Alimsog

---

Alimsog is one of those experiences that will be hard to describe with words. I can attempt but I am not sure I will do it justice. We arrived at this village a little less than 2 weeks ago to help fix the roofs on their school, help them rebuild their fishing boats and help with any other tasks at the school. I volunteered to go with the first round of volunteers even though I was a little hesitant to go. Alimsog is a village of about a 1,000 people and the only way in and out of the town is by boat or a very steep path over 3 huge hills. We took a Jeepney 30 miles to Buhatan and then traveled by boat the rest of the way. The first day was really physically demanding because we had to bring in all of the tools, supplies and building materials. This required bringing them by Jeepney, then by boat and carrying everything 400 meters through the village to the school. Once everything was unloaded we said good bye to the rest of the group who had come to help us set up the project. As I stood on the shore watching the boat fade into the distance, I got that uneasy feeling in my stomach—what have I done? But then I turned around to find 20 or so kids watching us and a sense of calm came over me. They didn’t know quite what to do with the 6 Westerners that had invaded their town. Some of them may not have even seen a white person before. I started a game of tag because most of the kids have been enjoying it and its an easy way to get them to warm up to you. It was all over after that—these children stole my heart. Soon I became Ate Emilie (Big Sister) and I was greeted every morning by their smiling faces and during recess they would stand beneath the roof and just watch us. We stayed at Edna’s house with her and her three children. It was a really interesting and fun experience to stay with a Filippino family and really get to know what their everyday life is like here. They have no electricity or running water but Edna’s house is the hot spot for “video-oke” powered by a generator. It was some of the worst karaoke I have ever heard but it was often entertaining and everyone was having a great time. After awhile I could even fall asleep with it blasting through the house. I stayed for 3 nights at a time and then returned to the house in Santo Domingo for a quick break and everytime I left it was very hard to say good bye to the children but it made it even more special when I returned. There was nothing better than pulling up to shore to see a group of those smiling faces waiting for your return. Everything is loud and sometimes crazy in Santo Domingo but there is something so peaceful and quiet about Alimsog. The people here have opened up their small community to a bunch of strangers and embraced us. The kids here are so full of love and affection. They write us notes and want to hear all about our lives in America. They wrote us cute Valentine Day cards. Some children speak English so well and some ramble to us in Bicol but all are so eager to interact with us. I had my last day in Alimsog yesterday and it was very hard to leave everyone. For the last two days we painted the walls that we had put up in the school and then let each child put a green handprint on the wall. Some of them had never painted before and it was a great way to get them involved in the project. It was a special final touch to the school project and nothing beats the smiles that these kids had on their faces. They could not believe that I was going to let them put paint on their hands and then let them put their hand on the wall! In the end we put up 5 walls, and put a roof on 6 classrooms and helped with over 30 fishing boats. Life is Alimsog is simple, unique, but sometimes difficult. Many are embarrassed by their homes because they are ashamed of their poverty. But they have created a beauty in the community that is more beautiful than any place I have come across in America. The people of Alimsog are kind, generous, hard working and enjoying the simplicity of life. They deal with all the hardships that have been thrown their way—their resiliency astounds me. There are never ending thank-yous but it is the people of Alimsog that I should thank for teaching me about the beauty of the simple life!

---