A Step Back in Time.

Last week we took a trip back in time.  We drove south from Manila at 5 am to Silang, a town in Cavite.  We met the Soleta’s, our dear friends who are church service missionaries, and another sister who had arranged for us to visit a rather remote school in need of assistance. 

We are working with the Department of Education to take lights to schools without power.  The program is called 1 lamp 1 child.  This program would provide solar lamps for poor children allowing them to do their homework, or read after the sun goes down.  We are hoping to enable children, to stay in school and further their education.  Many are dropping out because their school program just passes them by.  They are unable to get assigned work done; they fall behind and then just drop out.  The DepEd is trying to address this problem and these lamps may be one solution.  As LDS Charities representatives, we are privileged to meet and work with the teachers and students in some of the schools identified as in need (they are called “un-energized” schools).  As you can imagine there are many.

Now, this trip to a remote barangay was a little different.  There is no road access for cars.  There is a wagon path that can be accessed by 4 wheel drive at certain times of the year, but we are still experiencing some rain in this area.  So, Elder Soleta arranged for us to go by Caribou cart.

This adventure was something our grandchildren would have loved.  We drove to the outskirts of town in an open backed truck which deposited us in a field.  In front of where our driver left us was a rather large animal hooked up to a wooden slat wagon; our transportation to Guatasin and their little school. A rope was threaded through the Caribou’s nose and down through his mouth and acted as a bridle. (A Caribou is a cross between an ox and a fairly large cow.  It’s pulling and work capacity is similar to an ox.) 

We climbed aboard. (I am not as agile as I used to be. What’s with that?) The owner of the Caribou climbed on the back of the animal along with the son of one of our missionaries and off we went.  It was a slow lumbering ride as this amazing animal pulled us in the cart over mud that rose to its knees.   We were grateful we did not have to slug through the mud. It gave me a slight insight to our pioneer fathers and their trek across the planes.   Our path seemed to take us up a ridge traveling up between two valleys.  At the top of the ridge we could see a beautiful view with a large body of water in the distance (Laguna de Bay for those of you following along on google maps).   Guatasin sits on the top of the ridge.  The ride took us about an hour. 

When we arrived in the village we passed by a number of homes that were very humble but well-kept including colorful plants in the front yard.  We drove up to the school where parents were waiting for their children on the front porch/patio.   A flag was flying.  It was tattered and dirty but flying with the pride of the community.

The school is a clean one room structure with glass in the window (not always the case).  There is a single, solar powered light bulb in the ceiling to light the whole room.  The windows provide adequate light on a clear day; stormy days less so.  We visited with the teachers and listened to the children do their lessons.  It is a bit of a challenge because there are 4 different grades in the room.   First through fourth are taught in this school. The other children walk or go by Caribou cart to Silang to attend middle school and high school.   Most of these children have chores before they can go to school.  There is no water in this community.  The children walk about 20 min. to a nearby stream where they fetch water daily.  They also bath and do their wash in this stream. While we were in the class room a few children arrived late and we were told it was because they had to get water before they could leave for school.  When the children did arrive late they stopped at the door to the class room and formally asked for forgiveness for being tardy, explained why they were late and asked for permission to enter.  They were polite, orderly and attentive.  We worked with them on some finger play and taught them the song head shoulder knees and toes and after two times they could sing and do the moves faster than I could.  They are a quick study but do not speak English.

We had brought snacks for them which we shared.  (Mango juice and biscuits)  One little fellow ate his biscuits and drank park of the mango juice then slipped out of the room to give his little brother, who was waiting outside with his mother, the rest of his drink.  It was very sweet to watch.  After a visit of little over an hour it was time to head back down to the valley.  We said our good byes and were given fresh papaya and bananas from their personal gardens.  It is humbling to receive gifts from those who are so poor.  We try to show the heart felt gratitude we feel.  Have I mentioned how good the bananas are here?  The best I have ever tasted.

