Phnom Penh Church of Christ

New country, new church, new family and friends.

We have been blessed with so many people united in two caused - helping the poor and being saved ourselves. The hearts of the disciples are awesome, you just feel like you've come home (even if you are here for the first time, and know no-one).

As with the Philippines, the sermons and teaching in takalog the local khmer is not much more understandable for a foreigner, but there is always someone who is on hand to translate. And the message stays the same wherever you go!

Welcome to Cambodia

First sights of Cambodia are promising. Another new airport, very swift immigration process.. and another surprise when trying to get some local currency - I am told not to. They use US dollars here as their main currency. Local rials exist, but you only get them as change.

Local country director for HOPE, Dan Liu picks me up and shows me around his new hometown. What a fascinating country, looking forward to learning more.

(Not) Lost In Transit

Early morning wake up call (really early, as I have to be at the airport at 5am). A few hours of sleep after the church service and a late night drive-around Manila trying to find a hotel to stay.. the only airport hotel was full so I ended up in a upscale "short stay" hotel, which actually worked well as I only had 4 hours to sleep anyway.

A three hour stop in Saigon, Vietnam (or Ho Chi Minh City - HCM City as they call it now). They are definitely moving here, if the new airport is anything to go by. The paint has not yet dried properly, but it looks fantastic and works really well too.

The Picture of the Day - Friday 14/12

HOPE Mobile Puppet Theater at Malabon

The Mobile Puppet Theater is a very effective and flexible way of reaching out to thousands of children, where they are and in a way they can relate, understand and remember.

This initiative focuses on creating awareness of child abuse - both physical and sexual - and teaches the children how to deal with: Say no, Run and Tell someone who you trust. Today 1300 primary school children at Malabon saw it in two performances.

Metro Manila Church Service

One of the pleasures of traveling is to have friends across the world. Tonight they took me first to Asia Mall to see the sunset and then to a Japanese place where I had Udo Sashimi - raw sea urching (abalone) nicely set on a peace of carved cucumber. Tastes lovely, but may not appeal to all tastes or sights.

After the dinner with hooked up with the local church, sang familiar Christmas carols in an unfamiliar language (takalog) and generally had good and uplifting time.

The Picture of the Day - Thursday 13/12

Center of Hope at Payatas

The Center of HOPE in Payatas provides a center point for the community around the dumpsite. They have a daycare and drop-in center, games and activities for the children and also professional counseling and therapy services for the local residents.

The Community on the Edge of the Landfill

The Barangay of Payatas is home to some 200 000 people. Several thousand of them are living on the actual dumpsite. The new development and the planned closure of the site next will require several thousand people to be relocated for another site twenty kilometers away.

Payatas - From Smoky Mountain to Green Hills

The big city dump and landfill site of Payatas is better known as The Smoky Mountain. This huge pile of rubbish has been accumulated over the last 35 years - and as Manila has grown, it's waste has piled up to heights topping 50 meters.

The Barangay of Payatas (local council) and the dump site management have enbarked on a vast transformation project to turn the site back to green, well managed land and are planning to close the site in 2008. Much has already been done, and more than half the mountains have been reshaped to gentler slopes, covered with two feet of thick clay soil and planted with hardy grass that grows roots five meters deep into the soil, thus tying it down. Explosive methane gassed are pumped through an extensive network of pipes to a new power plant that is estimated to generate 1MW of electricity - enough to power a thousand families!

Hat's off to the management and everyone involved in the project.

Picture of the Day - Wednesday 12/12

Room with a view on Baseco Pier (no wall though).

Center of HOPE in Baseco

The Center of HOPE in Baseco was the first built center in the Philippines. It was constructed from corrugated steel reclaimed from eight standard ship containers - very apt for the location and the way local people earn their living.

The center and its staff help the local community in many ways. They offer regular day care and training facilities, a drop in center and playing ground (the only one in Baseco, and open to everyone) and a host of childrens and adults counseling and therapy services. The more severe cases of of child abuse are often referred to the Laguna Center of HOPE, as it has very good facilities and more staff to concentrate on a single childs special needs and circumstances.

Children in Baseco

Baseco - Between the Sea and the City

The settlement of Baseco is home to 60 000 people, perched between the rough sea, the bustling city and going all the way next to the commercial container port. It has just recently started to be redeveloped into a more structured and serviced part of Manila. The city council is working with Habitat for Humanity to plan and build new modern homes to replace the shacks and squat occupying this former swamp wasteland.

Life is still hard here. Livelyhood meager, sanitation non-existent in the older parts and domestic problems abound. Both physical and sexual abuse of children is common. Not all the children have a school to go to, or any activities to attend.

Central Manila - Thriving Metropolis

With its colourful history under Chinese, Spanish, Japanese and American influence the capital city Manila has developed into thriving modern metropolis. Tall skyscapers adorn the skyline at Makati business center and new ones are popping up almost as often as in Dubai, Shanghai or Panama. The country is clearly embracing a bold new world, and one can easily feel it in this vibrant city.

It is also a city of contrast and some controversy. The main beach boulevard is flanked by an enormous container shipping port, and wherever there is a bit of unoccupied land it is soon claimed by thousands of people in search of a better life away from the poorer provinces. We will soon visit two of the main areas: Baseco just next to the port and Payatas near the humongous city landfill near Quezon City north of the business district.

Picture of the Day - Tuesday 11/12

Geography Lessons

Philippines one of the most active regions for volcanoes and earthquakes in the world. To see how volcanoes shape the environment, and better understand their raw and destructive power, We drove some 50km south of Laguna to Lake Taal and the Taal volcano. The lake itself is a vast crater, surrounded by more than 30 peaks. It has last erupted only couple of decades ago. The peak of the Taal volcano is in the middle of the lake, only accessible by funny looking filipino boats (nothing funny about the big engines or the way they are being driven!).

Once on the island, you first pay the government for your enjoyment, haggle down the ride to half of the original asking and jump on a tiny but hardy horse that takes you up some half a kilometre. An experience itself, but would suggest allowing the gravity work for you and hike down yourself.

The views are spectacular, and on the your return one can't but wonder about the force that lies beneath the surface still letting out a whiff of smoke and fumes in the crater.

Children at CoH Laguna

This is what it is all about - happy, active children who have received help. You would not believe their stories if you saw the children yourself. The value of the work is so evident in each of these little angels.