Nearing the mid-point...

Dear friends,

As I quickly near the mid-point of my six-month pro-bono engagement to improve the living conditions in one of the least developed areas of the Philippines, there are some successes to be reported, warranting a quick update as to what exactly I’m up to here. But first things first…

Some of you have asked what a typical day looks like for me. Well, on workdays I am typically out of bed at about 5 or 6, for two reasons: first of all, the noise of passing trucks, the neighbor’s karaoke (!) and roosters make it close to impossible to sleep any longer. But early in the morning is also the only time I can go running in daylight at a bearable temperature (and, at 100% humidity, I use the term ‘bearable’ loosely). After a good run, I go back home, take a quick shower (only cold water available), and get ready to drive to work. After work, I head back home in the evening. I enjoy dinner at the “bamboo house”, the only restaurant in Lanuza, and then, after an hour or two of reading (and sometimes work), get ready for a good night’s sleep. Not too exciting, but after all I came here for work and not vacation.

I am still struggling with varying perceptions of time. Once, after being held up with a conversation (which may never be cut short in the Philippines!), I was rushing to a meeting almost 20 minutes late, ran up the stairs and, out of breath, threw open the meeting room doors, only to realize I was the first one there. It is not at all uncommon to arrive to scheduled meetings an hour or more late – so of course the German in me is rebelling. Defining starting times as “German time” as opposed to “Philippino time” sometimes does the trick…

So, regarding work, we are currently considering the set-up of microfinance institution in the area. Designed to provide very small loans (ca. €100 and up) to extremely poor but hardworking (and successful!) entrepreneurs, this initiative is probably the most exciting and promising, because I believe it will really help build sustainable livelihoods in the medium and long term. Also, my consulting skills may prove to be an additional leverage to help ensure success of the start-ups. In addition, I am in the process of utilizing support from the Accenture Foundation, which provides a small grants fund I may be able to use for this.

After many discussions with the mayors, the next overall alliance council meeting will likely see the signing of a memorandum of agreement against corruption. I’m currently drafting the paper, which will be the first ever in all of Mindanao (which, after all, is the size of Portugal!). I strongly believe that the agreement will send a strong message on how government work is conducted in the area, especially considering the detrimental effects corruption has in the Philippines.

Finally, our proposal for 23.000.000,– Peso (about € 330.000,–) to the European Commission is almost complete and will be submitted end of this month. Through this, we hope to be able to provide funding for the sustainable regeneration of natural resources in the upland area of Lanuza Bay.

And, of course, here once again:

Personal lowlights:

• Finding a cockroach in my apartment, and then another. For some strange reason, though, mothballs seem to get rid of them!
• Having my shoes vomited on during a 14-hour, butt-flattening bus-ride – and of course no chance to get out and clean up, because it’s the last bus
• Being continually cut off in international phone calls from home, because phone lines just aren’t very good here.

Personal highlights:

• Finding many, many geckos living in my house, but then learning that they “are good luck” and also eat mosquitoes
• Getting some meetings to start at least somewhat on time by suggesting that whoever comes last writes the meeting minutes
• The feeling of relief when during a power failure I realize that my laptop’s battery has kicked in and I haven’t lost all of my work.

That's it for now... Please keep in touch!

Martin

One of the workshops. This specific one was with the Haribon Foundation, held near Manila.

This is a picture of the office I work in.

Having a nice swim in the local waterfall near Lanuza.

Before viewing the local waterfall, we went for some coconut. The coconut is cut up with a long knife, and spoons are made from the coconut shell!

This is one of the natural waterfalls we are trying to protect and preserve here in the greater Lanuza area.

This is Jom-Jom, whom I met at the local bakery. This is one of my favourite shots of people I've taken here in the Philippines.

Some kids that were playing on the seawall in Lanuza.

These are two kids that were following me around in Tandag. They were quite happy to see me, and were giggling all the way, especially when I showed them this picture on my digital camera.

Another great shot of the landscape taken during my mountain hike through the rainforest.

The group shot towards the end of our training. From left to right, this picture shows Daniel, Ben (a local farmer), Rob, Peter, myself, Yannick and Eve.

Taking a short break from our motorcycle training.

This shot was taken during out offroad motorcycle training in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. It shows Daniel, one of our instructors, Yannick, a fellow volunteer, and me (from left to right). The area where we were riding was really georgious!

These are two of the ubiquitous jeepneys that drive all over the place. The shot was taken in Badas, which is a crossroads area. I like the Mercedes-Benz logo on the vehicles! Wonder if that design would sell well in Germany...

During my offroad motorcycle training, we visited a mountain farmer. He served us a fruit that was new to me: it's called mountain apple, and tastes like it is a mixture of lemon and apple. Very interesting!

This is the beach near the Sanctuary Cafe. In the far background is Lanuza - although you can't see it.

Another shot of a Carabou. Apparently, these animals need to be in the water at least once a day, or else their hooves dry out and are likely to get infected.

This is a dragonfly I saw on one of my walks around Lanuza.

Another great view of the area around Lanuza. What you see in the far background is the ocean.

This picture was taken in Butuan, officially the "dirtiest city in the Philippines". The motorized vehicles are called trikes, and they are typically either a motorcycle with the orange thing bolted to them, or a vehicle built around a boat- or lawnmower-motor. As you can see, Butuan has tons of these vehicles.

This is one of the streets in Lanuza, close to where I live. What you see on the road is actually rice (still with the husks), which is laid out to dry in the street.

I shot this picture on one of our trips to a workshop near Manila. I thought the "Monkey Crossing" was unique, so I had to take a shot of it...

Just another view of the landscape here, showing the fog around the natural forest near Lanuza.

As you can imagine, palm (coconut) trees are nearly everywhere here. I like this shot because it shows a nice little river and gives some perspective for how large these palm trees are!

This picture was taken during out mountain hike. It shows a nice clearing with a settlement of a few people.

A pretty good shot of Carabou - mater buffalo. They're all over the place here.

This is a view from the mountain near Lanuza. This picture was taken on our mountain hike.