Kristus Way Site Visits

Balikbayan

2006-05-08T23:37:00.000+08:00

After several weeks of operational and personal down-time, I returned to the Philippines on May 1st from Thailand and immediately made my way back to Baguio. I expected lone product of this return visit would be to reconnect with the Kristus-Phil team members, to provide encouragement, etc, in effect, nothing overly productive. Fortunately, thanks to the guidance of my most generous hosts, there was much more I was able to accomplish with my limited time.

The first full day back, May 2nd, I spent the first half of the day in the escort of one Mr. Salvador Waldo, President of the La Trinidad Vegetable Grower’s Cooperative (and uncle to Team Abatan’s own Jeruel Basalong). We first paid a visit to the La Trinidad Municipal Trading Post to observe the everyday activities local small farmers thereat. Watching from a balcony above the boiling mass of sellers, buyers and piles of loose or bundled vegetables being shifted around the trading floor, I had difficulty discerning any sort of order amidst the mayhem below. Uncle Salvador assured me though that there was indeed a time-tested system of exchanges that assured the lowland provinces would have fresh veg for their evening meals. What I easily comprehended, however, was the sheer volume of organic waste that amasses every trading day as sellers trim and package produce to meet individual buyer’s specifications.

If this wasn’t enough to inspire me to think about ways to better organize the small farmers and force reform to system which unfairly puts the majority power in the hands of the buyers, we then visited the model greenhouse program at Benguet State University. There we saw both high-tech industrial greenhouses provided by Israeli donors and more practical and affordable versions which utilize local construction materials and techniques. We also learned of various irrigation and planting techniques which, if accepted by the local farmers, would increase productivity and limit the use of harmful, costly pesticides.

Finally, we met with litigators at the Provincial Administrative Offices to explain Kristus’ concept and plans for Abatan and other potential projects in the area. The idea was purely to make it courtesy call, but I think the frank and open discussion we enjoyed merited the promises of future cooperation from one section of the legal arm of the local government.

Now, I know you are thinking this all has little to do with distance learning education programs for rural health workers, and you’re right. But as part of the charge I have accepted from Kristus is to assist under-developed rural communities served by said health workers in establishing sustainable, environmentally conscious economic programs. As such, and given that the communities around Abatan are primarily supported by the efforts of independent, small-scale vegetable farmers, it is entirely pertinent that I pursue these partnerships/sources.

Greenhouses and regulated irrigation allow for year-round, controlled production which empowers the farmers to manage demand, decrease waste and dependence on fertilizers and pesticides, and, ultimately the ability to stabilize selling prices. Providing options for the reprocessing of organic waste into compost fertilizer or animal feed further reduces the amount of waste and increases the small farmer’s bottom line. It’s kinda odd that I would only learn something about agricultural production only after leaving my home state of Illinois.

Later that evening I found myself involved with another culture that I thought I would never willingly experience; I attended and was entertained by some of the spirited activities at the 28th Annual Meeting of the NLAD-Lutheran Women’s League held at the United Lutheran Church in La Trinidad. Thereat, I arrived by chance in time to catch a sort of “Battle of the Babaes”, a songs of praise singing competition wherein vocal aptitude was neither a pre-requisite nor a barrier to participation. It was encouraging to see not only so many members from Benguet and the surrounding provinces participating, but also the various family members there lending their support.

The next morning, after a good hand laudering of pair #2 of my two pair of socks, I was treated to a guided tour of all the sights of Baguio by Joel, son-in-law of Pastor Lasegan. We visited several of the touristy spots like Mines View, the Tam-awan Tribal Village, and Camp John Hay. Some interesting sights for sure, but one really has to imagine how picturesque Baguio may have been 15 years ago, before the aftermath of a huge earthquake sparked a boom of housing construction, a population explosion and the subsequent increase in pollution.

