Nov 26, 2012

Yhteistyotaideprojekti katulapsille ja nuorille

Viime paivat ovat kuluneet valtavalla vauhdilla! Talla viikolla ajan henkeen kuuluu kiire. Mieheni serkun vaimo tuli Suomesta lomille Filippiineille ja saapui Dumagueteen valitettavien viivastyksien johdosta kahden paivan matkan jalkeen. Sankarimatkailija-ainesta sanon mina.

Nyt puserramme kasaan pienessa kiireessa ja paineessa (timanttejako tassa yritetaankin...) taidetyopajaa nuorille. Meilla olisi mahdollisuus pitaa tyopaja jo taman viikon lauantaina jos loydamme projektillemme lahjoittajan. Lahjoituksella ostettaisiin taulukankaat ja maalit taideteoksia varten.  Toivottavasti joku ihana ihminen tai yhteiso innostuu tasta. Me olemme tasta aika innoissamme koska taide on aina aika innostava asia ja saamme myos kokeilla miten saamme ponnisteltua ja tyoskenneltya nuorten kanssa vaikka toistaiseksi emme ole saaneet kayttoomme tilaa, jossa naita aktiviteettaja voisi nuorille jarjestaa.

LUE LISAA TAALTA!

Suunnittelutapaaminen Loryn ja paikallisen taiteilija Hersley-Ven Caseron kanssa.

Nov 15, 2012

Adoptoi Filippiineilta!

No, ei lasta talla kertaa mutta projekti... Tiistaina kokoonnuimme taas me taalla asuvat jasenet ja paikalliset vapaaehtoiset ja valitsimme uusia hankkeita tuettavaksi Adoptoi projekti -toiminnan kautta. Adoptoi projekti - toiminnan avulla pyrimme tarjoamaan paikallisille yhdistyksille ja yksikoille mahdollisuuden sellaisiin hankintoihin ja toimintoihin, joihin heilla ei muuten olisi mahdollisuuksia. Suomen paassa osallistua voi siis adoptoimalla jonkun projektin tai haluamansa osan siita.

Jos olet ostanut vuohia, koulukirjoja, kaivoja tai puuntaimia niin tassa on vastaavanlainen mahdollisuus antaa lahja jollekulle kaukana ja tehda kotimaassakin joku iloiseksi siita, etta nurkkiin ei kerry ylimaaraista tai itselle epamieluista  tavaraa.

Lue taalta uusista projekteistamme. 

Ps. tuo Dauinin retki Dumaguete Youth Homen nuorille on Loryn, minun ja paikallisten ja kansainvalisten vapaaehtoisten yhteisprojekti, sikali siis jos saamme sen toteutumaan! Kovasti olisi toiveissa saada jarjestettya tama sina aikana kun mina ja mieheni serkun vaimo olemme taalla niin saamme hengenpelastustehtaviin tarvittavan vapaaehtoisten paaluvunkin kasvamaan. Tervetuloa mukaan talkoisiin siis.

Children's fun day tarkoitti mm. paasya suljettujen portien ulkopuolelle ja vierailijoita (ulkomailta, poliisista ja monille asiakkaillemme vanhoja tuttuja kirkon ruokaohjelmasta ja vaihtoehtokouluun osallistuvista)! Meilla oli superhauskaa, leikkeja ja musiikkia!

Nov 14, 2012

Tervetuloa mukaan!

Kurkkasin juuri blogini kävijätilastoja ja huomasin, että kyllä tätä blogia seurataankin ja erilaisilla hakusanoilla päädytään lukemaan yksittäisiä postauksia. Suurimmaksi osaksi sivulataukset ovat Suomesta, jonkun verran eri Euroopan maista ja pari hassua Filippiineiltäkin. Suomesta näyttää olevan tietty tasainen virta ja piikkejä silloin tällöin. Kiitos todennäköisesti isäni (?) blogillani on ainakin yksi säännöllinen lukija!

Yllättävää kyllä en saa kommentteja blogiin vaan sähköpostiini privaattiviesteinä, jotka luonnollisesti ilahduttavat täällä kaukana yksin asuvaa suhteettoman paljon, uskokaa pois. Jaan nyt kuitenkin kanssanne jotain, mikä tuntuu olevan tyypillistä näissä viesteissä.

Ratkaisuani lähteä pitkäksi aikaa kauas kotoa pidetään rohkeana. Totta. Jälkiviisaana se on ollut jopa tyhmänrohkeaa mutta tämä on ollut huikea  ja opettavainen kokemus joten rohkeana painetaan loppuun saakka!

Illalla taidenayttelyn jalkeen saatoimme pojat Loryn kanssa takaisin "kulmille".

