Today wasn't as exciting. I spent the day in the hotel sitting in front of my computer. I had work to do for my day job back in Cambodia, and we had some administrative stuff that needed to be taken care of. So, that's what I did...I wrote stories and sent pictures that will hopefully appear on the web in coming days, maybe in a future donor newsletter or some other publication in order to inspire people to give to our effort. I worked on a grant proposal to help our donor dollars go farther to reach more people.
Frankly, we can't do what we do without the grandma's that give from their pension fund; or the young families that have many expenses, but choose to donate to us anyway; or the individuals who have lost jobs in this recession but believe in the value of giving back so they give what they can. Any gift, no matter the size is valuable. If 1,000 people give $1, we have $1,000 dollars - which will feed a family for nearly 6 months. Or 1,000 people give $5 each, we'd have $5,000 -which could supply 200 households with hygiene kits. If 1,000 people gave $10 each, we'd have $10,000 - which would provide temporary shelter for 250 families. If 1,000 people gave $20 each, we'd have $20,000 - which could provide a water filter to a community that can provide clean water to 3,000 individuals a day. So, every gift matters. I've just shown you how gifts of $1, $5, $10 and $20 can make a difference in the world. The magic of multiplication!
The rest of the team went out to the field today. I'd rather be in the field.
Hanging around the hotel did have one benefit, I got to meet the staff. They had lots of questions about what we are doing here to help, what we've seen. At lunch I went in to the restaurant alone, but I wasn't alone for long. I had a steady stream of staff who had questions to ask. Eventually, I went upstairs to my room to grab my camera and show them a few pictures. If the other customers needed anything during my lunch hour, too bad, I had a captivated audience, and everyone, including the manager was neglecting their job. Instead, they were looking at pictures and asking questions.
They were amazed that there is still so much water. Where we are at in the city it is unbelievable that some people are neck deep in dirty water. They asked, "in your estimation, how long will the water remain?" (those were exact words, they speak fabulous English in the Philippines) I told them the estimates are that some areas will not be dry for another 3-4 months. They gasped, on girl said, "no, no, no" while shaking her head.
They laughed at the photos of all the Philippino's with smiles on their faces, posing for the camera. They said, "Philippino's love to take pictures!" They laughed at the ones who were clowning around for the camera. They commented that it is their culture to laugh and they were glad to see Philippino's still having fun.
When the others left one young lady remained to ask me more questions. Am I married? How does my husband feel about this kind of work? Do I have children? What does the Samaritan name mean? Coincidentally, on the front of the paper today they had a "good samaritan" story. I showed her how the name is the same and asked her if she had heard of the good samaritan before. She had not. I told her the story and how our ogranization started with this idea in mind. I told her it comes from the Bible, she could read it there if she is interested. She invited me to come back tomorrow. She told me she would be working the evening shift. If I am in the hotel before the restaurant closes, I will at least stop in and say, "hello."
I had a similar experience at breakfast and with the cleaning staff. I am glad I got to build some relationships on my day "in the office."
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