Guiding for Mercy Relief

In all my years of guiding 'm fortunate to come across some people (or groups of people) who make my work a whole lot of fun. Just this week, Mabuhay Guides Jeff Velasco, Ronnie Gador and myself had a fun tour with MERCY RELIEF. 

In the midst of the hearings on the pork barrel scandal involving government officials and NGOs and with the recent death and destruction brought about by tropical storms in Subic, Zambales, it is refreshing to have guests who have come to Manila not just to act as pampered guests (although, we welcome that too,) but to VOLUNTEER their time, talent and services to depressed communities in Baseco Compound in Tondo Manila.

For those of you who've had enough of the pork barrel scandal, you will be pleased to note that this agency that brought these young professionals to Manila is as legitimate as it gets. Mercy Relief is the NGO's name. Mercifully (pardon the pun), the organization is based in Singapore and is run by yuppies who have optimized the use of their time in helping under-privileged depressed areas in the ASEAN region.

There were 34 volunteers who have come to Manila for the first time to live in the Baseco Compound and have a first hand experience on the plight of the urban poor here. The average age of the volunteers range from 20 - 25 years. Apparently, their stay will last for around 2 weeks and within that short span of time they would have rendered healthcare and devised a urban plan to make the area self- sufficient and income generating.

It didn't help that by the time they arrived in Manila, the weather had turned sour. Typhoon Odette had lingered on the east side and when it finally moved diagonally to the west, it still sucked up most of the rain brought the the southwesterly winds (habagat).

I was in constant touch with the Philippine coordinator of the project, Ms. Laarni Salanga until the morning of the tour. We were favored with milder weather and some sunshine for most of the day last Tuesday, 24 September, 2013. I didn't know if they had planned to push through or cancel at the last minute. Fortune smiled on everyone of us that day. 

All the ASEAN member nations were ably represented: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand. After three days of being holed up in the evacuation center at BASECO  due to the storm, the volunteers were glad to be out in the sunshine and have a glimpse of Manila's glorious past. They were toured around Intramuros at the usual sites of Fort Santiago, San Agustin Church and Museum and Casa Manila. and by the time the three groups finished the tour in Casa Manila, they were headed back for another series of lectures at BASECO. They asked the most intelligent questions on the Muslim situation in Zamboanga (a large part of the group is Muslim) and the influence of the Catholic religion on the citizens. WE didn't have enough time to entertain all the questions so we promised to keep in tour through Facebook. They had fun, and us... we gained young friends and a lot of inspiration from them!