Due to the typhoons we experienced the past months. Many houses were partially ruined in our community. One of those houses is the house of an old couple who are also our brother and sister in faith. Our organization proposed to rebuild them a new home but before constructing one, their old house should be totally demolished and the site must be cleared before the construction of a new house begins. During the previous days, we also helped the old couple in relocating their things another house which they are renting while the work is ongoing. This is actually the last day of clearing out the site so we really got a lot of work to do.
Other would pay for labor to do such tasks and just rely on men power. But in our organization, volunteer work is encouraged and regardless of your gender and age as long as you are above 18 years old and has a heart a volunteering you are welcome to help. We are always reminded by our organization on the value of giving and helping others not just financially but even with our physical strength. We are also trained and assigned tasks which are appropriate to us and which we could be able to do. There is no pressure but purely fun and joy. What I love the most is learning carpentry skills which other thought only men could do. Yet, through this projects which enables all gender to volunteer, I get to learn skills and be able to help others. And yes, I already have had many experience in this kind of construction volunteering especially after calamities.
The boys in our group worked in removing the remaining parts of the house while the girls worked in pulling off the nails from woods for safe handling and storing it in safe area.
We also helped in putting down the old posts of the house which was really kind of intense and exciting. Of course, we were advised to observe safety precautions while working and even reminded to wear safety gears like gloves and hard hat. I really enjoyed our task of removing nails from wood. It is not easy to remove the nails from hard wood but still I enjoyed it specially doing it along with friends.
The old couple also prepared snacks for us. For our morning snack, we ate binignit or coconut milk with glutinous rice. It is one famous snack in Visayas region. It was sweet and yummy. In the afternoon, we were given cupcakes and our favorite bangus chip. We were grateful for the snacks they provided, but whether there is snack or non we are happy to serve for free. There are more of us girls in the site but I feel so proud of the strength each of us rendered and have shown for completing a day's work.
After the work, we also took time to take group pictures and played an action game.
It was tiring but I really had a great time!
Photos are mine and edited with Canva.