With little schedule for the next few days, I accepted Pstr. Lasegan’s offer to accompany him and his wife to San Juan, La Union, some two hours west of Baguio, down out of the mountains to the seashore. There I was invited to stay at the Concordia Theological College, an ecumenical study center sponsored by the Lutheran Church. San Juan was exactly the ticket I needed: a sleepy, tiny little village right on the beach, with complimentary accommodations that were better than any I had experienced on the trip thus far, and, not a sole outside of school’s two caretaker family to disturb me. My few days there consisted of little more than sunning on the black sand beach, swimming in the surf, and deciding what traditional Filipino food I would like for my next meal. I can’t say enough about how wonderfully I was treated by Angie and Robert and family, Pstr David and family and my host Pstr. Lasegan. My meager attempts to reciprocate only amounted to solving a few minor computer problems and re-running a phone line to allow their office to connect to the Internet.

All play and no work make Steve a fun boy so, it was back to Baguio on a less-than-healthy local bus to meet up with Jeruel for the trip to Abatan. Fortunately, in the brief stopover I had in La Trinidad I had the opportunity to meet and share lunch with Jeruel's father, Mr. Basalong, recently returned from his mission work in Cambodia, and the rest of the family. Around 2pm, Jeruel and I piled into a fast minibus for a harrowing trip up the winding Halsema Highway to Abatan. My fortunes only continued with the opportunity to experience a rare Philippine hail storm in a blinding rain with a driver who seemed to be bent on qualifying for the Le Mans circuit. Almost three hours later the van slid to a stop in front of the Lutheran Mission Hospital and rested long enough for me to gain the confidence to reopen my eyes.

There I was pleasantly surprised by the sight of the newly redecorated Distance Learning Center (DLC). Some local volunteers had recently applied a coat of light blue-green paint to the inside walls, added some minor furniture and decorative items, and erected a functional and attractive divider/bulletin board to separate visitors to the DLC lab from the other activities in the Hospital Annex building. This positive aesthetic change, however, barely detracted from what we learned have been continual connectivity issues. Providing reliable, time and cost efficient Internet access to all four PCs access at the same time is still as distant goal as the DLC has of yet been unable to realized consistent access by any of the PCs.

We immediate set to troubleshooting the system, hoping to restore revive the system configuration that had only a month earlier temporarily allowed all four PCs network and have access. Overcast conditions and frequent power outages only frustrated out efforts until just after 10pm, when Jeruel finally threw in the towel. It wasn’t until the following morning that the computer imps, apparently scared off by the morn’s bright, clear skies, temporarily abandon their assault on our network and we were able to reconnect.

Our efforts don’t seem to have been for naught; we have significantly reduced the culpability of any technical components. Unfortunately, it looks more like the variables that we can’t change such as time of day and atmospherics appear to have a greatest effect on connectivity. We will, however, have not given up hope that a technical solutions can be found to overcome any natural barriers.

This will probably be my last blog on this trip. I’d like to thank those who responded either negatively or positively to my postings and hope that THIS use of technology came close to achieving the original goal of relating the process and progress of this trip.

I generally dislike blogs as they tend to be self-indulgent, superfluous and a huge time-waste, as is most of what people post on the web. This example has been perhaps no less a negative contributor to this trend. But then, where else would you have learned something about controlled irrigation techniques in the Philippines and alternate uses for zip-off pant leggings?

Find Your Peace.

Back from the Dusty Trail

2006-04-16T12:04:00.000+08:00

I'm back from nearly two weeks in the eastern provinces, enjoying the relative quiet Phnom Penh, access to better food and communications and quite literally kicking the dust out of my boots. The trip out to Banlung to assess the situation and resources in Banlung was perhaps not a productive as hoped it would be, but I did manage to get a solid feel for what it would take to begin a project out there. I also have to just accept, as frustrating as it is, that the time we had allotted for the visit, during the Khmer New Year holidays, came at what was described to me as 'the worst possible time of the year'.

With limited time available, Boran (Dr Fil's assistant) and I left P.Penh on the 2nd in a private taxi hoping to get to Banlung as quickly as possible. Overland was the only available option as the flights to Ratanakiri were, once again, "temporarily" suspended. Our hired Camry (national car of Cambodia) was pushed to it's limits and only one stop was allowed, but even on vastly improved roads, the 600-plus-kilometer drive still takes 9-10 hours. Progress on the "Chinese Highway has only reached to Kratie leaving about half the drive to packed earth roadways. I can't imagine making the trip in the rainy season.

