HEAT, THAT HEAT THAT HEAT
Pat me on the back. I never complained about the heat. You just don't, it doesn't get you any cooler! The hat helped, the sunscreen too, though there were times I lit up red in the face.
My saving grace was a little battery-operated fan that I brought with me that I hung around my neck like a big IPOD on a cord; it blew air up from its top to my neck and face. On airplanes and inside ferries and vans with faulty air-conditioners, it was my salvation. That and Gatorade and ice water, always available in coolers packed by Consuelo staff. Cotton clothes and cotton underwear helped too.
A friend in Wash DC who grew up in the Philippines calls his former homeland "the armpit of the world." Just don't think about the HEAT, keep going and ignore it; it won't go away, so let go, give in, be enveloped. It's that heat, that heat that heat that heat.
Above, that's Ernestino behind me in the other hat, one of our local escorts. He was like this silent friend watching out for us, for me. That's why I took his picture here.
TAKUT-TAKUT on Jolo Island
After out kumpit ride back to Jolo, we traveled by vans to a small village just behind this mosque in an area called Takut-Takut.
Like Suba, it too is built on stilts, but very close quarters for the hundreds who live here. Water is brought in by small black hoses that run along with sides of the main street. Children are everywhere. Little sari sari (food) stores are on every corner. And below trash floats mixing with waste andwater from the sea. Like Suba, its waste water is a playground for the kids. :-( On this hot day, kids were splashing away.
Walking to the school, we had to walk carefully on wooden slats, the village pathway. These were boards laid down side by side, sometimes nailed down, sometimes not. Below us was the water.
We visted Takut-Takut Early Childhood Education Center where the children entertained us. Crowded in with us in a small class room were teachers and town officials. The kids were very grateful for our visit and the small gifts of supplies that board members presented to the teachers. The children, dressed in native Muslim costumes, danced for us as board members placed pesos on the children's clothes -- a Filipino tradition!
Board members also made home visists and went to the health center. Supported by Consuelo, the education center was turned over to the Social Welfare Dept. and the local government.
SOME THOUGHTS: Seeing the children playing in waste water where I knew there was more than just tossed trash really hit me. I was told the problem of proper sewage disposal here has been a municipality problem for decades. For the poorest of the poor, they are last to be rescued, it seems! As I reflected on this problem here in Takut-Takut and in Suba, I reminded myself that tragically there are thousands of towns and villages around the world just like this -- kids playing in sewage and waste. What's worse is that it's ok with the world. Hello Bill and Melinda Gates!!!!! Hello world!!!
A lunch stop: Sanyang Multi-Purpose Cooperative, lunch with officers, members and beneficiaries. Sorry no photos. Formed in 1995 with Consuelo help and also help from UNICEF and Notre Dame of Jolo College Community Extension Service (several other funders came on board as well), the program is now self-reliant. Income from its credit and production services is enough to cover operational expenses. It has helped 2,000 Badjao families in 13 Badjao communities. It has 600 members, mostly Badjao, who have helped improve living and economic conditions with effective economic development.
A JOLO OF AN IMPRESSION:
Jolo is the center of operation of a number of Islamic insurgent groups and where decades of war between the Philippine goverment and separatist movements have kept this area the poorest in the Philippines. 10,000 Philippine troops are deployed here. They are everywhere indeed! In 1902, America sent troops here to attempt to quell a brewing rebellion. It took the US almost 15 years to "pacify" Muslim trouble spots in Jolo and other parts of Mindanao. This campaign became known as the Moro-American war.
NEWS FLASH (am writing this blog today, April 14, and just got this email from our Sulu consultant. How eerie since we were just in Jolo and I am just writing about the military presence!):
<<Very extensive fighting has broken out in Jolo between the MNLF and the military. We are still trying to assess the extent of the displacement on the civilian population. I am currently in Manila but will be leaving for Jolo on Tuesday.>> (News report said 2 Philippine Marines died and 1 child.)
On the road again.
Next stop: Bato-Bato -- Abu Sayyef once??? ruled here.
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