195 + what?
Why am I writing this blog?
In the first week of November 2013 the Philippines witnessed the most powerful typhoon ever to reach landfall. With gusts of up to 235mph, and an unofficial 1 minute-sustained wind speed of 195+mph, Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, was responsible for over 6,000 deaths in the Philippines alone. Exactly one month from today (06.02.2014) I will be flying to the island of Leyte, in the eastern Visayas region of the Philippines, to join the relief effort with All Hands Volunteers (http://hands.org/projectleyte/).
It is impossible to comprehend the damage this storm has caused and the impact it has had on the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people affected by it from the UK, and I have no doubt that I will struggle, even when in the midst of the devastation, to have a clear idea of the scale of the destruction.
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| Photo: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/11/typhoon-haiyan-philippines-climate-change |
This blog will be my own personal account of the experience of travelling to and from the Philippines, working with the All Hands community and being a tiny cog in the mechanism that helps to rebuild after this almost unprecedented natural disaster.
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are exclusively my own and in no way represent those of All Hands Volunteers or any other party.)
What will I be doing there?
The best thing for me to do here is quote the All Hands (from hereon 'AHV') Volunteering page directly:
"In Leyte we are engaged in cleaning up the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan by helping local residents to deconstruct their badly damaged homes, making the property safe again, and providing reusable materials to the family. We will also be clearing the lots to make way for new structures and drainage ditches to ensure proper drainage and sanitation."
While I can't speak on behalf of other volunteers I am by no means a skilled tradesman, nor a demolitions expert or surveyor. I am, however, happy to get my hands dirty and keen to learn - I am hoping that'll be enough to get me through!
Want to help?
I have also created the Just Giving page http://www.justgiving.com/195plus. If you are able to donate anything whatsoever it will make it's way directly to AHV and make a huge difference in enabling volunteers to be as effective as possible.
" [AHV] try to purchase all of our materials and tools in the community where we work to support the local economy and ensure the cultural relevance and appropriateness of our purchases."
Where exactly?
The Philippines is in Southeast Asia, situated in the western Pacific Ocean. To the north lies Taiwan, while to the West lie the more commonly known countries of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. Being located on the 'Pacific Ring of Fire' means that the Philippines is incredibly prone to natural disasters ranging from volcanic eruptions and earthquakes (AHV is also currently working an Earthquake project on the island of Bohol, to the south of Leyte) to typhoons and super-typhoons comparable to Haiyan.
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As mentioned above, the Island of Leyte (and, more specifically, the city of Ormoc) is located in the eastern Vasayas Region of the country, essentially the eastern edge of the world, looking out into almost half a planet's worth of Pacific Ocean.
While we will be based on Leyte AHV has a policy by which volunteers are required to take mandatory mental health breaks, increasing in length dependent on the duration of their stay. I am hoping to use this as an opportunity to see other parts of Asia, with Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia high on my list.
A quick bit about me.
Since my graduation from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2012 I have been working at said university in the Catering department while making a decision on what to do next. Having decided that making that decision was taking me too long I decided to take the opportunity to join my girlfriend (whose actual job is in international development) on this incredible trip. I am hoping to pursue a career in the music and theatre industries in the UK but I am also a prolific writer and have been waiting for a legitimate blogging excuse for some time. My intention is to capture the immense physical and emotional journey I'm about to embark upon but, knowing me, I'll probably end up publishing my playlists and failing to take any decent photographs anywhere along the way. One way or another I'll try to keep the blog as up to date as possible, depending on the limited internet access available to me.
My name is Robbie and I should also make it clear that I'm terrified about this...