This is one of the key reasons why the eastern provinces are still underdeveloped and impoverish. Farmers have difficulty getting their product to larger markets much of the year and tourism dollars are only brought in by the hardiest of travellers. Once the Chinese contracted highway is completed to Banlung sometime in 2008 and the Vietnamese road coming from the East is linked to it, I'm betting there will be a boom of development in Ratanakiri.

For now though, Banlung, capitol city of the province with a claimed population of 60k, or half of the total provincial population, is little more than a dusty two-street pitstop of a town. Walking around the town takes less than a hour, but I was left with the impression that this is a planned community in which very few of the lots were ever sold. The town is laid out in roughly a grid pattern and wide roadways but the money to pave them has yet to arrive and the few houses or business on each street are separated by large plots dedicated to growing weeds and dumping plastic refuse.

But I was not here to sightsee (a good thing!) so the good people at Healthnet on Dr. Fil's urging wasted no time in lining me up to meet with any and all government officials, health care professionals and other NGOs operating in the area. The next two days I was whisked from meeting to meeting, seemingly one per hour, to meet and greet and restate the Kristus intentions for Ratankiri with all the available big names in town. Most of these meeting were purely courtesy calls, but these are important too and I did gain some insight as to how business is conducted here. Unfortunately, the weekend break before the holiday week was fast approaching and many of the people or organizations I was lined up to meet with were either closing up shop or had already left on prolonged holiday vacations.

Herein points to another problem in operating in the rural provinces: Most of the educated and skilled professionals are not from these provinces, but rather from Phnom Penh where the better schools and ministry offices are located. Few chose to make their residence in the provinces as their families and the future of their careers remain centered around either Batambang or P.Penh. This leads to a problem in recruiting and retaining skilled team members.

By Friday afternoon, my opportunities to meet with other players in Banlung had passed. Even the Healthnet offices were to be closed until the 18th. I was now faced with ten days of wandering around Banlung. Sure there are a few nature sites to visit, but beyond that, I had no access to email, no books to read and only my guesthouse manager to interact with in English. My intention was to tough it out, but I soon realized this level of cultural immersion was beyond my capacity.

Added to this were two weekend days and nites of being blasted with funeral chants from the PA megaphone hanging at the end of a 10 meter bamboo pole just opposite my guest house. Seems the neighbor's mother had died and he was doing his best to let everyone in the community know his sorrow. Over-driven, distorted gongs and monks chanting from 5am to 9pm for 10 days was more than I could take, so I crammed myself in with 8 Cambodians the very next Camry headed West.
Seven sweaty hours later we arrived in Kratie, a sleepy old French colonial town on the banks of the Mekong. Kratie is known now for the pods of endangered Irrawaddy dolphins that hang out just north of town and as a jumping off point for tourist headed North to Lao or to the eastern provinces. Kratie also has the distinction of being one of the favored places the Khmer Rouge to marched the residents of P.Penh when they cleaned out the city in the mid-70's. The huts viliages on the opposite bank of the Mekong are occupied by many who chose not to return to the city after the war.

There was little I need to or was able to accomplish over the next 10 days except wait until the 18th to return to Banlung and hopefully get in some more research, so I settled into a comfortable guesthouse and spent the next several days wandering the markets, quayside and surrounding countryside. I really love the old crumbling French architecture. The fresh baguettes were nice too. Still, there's only so much bread one can eat and I now had reversed my thinking that I would return to Banlung. Influenced by the input of others, but primarily based upon what I already knew of the situation in Ratanakiri, I felt I would get more accomplished and better enjoy the unavoidable down time by returning to P.Penh.

Which is where I am now. I arrive the first day of the Khmer New Year suprised to find the city very quiet and still (making me imagine what this place way like in the mid-70's). Seems many of the people were gone to visit relatives in the surrounding provinces. Fine with me. There's still some restaurants open and I found a cheap, kinda clean guesthouse. The people who are left are in especially friendly spirits too. Saturday nite I spent hours walking through the crowns gathered in front of the Grand Palace (I think they were expecting fireworks). It's nice to see people just being themselves, enjoying their time off.

