Faith Chapel Volunteers

from Billings, Montana

transform abandoned building

into a home for deaf children.

Maasin City, Southern Leyte, Philippines, August 21, 2011

Hundreds of deaf children live in isolation in the mountains of Southern Leyte with no chance for an education because of distance and economics.  There is only one practical solution to providing them schooling and that is to bring them down to a Special Education Center and give them a place to live while schooling.  This has been the strategic starting point for an amazing collaborative effort of establishing a dormitory for deaf children in Maasin, Southern Leyte.

The partners in this project are IDEA, Maasin Department of Education, and Faith Chapel of Billings, Montana.  IDEA has provided the road map, coordination and man power, the Department of Education has provided an abandoned building, and Faith Chapel donated $10,000 and sent a team of volunteers to rehab the building.

For the past two years this abandoned building has been used to grow earth worms and produce organic fertilizer.  Although it is a worthwhile project, it was a waste of a very good building.  It was filled to knee high with soil.  On August 9th, a group of 12 Faith Chapel volunteers arrived to take on the challenge of rehabilitating the building.  The first thing they did was to wade into the piles of soil, bag it up and transport it out.  Some of these bags weighed over 100 pounds and this work took place during a rainstorm.  With the roof leaking badly, the soil quickly turned into mud.

IDEA Philippines also sent a team of ten (10) men from its construction group to work side by side with the American volunteers.  Most of the men on the IDEA team are deaf and former students under IDEA’s education program.

The entire roof and ceiling of the building needed to be replaced so a group of women on the Montana team were tasked with painting 150 sheets of plywood.  With all the mud and paint flying around the work site, by the end of the second day the Montana Team had earned the title of  “THE DIRTY DOZEN”.

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                     THE DIRTY DOZEN                                  Chip Crees and Ron Todd

This post is being put up on August 21st and the teams are still working on the building rehab project.  The work is being documented by professional videographer, Mark Hanson from Faith Chapel so additional post will be up soon on the continuing progress of the team.

                       Painting Crew                        Mark Hanson ready for rain

You can follow the blogs from one team member at

http://missions.faithchapel.cc/

Mark Hanson has put up some short videos about the team’s work and experiences in Maasin.  Check it out by clicking on the words “MOVIE”

MOVIE 1

MOVIE 2

MOVIE 3

August 21, 2011

The Faith Chapel team headed back to the U.S. last night leaving Manila about 10:00PM.  Although they had to be exhausted after the incredible week of work they put in on the new dormitory, they were in remarkably good spirits.  As Ron put it, this rather eclectic group had really become a team and he gave all the credit to Jesus.

It was unclear from the beginning of the work on the dorm as to how extensive the renovation was to be.  It was only after the ceilings came down, the old roof taken off, and wall panels removed that they could see the termite damage.  It turned out to be significant.  Additional trusses had to be made and walls replaced.  Despite these additional tasks, the team saw 2/3rds of the work on the dorm completed before they had to leave.  The two bedrooms, boy’s and girl’s sides, were clearly defined as well as the kitchen / dining area and the living room area.  All the ceilings and walls were in place as well as all the electrical lines were installed.  Oh, and we should NOT forget the removal of nearly 8 tons of garbage and soil from the inside and out side of the building.

IDEA’s work crew will now finish up the work on the dorm in hopefully about 10 more days.

                         Boy’s Bedroom                                   Girl’s Bedroom

Final Group Shot On Last Day In Maasin“>

Final Group Shot On Last Day In Maasin

   Mark catches the action on video                  The group starts the trip home.

A well earned rest on the outrigger boat to Bohol Island.

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FIRST BATCH OF MAYON STOVES

July 5, 2011

Perla Manapol (pictured at the left) is the president of an organization known as Sustainable Rural Enterprises based in Aklan, Philippines.  Her fervour to help the poor and at the same time helping the environment is contagious.  She initially infected Ambassador Benny Tan (pictured on the right) with the concept of stoves that burn waste materials giving the masses an alternative to cutting down trees for fuel.  In turn Ambassador Tan infected Dennis Drake and Juviro Hagup  (pictured in the center) of IDEA Philippines with the vision.  Now a group of deaf men working with IDEA Philippines are producing these wonderful rice hull burning stoves.  Ambassador Tan even gave a grant  for 100 stoves which will then be made available to low income people on Bohol.  IDEA hopes to introduce these stoves in Leyte and employ some of the deaf high school graduates there as well.

