Pinoy ako Pinoy

I shall continue where I left off. After the homestay, we had dinner at a pizza restaurant. The specialty of the restaurant is ultra-big pizzas. The pizzas are really from another planet. They measure about 32 inches across. I think only pictures can convince you that there really are such big pizzas. I will post them later on.

After our homestay, we had our general education camps for 4 days. It's a 2 days programme and we conducted it in 2 primary schools. We played games with the kids and had some lessons incorporated as well. Because of the language barrier, the lessons conducted did not really had its desired effect. For me personally, I didn't think that these camps were helpful to the community because it is only 2 days long and it's mainly play as well. Throughout the camps, as well as the whole trip, I've been asking myself whether what I'm doing is beneficial. And I conclude that I gained a lot more than what I'm giving. The most beneficial part of the camps is the feeding programme and it's also the part which makes me feel the saddest throughout the whole trip. The programme is designed to feed the schoolchildren lunch. They are as old as some of my cousins but they are all very small-sized. They look malnourished and their BMI chart shows that a lot of them are below normal. When I saw them wolfing down their lunch and asking for second helpings, I can't help but feel sad that these children have to go through such a life. Our funds will help them sustain the programme for a year and I think that's the most practical part of our project. I don't know how effective the programme will be one year from now as I do not intend to take part in BHBH4 but Glynsen, our group leader, said that he saw the same girl shrink from one year before. I really hope our programme will be able to make a difference and they will lead healthier lives. The schoolchildren are really energetic and they just kept on running and dancing. I gave up trying to keep up with them after lunch. Their dancing is really good and even at such young ages, they can dance better than most of us. And the funny thing is that their school cds are all disco cds and they were all dancing to clubbing tunes. They were also very enthusiastic about taking photos. I think part of the reason is because they had never seen digital cameras before. I don't know whether it's a good thing that we are exposing them to such technology. I left feeling just a little sad because I did not allow myself to get too attached to them. However, these children left the greatest impression on me this whole trip.

I think I will end here and leave the next few days to the next post.