Next week I hope to get one or two things accomplished at offices here in the city. then I will make the trek south to Kampot and then Sihanoukville for some time on the beach before crossing back into Thailand for a week of visiting some of their more famous culinary destinations.

A Day In the Life

2006-04-02T19:13:00.000+08:00

Sunday 3/19
Waking up in Phnom Penh is one thing I try to put off as long as possible, but the sounds of school kids shrieking in glee, delivery trucks tooting and honking in earnest, and the staccato put-put-put of a million motor scooters serves as my daily alarm clock. I don’t really mind because I know well enough that if hope to accomplish anything in my day, I must get up and attack the task before the mid-day heat makes even sitting still an uncomfortable past time. Fortunately for me, I have no business or personal obligations whatsoever so the whole day is mine to spend strolling about the city pondering where I will take my next bowl of noodles.

Each morning, after choosing my attire from one of three shirts and two pair of shorts, I down a liter of water, eat a few bananas and head out the door with my camera over my shoulder. I briefly stop by the corner Internet cafe to check my email for pressing communiques then set out on foot to a different compass point hoping to soak up what I can of everyday life in the city.

My daily walks have taken me up and down most of the main and side streets, through the various business quarters: Barbershop Lane, Jeweler’s Alley, Tailors’ Crossing, etc. My guesthouse just happens to be right in the middle of Used Bike Dealer Strasse. The bikes come in from Vietnam piled into stacks two meters high. They are then refurbished with sandpaper, a hammer and spray paint before being offered and “nearly new” bikes.

I usually walk in one direction until either my broken foot starts to ache or the intense light of the lunchtime sun washes out any chance of getting good pictures. My stomach is also a good indicator that its time to head back. Without backtracking, I return to my guesthouse but not before stopping off at one of the hundreds of noodle stands in the continuing pursuit of the perfect bowl of noodle soup. The Thais call it “guitiaw”, the Viets “pho”, we would know it as “fresh” ramen. Regardless, the dish is basically the same from culture to culture. What really sets them apart, beyond the kind of noodle and the meat to gristle ratio, is the depth of flavor to the broth. Each vendor has their own take and I never grow tired of trying them all.

After lunch and back at the guesthouse, I collect my complimentary blue-plastic liter of water from the slightly effeminate manager (who seems to own nothing in the way of shirts beyond mesh tank tops), and climb the stairs to my room. Once inside I strip off my damp shirt and “adventure” shorts (which were zip-off leg pants until the legging became a comfort barrier) and sit under the wall-mounted table fan on the cracked white plastic chair watching a poorly pirated Chinese copy of a paramilitary Vin Diesel babysitting a hoard of suburban brat. It takes only about an hour of this until my mind is sufficiently dulled and I’ve cooled enough to attempt a siesta.

I wake just around dusk under my own will. The day’s heat is tempering and the din of traffic noises has changed into the sound of people laughing, talking and playing in the streets. I also get enticing wafts of fried garlic and charcoal drifting through my window.

If one finds the heat, traffic, dirt and noise of the city during the day to be a bit oppressive, you should recharge by the city's nightlife. Beyond the obvious attractions of restaurants, bars and clubs, the city is alive, but relaxed as seemingly every Khmer leaves their homes to stroll about or sup in one of the many open-air diners. It takes a few slow days to appreciate this side of their culture, but it is well worth the effort to find it.

I usually spend the remaining hours of the evening mingling with the locals in the streets or at one of the street side food vendors before returning to my room for a few more hours of inane TV and/or reading. After all, I need plenty of rest for tomorrow’s repeat of the same adventures.

Some Notes from Manila

2006-03-30T16:31:00.000+08:00

While Steve is on adventurous travel extending the work of the Kristus Center to Cambodia, I remained in Baguio to attend to rather more mundane activities.

By way of update, all 4 computers at the Kristus Abatan Learning and Resource Center are now successfully linked to the internet and functionng to full capacity (many thanks to Jeruel). Kristus Philippines has also been sucessfully registered with the national Securities and Exchange Commission; it is now a locally-based chapter of the Kristus Center with Jeruel volunteering to serve as Field Cooordinator. I also had successful introductions with Ben Muni from the University of the Philippines - Baguio (a fellow anthropologist who is true to my heart). Ben and his two colleages are interested in working with Kristus in the areas of health ecology, environmental management, cultural survival and human rights (a great asset to our emerging work in the Gogol River Valley of Papua New Guinea). The youthful trio just recently completed a 38 day trek acoss the Cordilleras which was documented in their program "Home of the Gods" (funded in part by the National Geographic Society). We're happy to have them aboard!