Minulle tarjoutunutta tilaisuutta pidetään ainutlaatuisena. Totta tämäkin. Tällainen tilaisuus tosin ei tarjoutunut taivaasta tipahtamalla. Tätä on edeltänyt se, että aktiiviset jäsenemme täällä Dumaguetessa ovat urakoineet projektien käynnistämiseksi jo parin vuoden ajan jona aikana olen itsekin kaiken aikaa toiminut yhdisttyksessämme Suomesta käsin. Tällaisia mahdollisuuksia tarjoutuu siis nyt ja jatkossakin Werden jäsenille. Ennen kuin rekrytoin itseni taas uudelle vapaaehtoisjaksolle tänne ensi vuodeksi, haastan nyt teidät kaikki Werden toiminnasta kiinnostuneet liittymään jäseniksi ja mukaan vaikuttamaan siihen, mitä tapahtuu vuonna 2013! Täällä Dumaguetessa olisi tilausta jo seuraavalle yhdistyksemme vapaaehtoiselle ja tämän pestin suunnittelu jatkukoon virallisissa merkeissä. 

Tämän linkin kautta pääset tutustumaan yhdistykseemme ja liittymään jäseneksi. Mikäli haluat esittää kysymyksiä toiminnastamme voit laittaa niitä minulle sähköpostitse, Werden sähköpostiin tai Werden facebooksivulle. Werden facebookystävänä pysyt perillä siitä, mitä tapahtuu joten klikkaa itsesi ystäväksi jollet ole jo!

Hersley-Ven Casero - collaboration: Ha?
 

Long weekend in Moalboal

Not as cool as the fish  I saw underwater:D
In October it has been relatively easy to plan trips or extra fun for long weekends as there has been a lot of public holidays. In the Philippines public holidays are spent according to both islamic and catholic calender and depending on where you stay usually the opening and or final days of town and province fiestas are also holidays. There has been many recently...

On one of these long weekends we took off with Andrea who was soon after this vacation going to end her two years service in Peace Corps where she served in a LGU working for coastal resource management. She was placed in Bayawan city a bit far away from Dumaguete but I was lucky to have spent these and other never to forget moments with her.

We started getting ready for vacation the night before in Dumaguete when I also experienced my first time in karaoke in the Philippines. Note to self: at this age, don't stay up until early morning hours and think you can travel without feeling it in your body!

Our trip started 9AM from Dumaguete Ceres terminal where enjoyed my filipino style breakfast - rice and mungo soup while waiting for Andrea. We took a Ceres bus going to Amlan where we took a ferry from Tampi pier going to Cebu Island, Bato pier. Bus ride was probably not more than 30 minutes and the fare was close to 20PHP but of course, can't remember exact price. Ferry fare was 75 PHP and it took about an hour to get to our destination.


In Bato we waited for bus going Moalboal town and after about 30 minutes of waiting we hopped on. We almost missed our bus since we first thought it was going somewhere else but luckily we were still able to stop the bus. Bus ride was probably about two hours but felt longer because of these two girls already getting tired, hungry and anxious of getting to our destination. When finally in Moalboal town we decided to change the plan and have lunch in town to make us both smile again. We found a nice karinderia close to market and enjoyed a good lunch that was probably just a bit more expensive than in Dumaguete.

Andrea impressed me again with her  bisaya, she was able to negotiate a good price with a tricycle driver who took us to the resort area, Panagsama Beach. Driver was also wowed  and he even took us around when we searched for available and reasonably priced room for two. We found a few options and decided to stay in Rosita's Cottages (500PHP/room for two) which is by the way a good choice for anyone who plans to stay longer because you can cook your own food there. Opportunity we didn't really take advantage of...

Excited to see where we had arrived we left our bags in room and headed to see what this beach had to offer. Andrea was planning to dive the next day so we inquired the prices and dive sites from four different dive shops and were lucky to find one we were pleased with. While still looking for other choices for accomodation we befriended with another traveler and went snorkeling. What an awsome spot for snorkeling! This made me very happy because as I was still recovering from stubborn flu and couldn't dive safely, snorkeling was going to be my thing for next two days. Reef was absolutely beautiful (I will share later the pictures Andrea took underwater) and lots and lots of fish! The next day the dive group went to Pescador Island and that was also my site for snorkeling. Amazing coral again, great wall (though couldn't really go down to explore the wall because I find it even more difficult to equalize while snorkeling. During my last snorkeling (shore) I was able to collect a whole bags of trash. Coastal cleaning is a must whenever there's a need for that, snorkeling, diving or swimming and usually small amount can be carried in a pocket or hand but since I was lucky enough to find a big plastic bag, I did my share and fill it.