Our ride back down the mountain seemed harder on our animal friend than the journey up.  He rested while we were in the school but was given no water because they did not have any to give.  The bull worked his way along the trail huffing and puffing and snorting until he just had to stop.  The temperature was warmer than the cooler morning temp and the beating sun had turned hot on the animal’s skin as well as ours.  A few of us opted to walk a distance to relieve the burden.  The ground had dried out and the mud pits seemed to be drying up.  The rocking and jostling of the cart created a half sleep half-awake state of being.   I now know what it would feel like to fall asleep driving a covered wagon. 

We traveled with seen and unseen men walking behind us; going home it was the Barangay captain.  I found out later they were there to protect us from marauders who sometimes cause mischief in the area. This courtesy and the cart ride were provided by the people of this small village. How grateful we are for the kind consideration of others.

Each time we have an assignment we recognize the fullness of our lives and we feel blessed.  Blessed because of the life we have shared and are sharing; blessed because of our beautiful family which continues to grow.  We are grateful for the schooling our children and grandchildren have had.  If the children here do not finish school they have little hope of making a good life for themselves.  We are grateful to know the Lord has provided a way to lift the down trodden, help the poor and needy and provide for the weak.  It is through you and me. Our job here is to help create projects and programs that lift and encourage sustainable support.  A part of our reality is the poor.  Jesus Christ tells us they will always be with us.  

meeting with the principal of the satellite school we visited

 

We rode in the back of this truck to the field were our caribou ride began

Our driver and caribou

On the road to the school

home site we passed on the way

first site of school

school flag

parents waiting for their children

class room with library

work is done on the board

children do not have shoes

children in class share their desks

working with the children

 Elder Soleta showing the teacher a solar lamp we will help supply

heading back

We saw this beautiful rooster on the way home.  He is a proud fellow.

These are the powerful hindquarters of the caribou.  They help control the rate at which we travel down hill.  I ached for the animal as we pounded against his body in our down ward descent.

The two men walking towards us in this picture were our guides back down to the valley.  The one in the red cap is the Barangay Captain for this little village.  These people know how to protect themselves and were doing the same for us.  They are quiet, unassuming people with wonderful smiles.

we will remember these faces

This fellow has special needs.  He is 14 and works in the class along with the other students.  His job is to keep the black board clean, which he does with great enthusiasm.

Elder Webb visiting with families just before we leave.  There is a wonderful spirit about these people who love their families and work hard to provide what they can.  The eat mostly fruits and vegetables and of course rice..

Till next time Love Elder and Sister Webb

On to the next assignment.

Elder Webb and I went to Fabella Hospital's Maternity and Neo-natal wards Thursday.

It was eye opening to say the least.  I had prepared myself to be upset by what I saw.  Those with whom we have spoken about Fabella have painted a dismal picture saying I would leave upset.  I must say I have been upset with what I have seen a number of times but not this time.

While the hospital is terribly over crowed and the staff is stretched to the limit I felt it was uplifting in some respects.  Yes, the beds had more than double occupancy, but the women and their babies seemed cared for.  No one was in distress.  The hospital was as clean as can be expected, except the toilets, but they have a different standard than we. It did not have that wretched institutional hospital smell.  The nurses were encouraging and would complement the mothers as we walked through a ward containing over hundred mothers and babies.  One side of the ward contained the well mothers and babies with normal vaginal births the other side contained babies and their mothers who had been compromised and had some sort of infection from the birth process.   There was also a section for Kangaroo care, which is being studied here.  This is a training hospital and they are monitoring the effects of skin to skin contact and babies development.  These woman had a maximum of 2 women per bed.  These beds are a little bigger than the hospital beds in the U.S. so things aren't as bad as they seem from that perspective. 

The Neo-natal unit was down stairs.  Dr Chris is head of the Neo-natal program.  She spent the entire afternoon with us touring the hospital and introducing us to the staff.  We are hoping to ease their burden in some way. They especially need respirator machines.  They have a few, but with hundreds born they cannot fill the need. Manual respirators cannot give a constant flow of oxygen and the babies suffer.  They have home made light boxes for the jaundice treatment. They work but not as efficiently.