I must say, however, that the highlight of my week-long sojourn in Baguio was being treated to dinner at Jack's Restaurant in LaTrinidad last night (the "unofficial" Kristus Philippines hang-out) by the women's fellowship group of United Lutheran Church. Their company was great, the food was delicious, and they actually put up with my espousing the virtues of yoga and physical exercise to bridge the Body with the Spirit. Thanks ladies for a great night!

Bruce

the long road

2006-03-28T21:23:00.000+08:00

Just a brief update to let those following the blog that I am now in Phnom Penh, taking the evening to recoup after 32 hours of sleepless transit from the Philippines. Tomorrow I hope to link up with Noel Ilangan and see what might be the best time for me to get out to Banlung. I can tell you , I am not ready to be cramped back in another minivan or bus.

The saga of my transit is perhaps something to be related at another time, but I think it is important for everyone reading to have an understanding of the amount of time AND effort required to get from place to place in these countries. Sure, transportation is available, so you won't be walking much (or biking as I would prefer). The real difficuly is dealing with all the delays, hangups and detours so closely associated with all modes except the major airlines. May times, the bus or van or pickup doesn't leave until it is full plus 40% capacity.

Another thing to add, the heat. Thailand's central plains, especially Bangkok are about as humid as it can get without actually raining. Cambodia, well, its just hot....Africa hot...Tarzan couldn't take this heat.

More to follow

Departing Abatan

2006-03-25T22:17:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow (Sunday) Steve and I depart Abatan and begin our trip to Baguio where we will spend the evening before Steve continues with his onward journey to Cambodia. I will remain in the Philippines for the remainder of the week to follow-up with related activities. Our work at Abatan Hosptal has been challenging and, as was anticipated, marked by moments of both joy and frustration. I especially extend thanks to Steve and Jeruel whose tireless efforts to ensure the successful operation of the Resource Center are nothing short of remarkable. It is truly a blessing to be in the company of these friends. Hats off also to Miriam and all the others of the Kristus Abatan team. Progress is slow, but steady. The road ahead remains tough and the way not clearly marked -- but we carry on with hope and fortitude. Thanks also to all those "back home" who have supported the work of Kristus and courageously walked with us "into the void." In Christ -- Bruce

Meetings and Maddening Computer Problems

2006-03-25T12:02:00.000+08:00

The past two days have not yielded much in the way of report-worthy progress. On Thursday, Bruce, Miriam and I had an informal meeting with representatives of the community presumably to hear their concerns regarding the Resource Center. After a few uncomfortable minutes of us probing for input and ideas and receiving only blank stares and silence, we figured out it was upon us to explain the project's goals and roughly outline the uses and scheduling for the computers. It was slow going but thanks to the translated explainations of Miriam and Sammy Dangpa (a Team Abatan member) the entire group eventually appeared to openly accept our plans. They were even eager to assist in the "beautification" of the room currently housing the PCs. No sooner did the meeting end than the reps turned-two on emptying the cluttered, dusty bookselves of the long-ignored old papers, pamphlets and worm-eaten hymnals.

The most notable results of the meeting were: 1) clarifiying the purpose of the project and dispelling erroneous rumors about ownership and usage, 2) outlining a plan for gradually opening the Center to a larger audience (i.e. the general community) once our initial objectives of training health workers is realized, and 3) an understanding by all attendees that the best place to house the Resouce Center (in the near future) is in the hospital's chaplain's office.

The next day, Friday, was to be our first all-hands Team Abatan meeting to finally hammer out some of the more important points. All Team members had RSVP'd the day beofre, but by 1pm, it was Bruce, Jeruel and I surrounded by empty chairs. Miriam, who was to lead the meeting, was in the area but understandably called away to attend to her physician duties. By 2pm, with only two other members reported in (Bsp. Lesagan and Sammy Dangpa) the meeting began.