So here stands the team of promoters behind the first batch of Mayon stoves to come off the still crude but improving, assembly line at the IDEA Philippines shop.  It was great to have Perla to demonstrate the proper way to use the stoves and give the IDEA staff tips on marketing them.  In her demonstration of the stove and only using rice hulls as fuel, she was able to get one liter of water to a boil in only six minutes.  That’s a hot fire.

Ambassador Tan demonstrates lighting technique for the stove.

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Jimmy and Rezel with Jimmy Junior

If ever there was a story that could remind us of why IDEA exists, it would be that of Jimmy & Rezel.

Today they are a happy, loving couple with a handsome baby boy. They are employed, financially independent, educated, confident in their decisions, and decided on their ambitions. It hasn’t always been like this; however, and both have traveled a long way to get to this point. Here is their story.

Jimmy was born in the town of Jagna, on coastal Bohol, to a farming father and a stay-at-home mother. His father owned little land and regularly struggled to provide enough food for his family; Jimmy learned to be hungry at an early age. His mother was protective of him and very aware that people would not be so kind to her deaf son; therefore, she kept him hidden inside their house. He spent many hours there in solitude. At the age of six, his mother enrolled him in an IDEA supported special education program. Jimmy had never been apart from her and was scared at first, but soon, through the patient understanding of his teacher and the companionship provided by the other deaf children, he began to flourish.

At the age of seven, Jimmy’s wife, Rezel, recalls being tormented by the neighborhood boys whenever she would go out. They harassed her, called her stupid, crazy and even made crude sexual gestures at her expense. She was Deaf, and therefore, unacceptable in their eyes. Despite all of her parents love and affection, she felt incredibly cut-off and alone. They soon put her in a hearing elementary school, but less than a year later her teacher forced her out citing that Rezel was just too stupid to be in school. Her parents remained undaunted; they knew that their daughter had great capacity for learning. That’s when IDEA staff visited the family and enrolled her in IDEA supported special education classes. She stayed in an IDEA dorm, met other deaf children and, for the first time, no longer felt isolated. She learned sign language, how to read, write, count, and continued up through the grades as a stellar student. During high school she worked part time at Garden Café, an IDEA income generating project, in order to help out her parents. She graduated high school with honors and immediately began working full time with IDEA. She was then financially able to support both her parents and her two siblings. Rezel still works for IDEA and continues to be a star employee.

In 1998 Jimmy was hired on at Garden Café’s Jagna branch but was soon fired due to a drinking problem. He then met Rezel and sobered-up permanently. IDEA management saw the change and rehired him, and so began Jimmy’s now 12 year career with IDEA. Jimmy and Rezel dated and got married. They both had jobs, friends, money to support their relatives, and were ready and excited to start a family of their own. For the next year they tried, but to no avail. Disappointed and close to giving up hope, Rezel met Ellen Freed, a volunteer, who encouraged her to see a reproductive health doctor. There they discovered a cyst on one of her ovaries. She needed surgery, but it was far too expensive; so IDEA loaned them the amount. Rezel had surgery and not long afterward was able to conceive and give birth to their son, Jimmy Junior.

Jimmy and Rezel responsibly paid off their loan and are now saving for their next dream: to own a home. IDEA is hoping to fulfill their ambition. IDEA is in the midst of establishing a housing community with its employees. In cooperation with the local government, IDEA will build houses on lots and give employees the opportunity to own their own land and pay on it slowly over time. This is an unheard of concept in a place where most people build homes on land that they do not own and could never afford.

IDEA is proud of Jimmy and Rezel. Their story and their lives are a reminder of why we do, what we do. It is because of the many stories just like this that IDEA continues to serve the Deaf here in Bohol and Leyte.

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