In one of the neo-natal care rooms (of which there are many as this building was originally built as a prison in the late 1800's)  there were babies with sever problems. One little fellow had several birth defects including water on the brain, and it was leaking. His head was too big for him to move. His eyes were spaced wider than normal and he could follow people even though his head was laid to the side. His was crying and distraught, his little arms and legs stiff and flailing in unaided need.  I took his little foot in my hand and gently rubbed it.  He seemed to respond. I then put my fingers over his heart and said a little prayer asking the love of Jesus to comfort him. This may sound strange to some of you, but he seemed to understand and the stiffness left his body and he was calm, at least he was when we were in the room.  This little sole and I connected for just a few moments. It is God's love that comforted both of us. I think about this tiny one and wonder if he has been relieved of the burden of his body.  Fabella does not have the ability to care for these kinds of needs and no other hospital would accept him.  He will die before long, as the policy is to administer only humane care with water and some nutrients.  The parents cannot care for him.  They must choose which patients receive the available assistance.  It is a scramble each new day as to who will receive life giving care and who will struggle to survive.  Yet these doctors and nurse are dedicated loving people and do all in their power to help.  How difficult it is for all.

We visited the delivery room. The first time we went it was the end of the day and it was empty.  The second day we visited Fabella  all five beds were filled with mothers delivering babies.  There was a hustle and bustle of movement but not a single sound.  There is no medication given to ease delivery pain here and yet not a sound from any of the 5 women delivering.  It was an eerie silence.  They are a stoic people.

I think I am beginning to cushion myself or put up some sort of protective emotional barrier. I still feel like crying a lot, but If I had of visited this hospital right off the bat, when we first arrived, I would have been very upset.  This hospital is the last stop; many of these women have been to several hospitals, examined and turned away. The exams from previous hospital and the long rides on public transportation leave some women and babies compromised and they end up with infections or in distress.   The policy at Fabella is that no one is turned away.  

Fabella is a National Maternal and Newborn Hospital (government subsidized)

Dr.s Webb in ICU respiratory unit

and delivers between 18,000 and 23,000 babies a year. (down from previous years) The nurses and doctors here are dedicated people, many who could travel to other countries and collect large salaries yet they are intent on making a difference right here, and they are.

We just wanted to say we are so blessed.  We are blessed to have raised our family in the U.S......in Oregon.  We are blessed to have the gospel of Jesus Christ to know of his goodness and love for all God's children. To know He hears and answers our prayers.  We are blessed to be here to be shaken to our core so we realize how very blessed we are.

Love to all


Elder and Sister Webb,

I sent this picture to our pregnant daughter, all she could say was "Yikes, how do they ever sleep."

This is the maternity ward at Fabella Hospital

There are over one hundred mothers and babies in this room.  The first time we went to the hospital the room was relatively quiet, the second trip we made the weather was hot (no air conditioning) and there about 1/3 more people in the room.  It was not a quiet place.  How do they do it?   They just make do.

Delivery room

recovering from birth is a shared experience

These are the homemade photo-therapy machines that help but are not as potent as commercial ones.

Here Elder and Sister Webb meet with doctors to discuss the needs of the hospital

Kangaroo care is monitored.  These are smaller babies who need encouragement to survive.  They have had good results with the skin to skin therapy.  These mothers have way more space, I would do better as well.

many of these babies are on resporators

These babies are not twins, they just run out of space so they share.  It is impossible to keep things sterile.

 Elder and Sister Webb along with Heidi McSweeney and her father (specialist from SLC) saying good by to the staff of Fabella.  Far left is our partner Iris Gokeelao from East meets West.  Her foundation helps the church supply machines that are life giving and life changing and then follows up to make sure they are running properly.