The agenda for the 2-hour meeting covered topics such as the schedule for training, identifying the initial groups of trainees, physical security of the Center, venue needs and funding, and an identification of the Team Abatan members and their respective titles and duties. The back-and-forth discussion was, at times, becoming heated, but I felt the stripping down of formalities and (occasionally) politeness left all participants with an better idea of where the project stands and where it should go. Minutes from the meeting were recorded for Kristus Board Members.

Beyond those two meetings, the vast majority of our time has been consumed with troubleshooting our on-going problems with getting all four PCs online at the same time. Software upgrade and downgrades, alternate configurations, patches and borrowed equipment have not gotten us any closer to the answer. Equally unproductive have been out repeated calls to the vendor who sold us the satellite system and my efforts to locate work-around solutions on various topic-specific online forums and software/hardware vendors websites. The probably explaination is a conflict between the modem and router software packages.

We intend to rattle some cages at the retailer's offices when we visit Baguio on Monday. Actually, Bruce and Jeruel will be pursuing this matter next week. I have a flight to Thailand on Monday so I will be making the overnight bus ride back to Manila early Monday morning.

My photo safaris in the past few days, especially on to the Abatan market, have not been as successful as I hoped. Included are a few stray shots.

Bontoc and Sagada

2006-03-23T11:45:00.000+08:00

It was an 8:30am *exact* departure for Bruce and I, Miriam and her baby son, Jeush, for the four-hour, essentially off-road adventure to Sagada in private taxi cautiously driven by the diminutive Teresuel. Our route for the day also included a brief lunchtime stop in Bontoc for a visit to the Bontoc Museum. This small, but surprisingly comprehensive collection of artifacts and colonial-era photographs of the regions four major tribal cultures is maintained by Sister’s of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Sister’s (or at least one of them) have lent their support for our planned 2007 documentary and opened their archives to our disposal.

While Bruce immersed himself researching in the museum “library”, Miriam, baby and I toured the museum and its reconstructed tribal village. I especially enjoyed the section depicting the now extinct headhunting rituals. It seems it is a humiliating disgrace to the family of any warrior who loses his head, thus the victim does not merit an honorable burial…as the photos demonstrated. How thoughtless can a headless warrior be?

Later, the entire team adjourned to the Pines Dinette for lunch. My well-intended attempts to comfort and entertain Jeush while Bruce and Miriam ate proved highly-ineffective, so I handed the precious bundle back to his mother, excused myself and headed downhill to downtown Bontoc to locate a key smith. A bit of uninspired wandering followed by a few well-placed inquiries found me at the street-side booth of Alex the Key Maker. Alex, though affable, is not very attentive to his business; it took about 15 minutes of harried searching by his fellow street vendors to locate and rouse the craftsman. Once on the job, however…let me tell you, Alex can cut a mean key. Two-hundred Pesos later I was climbing back up the hill to the museum to rejoin my traveling partners.

We piled back into our vehicle and one hour of labored, diesel-belching, hill climbing later the well-worn Mitsubishi SUV delivered us to historic, scenic Sagada. The tiny town is fast becoming tourist destination for its natural beauty, but is more famous for the nearby limestone caves and hanging coffins.
http://www.geocities.com/sagada_igorot/sagada/

Our purpose for visiting the town however was not sight-seeing; we sought to establish relations with representatives of the St. Theodore’s Hospital and Sagada Episcopal Mission and hopefully gain their support for the 2007 documentary. The hospital will be one of the focal points of the documentary and the town would make a good base of operations during the planned-two weeks of shooting.

Miriam was our link to the hospital as she attended med school and is friends with two of the resident physicians. So, after checking in to our spartan, but clean rooms at the St. Joseph’s Guest House, we met over coffee and chocolate cake with Dr. Clare Alangui-Lalwet, the hospital’s Medical Director, and Dr. Daria Bayawa to discuss our plans. They seemed very receptive to lending their assistance and possibly partnering with Kristus to develop their tribal outreach programs in the remote areas of the province. We were even fortunate to have a chance meeting with the Rev. Moreno Tuguinay, the hospital’s volunteer Chaplain and Board Member. He too voiced his interest in exploring a working relationship with Kristus.

