the region. The storm has rendered 21 of the 26 classrooms unusable because they have no roof or the walls, windows and doors have been damaged.

The school itself is really pretty incredible – maybe its because it is such a large facility, In addition to the typical classrooms, it has a computer lab, a music room an outdoor assembly area and even a canteen and a caged area where they keep and store butterflies.

Gilbert’s connection to the facility is that his father donated the land and was responsible for the original construction of the facility when his Dad was Mayor more than two decades ago. Gilbert feels a serious commitment to bringing the school back to its former condition. He describes himself as a farmer, Rotarian and even a contractor. He has committed himself to overseeing the project from start to finish.

I have also asked Gilbert to see if the Rotary club will match our donations and while I think I can get them to contribute some materials, I do not think I will get more than that and it will not be of great value.

I am getting tighter numbers on the materials costs and I have already warned Gilbert that I need his commitment to oversee the project. With respect to US oversight of the project, Oscar will be back in Italy and I have commitments in the States including a potential job starting at the end of this month, but Barry Frishman (one of our team members) is willing to stay in country until the 22nd to oversee and move the project forward. He then has tickets to go home for the holidays but I have asked him if he would be willing to come back after New Years to see the project through to completion. In addition, I am willing to return in January to ensure the timely completion of the project.

With respect to Gilbert, I cannot say that I have a strong relationship and he is a simple man, but I was referred to him by strong contacts at the Rotary club which is heavily respected here, his Dad was a former Mayor, when we went into town hall to meet the current Mayor, a number of people including police put their hands on his head and bowed slightly as he passed as a sign of great respect, and when we arrived at the Mayor’s office unannounced, he was welcomed in and we were given strong attention.

If you ask why this project and why this school, my answer is not that I have any special connection to this one and it is true that many many schools need this kind of help but we need to start somewhere. This is a meaningful place in a small community that is far enough off the beaten track that no one else will help if we don’t, having a Rotarian at the helm, access to families of 1,300 students to help in the cleanup and labor of construction, hopefully Barry Frishman will be willing to spend up to 8 weeks overseeing the project and my willingness to participate from afar and fly in as the project nears completion, I think this is a winning approach and would allow us to make a meaningful difference in the life of this community.

If I cannot raise the additional funds or if the logistics of the larger project prove to be too onerous, my plan will be to use our remaining time for the distribution of the materials we still have in our van to individual people in need, we will make a donation to the hospital which has been our home for our time here and which is looking for $ for needed meds and I will fund a much smaller project already underway with another Rotarian in the city of Ormoc. The difference would be that in that circumstance we would be one of several donors and we would not control the project as we would in Dagami.

On our way home from the school, we passed a church we have passed several times before but never had time to stop. It is notable because of the number of new graves in front. We stopped, went in to see the mass and took a moment to look at the graves – many were children and next to the burning candles were favorite toys, notes and other remembrances. It was dusk, there were candles at most of the gravesites and as we stood there reflecting, it became too much for seasoned disaster veteran Barry who broke into tears. It can be overwhelming when you look into the smiling faces and consider their pain, they have lost homes, loved ones, in some cases all their possessions and when you look around – there is no hope in sight – you can only plan in baby steps because it is truly impossible to imagine a solution here that is not a decade or more from now.