Emergency Relief Part 3

We took a leisurely start the next morning, sleeping in till 8.  We had a nice breakfast and began our trip home.  We stopped by the church building to find a truck had arrived at 4 am.  President Go was there on his trike looking a bit concerned.  There was no one to load the truck.  We asked if there was something we could do and he shook his head “No” he said, “I have big problems and must speak with the city officials.”   We went on our way.

The drive home was wonderful; the landscape already recovering from the torrential rains that had fallen.  Farmers who had secured their rice before the typhoon were now drying it on the road.  Workers were grooming the rice and bagging it leaving the sacks on the side of the road for pick up.  The carabao carts were out in number picking up the shipments of grain and Elder Webb got a ride (see picture)!  There were fruit vendors along the street selling watermelon.  They would plug the melons to make sure one got a good one.

We made the trip home a two day affair, stopping once again in Cabanatuan.  We were more tired than we had thought so it was nice to take our time.  I drove part of the time, which is nice for me.

We are back in the office doing the paper-work part of our job. 

Love you all,

Elder and Sister Webb

This is the view from our hotel.  Suffers love this beach

Imagine this whole area being covered with water and sand.  The whole first floor of the
hotel was under water.
One can see the coconut trees lost their fronds in the storm.  We are told
the will grow back in a matter of months.

Rice terraces unaffected by the storm

The hospital in Casiguran

The pink trike is the local ambulance

Farmers heading off to pick up the rice sacks that have been filled and left on the side of the road.

Elder Webb catching a ride

Roads have not been cleaned yet  This kind of mud was everywhere the water traveled.

curious children

Add caption

                                         Elder Webb just had to have a picture of this sign.

Relief Mission Part 2

Sunday was a day of rest.  We attended a church with 8000 bags of food stored in large sacks stacked in every available corner.   Our combined efforts filled all of the rooms except the chapel so we had Sacrament meeting and a group presentation by Elder Perez.   People were still hanging around the church to see when their help was needed next.   They just sat with their children in the church yard.  No one said anything or gave them directions; they could just see the work was not finished, so they stayed. 

This is one of the families I mentioned. The woman in the back ground is the mother
she has 8 boys and they all ride in or on this trike

                                    An inside look at a cozy trike.  There are 5 boys and mom.

We decided the Lord would not let these people go hungry so we made a plan.  For food Sunday evening we took off for the open market with two sisters who know how to shop.  We bought raw chicken (that as far as I could tell was not refrigerated) for 60, onions, spices, watermelon and Rumba tan, a fruit that is loved by most Filipinos.   When we return the pot was full of hot water and the chicken was added along with jars of sauces, onions and spice which I had to admit smelled pretty good.  Dinner simmered until 9 pm when enough work had been done.  I really don’t know how they did it with one burner, two large pots and 60 people.   Sometime they prepared the rice during this process.   Rice is served with every meal.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

On Monday morning bright and early the missionaries and members were at the chapel loading supplies into the one and only truck available. We had understood the city was providing transportation for the food kits.  But that wasn’t happening.  We located one dump truck, loaded 750 food sacks and water for as many and took off to meet a Barangay leader in Casiguran.  We filled our own pickup with as many missionaries as we could.  They would be needed to unload the dump truck once we got there.  There were 4 missionaries in the back seat of our small truck.  The two from America were 6 feet, and 2 Filipino were smaller, but it was still crowded to say the least. Absolutely no leg room and I had my seat up so that my knees were touching the glove box.   We had an extra elder and food for 20 families in the bed of the pickup.

Some of our Missionary travelers.  The one on the far left Elder Semadeni, was called to India but his visa has not come through. He was sent to the Philippines to wait for the visa approval.  He arrived the same week as the typhoon.  He was assigned to Baler and evacuated to Cabanatuan to wait out the storm.  He is an amazing worker and all around really good guy.  

