I have wanted to post photos of our stint in cagayan de Oro. But I took them with my new samsung galaxy y phone. Then it got lost in my office. sayang!
The pictures here have been taken by my second son's camera, and he did not have photoshots of the activity in the GK site. 
Our school linked with an NGO called Gawad Kalinga, an entity which believes that poverty is not caused by lack of resources but a lack of sharing of these resources.I was cynical about the whole thing at first but when I heard about that motto, I got sold out as I too believe that God has given us everything, only most people have a misconception about sharing. Many believe that only those who are blessed with more material possessions should share. But what is more? or what is less? A person may have a hundred pesos and feel so rich, or a person who has a million in the bank may feel so miserably poor. I have always told one child of mine who feels he is the least endowed of all his brothers: "You can always share if you want to. No matter how little you have, it is the willingness and the intention that counts."
We are all given gifts by God, and sometimes we do not realize or recognize them, and we go on asking for more, thinking that life has short changed us. As I grow older, I come to realize that I came into this world with nothing, and looking at me now, I realize how blessed I have been.
So I decided I should share and GK did not ask any of us for money, just our readiness to work, to help rebuild a section in CDO which recently was devastated by a flood. I have relatives there so I wanted to see how they were, although the one most affected had enough resources to rise from the catastrophe without so much help from others. So I went there with other faculty members and students. The experience was something new. Contrary to my expectations, we had no hotel accommodation. We were housed in an elementary school and we had no beds. For the first time in my life, I slept in a carton on the cement floor. The boat we boarded from Cebu to Cagayan de Oro had engine trouble, and instead of reaching CDO at 6:00 AM of April 9, we arrived there at 6:00 PM. We had to bear with another 12 hours in our economy class accommodation. It was during these waiting hours that I learned from my colleagues that we had to bring our beddings as these were not provided in most GK quarters. Well, I did not know that. So when we arrived there, I met with my son who was vacationing with his family in CDO in the biggest mall there. we had dinner with my daughter in law who had my graddaughter in two, then when I was reunited with my friends, I had time to shop for batik malong, the very versatile wrap around garment of the muslims. That protected me from cold that night as I lay on my cardboard mat on the floor.
My brothers in law who heard I was there invited me to spend the night with their families, but I could have easily yielded if I was not with a group. I even refused their offer to bring me beddings as it would not look good as others do not have the same comfort.
The men and the girls who worked reported that they were assigned to paiting newly constructed buildings by the GK. The school provided us with gloves and sleeves to protect us from the scorching sun.
The following day when the Iligan group left, I went over to Jojo and Paco's house and saw that they have completely recovered from the catastrophe. The room which I used last March when I was there on a seminar was no longer used as it was in the basement. It was their son's room, and I heard his medical books (as he is a medical student) were damaged by the waters. They still have computers, thank God and I borrowed one so I could compute grades. My son's ingenuity worked to my favor this time has he had insisted that I store my data in a drop box. So I I was able to finish the job on time.
I could have gone to the site and helped in painting buildings, but I preferred to stay in the headquarters to keep watch and be counted as one of the kitchen crew. But to be honest, I did not cook one bit of dish. There were enough hands to see to the chores in the kitchen.
On the third day my son arrived and as scheduled, I pulled him out from the group to meet with my two other sons to attend Ayesha's birthday party.
WE had a reunion of sorts, my three sons and I and the only granddaughter of the family( the other son is behind the camera). I missed my daughter and my husband, whom I knew I would be joining in Cebu two days later.
Although I went there for another purpose, the second purpose pleased me no end. I seldom meet with my son in Manila, and that event provided the opportunity to see him and his family and what more I was able to attend my granddaughter's first birthday party.
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