What can I say - again moments to remember and great memories to go home with.


Advantage of staying in resort areas is that there are breakfasts and meals for needy Europeans:D

Happy after a fun and relaxing weekend! - Pepsodent, interested in using this pic for commercial purposes?

Nov 12, 2012

Bacolod: Crazy MassKara Party and two days rest in Patag

I bit of rescheduling and a bit of escaping responsibilities and I was ready for my trip to Bacolod. Bacolod is on the other side of Negros Island so traveling there from Dumaguete takes all day and emotionally even more.

I chose to have it both, a fun Saturday night in Dumaguete and traveling during night. This is why I was at Dumaguete Ceres terminal 3AM waiting for 3AM bus to leave. One thing is sure, Ceres usually leaves ahead of scheduled time. This was the case again. I had to wait another hour but luckily I had good snacks and I treated myself for hot Milo (first time!) as I didn't want caffeine to keep me awake.  I could have taken the 3:30AM bus but as I got very sick the last time in air-con bus on my way back from Palawan (bus from Cebu to Liloan) I decided to wait another 30 minutes for regular bus.

I was in Bacolod somewhere after 9AM (with two long stops, both good enough for going to cr and eating a proper meal) and headed for a cup of coffee. I found a nice place in public market and was able to bath and change clothes in cr where I could  hardly find space to stand on the floor. I was very happy to have delicious native coffee. That gave me enough energy to wait for my friend arriving from Murcia to tour me around the town.

We were planning to have our late lunch in a Korean restaurant but it turned out to be closed so we headed for Vegan bites in Robinssons malls upstairs. Food was ok, second time I had tofu here (if not counting the times I've cooked it for myself). Food is supposed to be the thing here and people who come from Bacolod are very proud of their food and way they cook. Later I heard that it only applies to chicken and meat. After lunch I was able to find myself a room which I thought was a mission impossible but stayed in Kmas Pension House for 750PHP. That was totally over my budget but only choice since there was a change in plans and I couldn't stay at my friend's friend's house. 

My friend Kalayo was working all night and he had to get ready for the show so I was roaming around the streets and enjoying the atmosphere on streets that were still realatively quite. It didn't prepare me to what was going to happen later that night when the streets were jammed with people. I was at the right place by the time of a great local band had their gig in 18th Street Pala Pala Restaurant. Great entertainment, good drumming, fire dancing and a talented couple dancing samba (?) style dance. 
Mercyman

Later I went to Lacson street which had turned into a huge night club just in two hours. I was waiting for my friend's performance and was happy finally to see him on stage. Waiting felt longer than it actually was because I got to experience what happens if you travel alone in big city. There wasn't a minute I wasn't stared at and asked if I'm really alone. After hanging out at Mercy stage long enough I felt it was time to go to bed so I have no idea what happens during MassKara last night party after midnight. Next time na lang... 

Next day I woke up early, went out for a cup of coffee and traveled to Ceres terminal to check the schedules for going back to Dumaguete. Something I could easily have done upon arrival to Bacolod but I totally forgot... After traveling around the city I deceided it's time try one "Bacolod must" - cakes at Calea. Well, I never say no to cakes and hardly ever criticize my desserts but I don't think I chose the best cake to represent the good reputation of Calea. My choice was Chocolate cake (I asked the waitress for their bestseller cake...), again ok but not excellent! 

Coffee break
 Later the same afternoon we traveled first to Ceres terminal Bata, North Terminal and continued our way with Ceres bus to Silay. From Silay we took jeepney going to Patag and I got to ride on top of jeepney. Very exciting and a fun experience! Time in Patag was very relaxing,being far away from cars and motorbikes was what my mind and body needed and I was very pleased to have the opportunity to go there. Thank you for great hosts and good company! 

On top of jeepney

Joulu on jo ovella...

Huh, täällä Filippiineillä jouluun valmistautuminen on siis tosiaan jo ihan täyttä totta. Huimaako? Suomessa tähän aikaan (näin ainakin itse muistelen) tähän aikaan vuodesta yleensä taotaan hullun lailla, yritetään saada projekteja päätökseen, järjestömaailmassa jännitetään tulevan vuoden tilannetta ja tanssimaailmassa hiotaan askeleita joulunäytöksiin. Itse jouluun valmistautuminen tähän aikaan on siis Suomessa vielä liioitellun aikaista, onhan? Kai tulen viela takaisin sellaiseen Suomeen, jossa paivitellaan joulun alkamista liian aikaisin kun siihen valmistautuminen alkaa 1.12.? Muistattehan kun kerroin ensimmaisista kahveistani Ilkan lahdon jalkeen, syyskuussa?!? Taalla joulunaika alkoi jo silloin...