We drove into the coastal mountains where the paved road became a sometimes thing.  Roads twisted and turned making our trip to Baler from Cabanatuan simply a training exhibition.  I am so glad we weren’t driving one of our cars.   This road was meant for 4 wheel drive at best, and the poor guy in the back was in a hazard area.  Fortunately we had loaded extra water and sacks of food in the back before the Elder climbed in, which made a cushion for him somewhat on sacks of rice…..but not much.   We experienced rain that only added to the adventure leaving slippery muck to navigate in one area.  Our 3 car caravan stopped about 12:30 for?  LUNCH of course!  We came upon a road side fruit stand/restaurant and everyone piled out.  They did have a CR (“comfort station”) of sorts and some prepared food that was definitely native.  I bought some fruit (a pomelo) which they peeled and gave me with some rock salt to compliment the flavor.  It was actually nice.  Elder Webb paid for lunch for 25 (about $30 total) and we were off again. 

Moving up the mountain

Sharing the road

Storm run off washed out bridges and roads.  And the wires .  .  .

Many power lines were completely down.  They will not have electricity for 6 months or more.

It was a 3 ½ hour drive traveling at a reasonable pace for the roads we encountered.  We arrived about 2 pm and were directed to a gated area filled with people milling about. The food truck had already arrived.   Elder Webb thought we were going to be mobbed; there were so many people and so many needs from what we had heard. He was wrong.  We got out of the car and were greeted by smiles and waves.  Everyone was organized, moving into lines holding numbers written on paper that indicated they qualified for the aid.  The Mayor greeted us, introduced us and then started the process of distribution.  We gave each family a food bag and a 6 liter bottle of water.   The whole process took about 20 minutes because the people were so orderly.  From there we headed downtown to look for a place to secure the remainder of the bags, until the next truck got there. 

People greeted us with smiles and curious looks

Waiting patiently 

It was a very orderly process

Unloading extra food pack to be used later

A secure place was found to leave the left over supplies which will be distributed later. 

 Once again our men and women worked to unload the rest of the truck.  We had a bit of a time crunch because we needed to be back on the road and off the mountain before dark.  It can be a dangerous place when one does not know the road or the custom.  We headed back to the other side of town and stopped at the local hospital to examine the damage it sustained.  I spoke with the attending physician and nurses and asked them if they had evacuated during the storm.  They looked at me like they thought I was asking a silly question.  “No” they said, “ we stayed in place.”  I looked up and could see the sky through the make-shift patch job on the roof.  The city took a direct hit, the hospital lost its roof.  The doctors and patients were safe but wet.   It’s hard to describe the hospitals in these rural areas, so I am not going to try.  We stayed for about 15 minutes and were on the road again by 3:30, this time with our four cramped missionaries and three more in the back – with no sacks to cushion the bumps.

Helping Hands friends and food shopping partners.

We had a few damaged bottles of water.  This one was a refreshing surprise.

Elder Perez (Jarius) took the lead this time……and we were on the race track again.  This guy has one speed:  fast.  We kept up pretty well in the light, but when dark fell and he was passing people in the dark it was a killer.  The tricycle drivers here leave their lights off because they think it saves gas.  So when we would try to pass to keep up we would never know if a tricycle was coming down the road until we were on top of them.  We had blind curves, towns with people walking on the single lane road, cows and carabao staked next to the road.  It was family time and people were out in the small towns as we whizzed through.  I was afraid we were going to hurt someone or something but our passage was secured. 

We returned to the church at 7:30 and rolled out of our vehicles.  I took my first deep breath since we left.  The elder’s legs took some time to uncramp but everyone survived and felt very good about our combined efforts and the good we had done.  Those that did not make the trip were still waiting for us when we returned. We hugged each other and they asked questions about how things went.   We did not have another food truck at that point and we did not know when one was coming.   Elder Perez decided not to feed the people (I wished we had) and dismissed them to go home.  Elder Webb and I took all the missionaries to dinner at our hotel.  We were all exhausted and the dinner was kind of quiet, but everyone enjoyed themselves.  I couldn’t  help but think we could have fed the whole ward for what our meal cost.  I’m learning to think like a Filipino.

Our hard working missionaries. Elder Semadeni ordered a hamburger

More pictures to come

Love to all, Elder and Sister Webb