Mission accomplish, we reassumed our seats in our clapped-out Mitsubishi and made the return trip to Abatan.

Sunday Feast

2006-03-21T06:57:00.000+08:00

Sunday 3/19

I rose early and headed out in the dawn light on a photo safari. Hunting wasn’t so good however as I learned that the best views of the surrounding countryside are best shot with the sun in the West. I’ve noticed though, that Abatan is generally overcast towards dusk so we’ll see if I get any post-worthy pics. I returned after two hours to take a pancake breakfast with Bruce in the “mess hall”. Later, I conducted some research on websites I thought could be used to pique the interests of our so-to-be computer trainees. Meanwhile, Bruce attended a multilingual Sunday service at the Christ Lutheran Church.

After services, Bruce, Jeruel and I were invited up to Pastor James Ma’s home for a lunch of traditional dishes. While we waited for Mrs. Ma (Mama Ma) to put her “secret touch” on the dinuguan (blood and organ stew), James sedated us with shots of his mother’s home-brew “tapey”, a pungent and potent regional rice wine. The meal with all twelve of us (to include the local Ma relatives) crowded elbow-to-elbow in the kitchen eating kamayan (with the hand) was, for me, the best, most genuine experience we’ve had so far and exactly what I needed to keep involved in the daily experiences.

After lunch, Bruce, Jeruel and I wobbled up to the Mission house (on the hill above the hospital) for a Team Abatan group meeting with Jerahmeel, Miriam and Pastor Ranker. Purpose of the meeting, the first where this many members have been in the room at one time, was to game plan the project as a whole (rollout, training, leadership and responsibilities) and address the lingering issues about physical access to the Resource Center temporarily located in the hospital’s Chaplain’s Office.

Today, the DreamSat guy finally made it up to Abatan from Baguio to troubleshoot the slow connection and assist Jeruel in setting up the router to afford access to the three new PCs. Not much of anything seems to have come of his visit other than an affirmation that there are multiple issues preventing full use of the new resources:

First and foremost, we are told there is a “temporary” problem with the satellite that accounts for the slow-to-no access speeds we’ve been experiencing on our one connected PC. This issue is supposed to be resolved “soon”; secondly, the software we were provided to run the satellite modem is not written for XP. We are not sure if this is a contributing factor to our inability to setup the router, but we know it definitely conflicts with XP SP2 we are running. Thoughts are that we might downgrade to SP1, or; the router we acquired with the first PC may not be functioning properly. Jeruel is going to return it to the supplier in Baguio to have it tested or replaced; lastly, our alternate design for the network would be to set the first PC (PC1) up as a server and use the router as a hub to the other three PCs. We can’t test this design without a LAN card for PC1. Compounding our problems is the lack of ready access to parts and support. There’s no Best Buy in Abatan just yet. We are hopeful though that most if not all these issues will be resolved by next week.

Tomorrow (3/21), Bruce, Miriam and I will be driving up to Sagada four hours to the North to conduct groundwork for the 2007-planned documentary on the history of rural health initiatives in the Philippines.

Baguio to Abatan

2006-03-18T20:20:00.000+08:00

Friday started early after a noisy night at the Baden Powell Inn. If it wasn’t the running toilet or sump pump just outside our window that turned on every 60 seconds, it was the beeps, honks, and whistles emanating from the 24-7 bus station just next door to the Hotel.

Travelers tip #1: Always bring a comfy set of earplugs for sleeping.

Prior to meeting up with Jeruel at 10am, Bruce and I occupied ourselves with minor logistical tasks (exchanging money, replacing the luggage locks (I lost the key to mine on day one)). Those accomplished, we collected Jeruel and headed up to the SM Mall to execute a quick survey of the local computer retailers to see what we could get for our money.

At noon, we met with Board Members of the Davita Cristobal Foundation (DCF) over lunch to discuss their interest in Kristus Way Projects in Abatan, particularly their donation of funds for the purchase of computers for the DLRC. The meeting went very well; DCF was not only generous enough to pick up the check, but they also signed over a check for 60000 Pesos.

