donated boats: a boon for illegal logging activities
By Richard Kochoa, PT, MD
When the team of HELP for Peace first set out to make boats for the survivors of supertyphoon Yolanda, we considered all possibilities for its production and distribution. Before we started, the stories about the plight of fishermen never took shape as gripping as that of slaves from centuries ago. Once we made our way to their islands and houses the project of building boats, the reality of a quasi-feudal system grips the lives of countless fishermen everyday. Building a better means of living becomes more noble as these boats may unshackle the grip of modern slavery in the high seas.
The project was meant to make positive changes in the lives of people and the families they care for. Fishermen, nets-menders, dried fish vendors, and others in isolated communities too small that you can count every head before the noonday sun sear your scalp.
Read more about Donated Boats and Illegal Logging here.
When the team of HELP for Peace first set out to make boats for the survivors of supertyphoon Yolanda, we considered all possibilities for its production and distribution. Before we started, the stories about the plight of fishermen never took shape as gripping as that of slaves from centuries ago. Once we made our way to their islands and houses the project of building boats, the reality of a quasi-feudal system grips the lives of countless fishermen everyday. Building a better means of living becomes more noble as these boats may unshackle the grip of modern slavery in the high seas.
The project was meant to make positive changes in the lives of people and the families they care for. Fishermen, nets-menders, dried fish vendors, and others in isolated communities too small that you can count every head before the noonday sun sear your scalp.
Read more about Donated Boats and Illegal Logging here.
[Attempts at] Redeeming Paradise: Notes of a Haiyan Relief Volunteer
The medical mission team working in the Municipality of Madredijos, Bantayan Island.
The first time I wrote about Haiyan (local name Yolanda), I was writing as an observer, a Filipino who has seen the damage of Haiyan only through pictures and video clips shown on TV or in the internet. Now I write as an involved person. During the last week of November, I was given the opportunity to join in a Relief Operation/Medical Mission for the victims of Haiyan in Bantayan Island, Cebu, Philippines.
The team for the mission consisted of 3 doctors, 3 nurses, 5 nuns, and a support staff all aiming to bring relief supplies and medical aid (and hope!) to Haiyan-hit areas in the island of Bantayan. This is a chronicle of what I have seen in the areas we visited, of my experiences as a first-time volunteer in a relief ops/medical mission, and of the entire spectrum of emotions I felt in my participation in this mission.
READ MORE HERE about the experience of a volunteer from HELP for Peace reaching out to the survivors.