Kieltamatta tulee tassa joulumieli itsellanikin. Vahan aikaa sitten tein valitilinpaatosta ja yritin koota omiakin ajatuksia ja tuntemuksia, joita tassa matkan varrella on tullut. Paljon on sellaista jota taalla nyt huomaa pitavansa suhteellisen tavallisena, ei oikein osaa ajatellakaan, etta varmasti nama tarinat kuulostavat ja nayttavat kovin erilaiselta kun niita vain blogin kautta kurkistelee. Mutta onpa vaan eri asia pitaa kadesta kymmenvuotiasta, jota infektiosairaudet vaivaavat ja joka helposti turruttautuu imppaamalla liottimia. Yrittaa puhua heita jaamaan jengien ulkopuolelle ja osallistumaan vaihtoehtoiseen kouluun, syomaan paivittain...

Children's fun day in Dumaguete


Tyota taalla riittaa naiden lasten ja muiden lasten kanssa. Ainakin sen tama on opettanut, etta aika montaa asiaa tulee pidettya itsestaanselvyytena. Taalla ei ole itsestaan selvaa, etta esimerkiksi lastenkotien olisi vaivatonta ostaa riisia, vauvojen korvikemaitoa, saippuaa, pyykkisaippuaa... Pulaa on siis monesti ihan tavan kayttotarvikkeista. Siita on aikaa kun Suomessa oltiin tassa tilanteessa...

Werden kautta voit olla tukemassa montaa hyvaa toimintaa ja hankintaa, jotka paikalliset jarjestot ovat suunnitelleet ja katsoneet tarpeellisiksi. Werden kautta pyrimme paasiassa tukemaan sellaisia pienhankkeita, joista on lapsille iloa ja  joista olisi tukea myos toiminnan kehittamiseen pitkalla aikajanteella.

Meilla on viela haussa tukijat kahdelle mielestani hienolle hankkeelle. Tukea hakee viela Bright Lights Learning Center kitaroiden ja nauhurien hankkiminen ns. oppimiskeskukseen, jossa kouluikäiset viettävät eräässä verrattain pienessä kylässä aikaa iltapäivisin ja lauantaisin. Keskuksessa ohjelmaa järjestetään pääasiassa vapaaehtoisvoimin ja tällä hetkellä siellä on kaksi saksalaista vapaaehtoista, jotka olisivat heti valmiina järjestämään musiikkituokioita jos vaan olisi tarvikkeita. Toinen toistaiseksi tukematta jäänyt projekti on Casa Cittadini lastenkodin projekti, joka turvaisi heille vähän pidempiaikaista omavaraisuutta. Heidän tavoitteenaan on perustaa takapihalle puutarha, jossa voisivat kasvattaa hedelmiä ja vihanneksia lastenkodin käyttöön.

Klikkaa tästä tutustuaksesi projekteihin!Hyva joululahjaidea myos tyoporukoiden kimppalahjaksi ja vaihtoehdoksi niihin tilanteisiin, jolloin lahjan saajalla "on jo kaikkea". Viinipullon sijaan harkitse lahjan antamista lapselle!



Nov 9, 2012

Destination Coron, Palawan



It was a fun Wednesday night in early October and Dumaguete again showed what it's all about. Special about this day was that there was a huge Birthday celebration party at the rooftop of Harold's Mansion Hostel and for this special event a French traveler had done great job decorating the space. It was just beautiful and magical!

Night ended too soon because we had to catch a night boat to Cebu where our flight to Busuanga would depart the next morning. The boat leaves at midnight and is at its destination Cebu city before 6AM. Unfortunately the announcements woke me up right after 4 AM and couldn't get sleep after that. I was lucky to travel with someone who knows the city. It would have been very difficult to travel (without a throughout study before traveling) around unless you want to ride a cab everywhere. We took a jeepney going towards airport and stopped for breakfast (rice and soup) and after I experienced my first time ever in Starbucks cafe, in Cebu Philippines:D But I was happy again after the good brewed coffee. Another jeepney going to the airport and there we were on our way to adventure.
Night boat to Cebu

Before going I bought a watch so that I could follow the time without having my cell phone with me all the time. Good and wise choice I could recommend to everyone. I couldn't keep it off all the time and checked my emails twice during the stay but at least didn't go to bed with my laptop but book. Last minutes at Cebu airport we spend in an free internet booth and thinking what to do with the roundtrip ticket my friend was lucky to win in a raffle.