Immediately after that luncheon, the three musketeers began a frantic search of Baguio’s many back-alley computer retailers. Our requirements for PCs were pretty straight-forward; bargaining for the best price however was a matter of pitting the various retailers against each other. Our running between stores and screwed bargaining resulted in us picking up three complete systems for 4000P less than we had budgeted for two. Only a minor 40 minute hassle in processing the payment delayed our self-congratulations.

As we had some time to burn while the PC technicians built and loaded software on our new systems, we took the opportunity to make the short ride out to La Trinidad to visit the United Lutheran Church and hopefully meet up with Bishop Lesagan. Unfortunately, good Bishop was away, soon to return, so we filled the time until his return speaking with Pastor Dennis and touring the church. The Pastor’s daughter, Deborah, thoughtful prepared a floral arrangement for us.

When the Bishop arrived, we were able to discuss the project and our schedule over fresh local coffee and “Benguet” fries. It was a short, but pleasant visit. Around 5pm we returned to Baguio to collect the new PCs. Waiting for us at the computer shop was the Bishops son-in-law. He and his daughter were there to drive Bruce and I the three hours north to Abatan. Jeruel would be following along the next morning. We loaded the PCs and ourselves into his van and headed out in the choking haze of Baguio's evening rush hour traffic.

Once out of the city and up into the mountains I presumed we would be met with fresh air. This turned out to be anything but the case. On the narrow, occasionally steep mountain roads it seemed we were constantly stuck behind clapped-out farm trucks loaded down with sacks of chicken dropping fertilizer. The combination of diesel exhaust and chicken stink along with the exhaustion of all the running around in the day's heat took a heavy tool on both Bruce and me.

When we finally arrived in Abatan around 9pm, Dr. Miriam Lesagan and a few staff were on hand to welcome us with friendly smiles, a clean room and even a evening snack. I unfortunately was too tired and nauseous to accept anything other than a bed in the guest quarters in the Hospital Annex building.

A quiet night’s rest with the windows wide open was enough to clear my lungs and re-energize my spirits. Before breakfast in the Hospital’s “Dietary”, I turned to setting up the new PCs, mainly just to verify that we had received all the appropriate components, but also to have things prepared before Jeruel showed up with the router to set up the network.

Baguio

2006-03-17T08:50:00.000+08:00

Greetings from the altitudes of Baguio. Bruce and I arrived yesterday evening after an especially long and uncomfortable bus ride from Manila. We checked in at the Baden Powell Inn, one of the last relics of the US Colonial era, and met with Jeruel and his Uncle from La Trinidad. The meeting was coridal and somewhat productive but I think the effects of the long flight from the States, the time change, and the ride up to Baguio had the better of Bruce and I. Bruce had to retire part-way through dinner and I was not far behind.

The key topics touched on during the meeting with Jeruel and his Uncle were: 1) how to gameplan buying the computers for Abatan the next morning (today) and 2) what possible support we could provide to the vegetable growers coop in La Trinidad. I believe there is much we can do here as the growers are mearly looking for assistance in researching possiblities for converting the abundant vegetable waste the literally piles up into either marketable compost and/or animal feed.

Today, we will again meet with Jeruel to purchase the two computers and later, the folks from UP Baguio to discuss funding. Time permitting, we will make the long drive up to Abatan.

First impressions of my return to the Philippines is that while some things have modernized, very much has stayed the same...both for the good and the bad. The immediate hours after we deplaned at NAIA I was both excited and anxious. The street smells I caught throught the taxi cab window brought back a flood of memories but the many changes to the city (Manila) also disoriented me. The ride up to Baguio through the provinces however proved that very little has changed in the countryside.

Next post, hopefully, in few days in Abatan.

2006-03-11T11:08:00.000+08:00

Earilier today, Bruce, Steve and Duane met via a conference call to discuss the Organization's objectives for the upcoming trip. Beyond the scheduled meetings and transfer of two new PCs to the Abatan Distance Learning Center, all three participants agreed that the most important goal we can accomplish is to identify what issues the local communities (the leaders and the general public) are most passionate about. Once these are indentified, Kristus Way volunteers will be able to assist these communities to locate and employ the resources and knowledge needed to accomplish their goals.