For the maiden flight Cebu Pasific had organized all kinds of extra fun things. Jollibee meals (I wasn't that excited...), raffles, picture taking (Filipinos love to have pictures taken of themselves, everywhere they go), presents, band welcoming us in Busuanga...And lucky me, I only paid 1200PHP for the round trip ticket. The rain by the time of arrival was probably not requested by Cebu Pasific but is typical to this season. Luckily, even the weather was mostly nice during our stay in Coron.

 We stayed three nights in Coron Backpackers Guesthouse and I can recommend it for even a longer stay. Coron is relatively expensive, lots of vegetables and fruits are brought outside the island and being able to use the kitchen at the guesthouse was both fun and saved us some money.

For the next two nights when backpacker's place was fully booked we booked a room in Krystal Lodge, close to Backpackers. Krystal Lodge was clean, more quite and although a bit more expensive, it was good value for the money. Krystal the owner was very helpful when we tried to find a friend we lost.






When in Coron, it is (to my horror) obviously a must to dive the wrecks. So we did. That is another story but to keep it short, I challenged my self again, I'd never thought I'd do something like this!!!
Kuweba - great place to hang out at night and buy the souvenirs.
After lots of activities, the last day activity was to chill and relax in a quiet  beautiful place! I even offered money for the kuya at coffee shop to keep the radio mute. He didn't take the money so place was silent for an hour or so which I thought was quite reasonable (for the price):D


Very characteristic to this trip was Gangnam style. When walking downtown I spotted a sports complex where you could hear this song played on repeat. Video shows that the audience went nuts after each group performing (most likely the same routine). I stayed for two rounds but saw the pattern, they continued playing the same song.





Vihaiset linnut Coron townin kulkuneuvossa...









Nov 7, 2012

Taking first steps towards Youth Hub - Nuorisotilatoimintaa suunnittelemassa

Like I recently (well, nothing happened in my blog recently...) told you, the social worker in Dumaguete Youth Home After Care Support Services Project started the 1st October and has been working hard ever since.

We have been working to establish a group of children who would be giving us ideas for Youth Hub and who could also have small tasks related to this Youth Hub in the future. We proposed this opportunity to the children and youth at the cathedral. We were able to engage almost ten  boys (the number is still floating and we're not expecting to have new kids joining and probably some of the current ones leaving) to this program. Many of these kids and youngsters ate the same I organized the dance workshop for. Now I feel lucky to be able to continue with them!






First official meeting with the boys was held in a clean and quite eatery downtown in Dumaguete. This is the same place I sometimes have my lunch or dinner at. It is known that they use fresh ingredients and avoid using MSG. We wanted to treat the kids for a good and nutritious meal to thank them for helping us.

And we were lucky! My dear coworkers from Finland, the team of Herttoniemen lapsiperheiden kotipalvelu ja varhainen tuki were the ones to sponsor the delicious meal! Too excited maybe but we forgot to take a picture of the food itself but the boys were smiling and happy and they expressed their gratitude towards the kind hearted people who let them enjoy this meal.


Suuri kiitos Inkalle ja Herttoniemen lapsiperheiden kotipalvelun ja varhaisen tuen tiimille, jonka ansiosta ensimmäinen suunnitteluun sitouttava tapaamisemme näiden lasten ja nuorukaisten kanssa ei ollut vain kokous vaan saimme palkittua heidän kiinnostuksensa ja osallistumisensa tarjoamalla terveellisen aterian! 

Täysin tapojen vastaisesti ruoasta unohtui ottaa kuva mutta ruokaa oli ruhtinaallisesti ja kaikki söivät itsensä kylläisiksi. Pojat osoittivat lämpimät kiitoksensa Suomeen niille, jotka tekivät tästä mahdollisen. 

Meidän kaikkien mielestä tapaaminen oli onnistunut ja saimme pojat avautumaan ja ideoimaan. Meillä on koossa todella upea porukka nuoria tässä. Teemme jatkossakin parhaamme saadaksemme pidettyä kosketuksen näihin lapsiin ja nuoriin. Tässä yhteydessä täytynee muistuttaa, että suuri osa näistäkin lapsista majailee 10 peson maksua vastaan ruokalan lattialla, kartongin palasen paalla (maapohja, ei siis varsinainen lattia ollenkaan). Heillä ei siis kaikilla ole kotia jonne mennä yöksi ja heidän sitouttamisensa tällaiseen toimintaan on haastavaa mutta mielestämme olemme ottaneet aika onnistuneita ensiaskelia. 

Valtavan suuri kiitos rakkaille työtovereilleni siitä, että olitte mukana tässä ja autoitte meitä onnistumaan!