Open Hands service trip to Manila

These are some of the photos of our activities from our service trip to Manila. From playing basketball with the kids to dancing with them, it was an unique experience to see how their life differed from ours. Hopefully, these kids will benefit from our aid and and the resources that we provided for them. 

Interview with Cherry

 

 

 

Open Hands Service Trip Day 2 (June 19)

     From nine in the morning to six in the afternoon, our schedule was packed. Our first destination, where we would spend the majority of the day, was a small village called Apia. As soon as we arrived, we were given the task to make bread. We all thought making bread would be busy, as it only involved a single step of rolling the dough into a circle. However, we struggled with shaping the dough, even the mothers. After a while, some of us got the hang of it and although our muscles started to ache, we continued to give our best, thinking about the smiles on the children who would eat the bread. We made approximately 200 servings of bread, which we later served to the village kids.

     Before lunch, we still had two tasks to complete. First, we had to help clean the filters that were part of the water kits made by Open Hands. The water kits were previously installed by Open Hands before our trip, so our mission was to clean out the filter. We stopped by two houses and efficiently cleaned the filters by using a syringe and made sure that the drinking water was safe. Our second task was to help explain and give 'Lumir K' lamps to the village people. This lamp is generated solely through oil, preferably kerosene, and is extremely useful to villages without electricity. 

     

     After lunch, we played with the village children. We taught them the song and dance from Day 1, played Duck Duck Goose and Jenga, had conversations, and ended with handing out bubbles. During this time, we were simply glad to be able to be part of their lives, even if it was only for an hour. 

     We said our goodbye's to the children in Apia Village and drove to our last destination of the day and entire trip, Bangyat Village. At this village, we taught several kids how to play basketball and helped out with feeding. Again, we poured porridge into small bowls and gave out pieces of candy. 

  

     Although we were exhausted by the end of the trip because of our busy schedule, we were all glad that we could help the different villages and was overall, a humbling experience. We walked away from the villages blessed by the love and genuine joy shown by the children and although the trip only lasted two days, it was truly an unforgettable two days. From what we experienced and witnessed, the Ecosave Club wishes to help these environmentally polluted areas and underprivileged children by raising funds back in South Korea. 

By Soo Lee

Open Hands Service Trip Day 1

    We have actively been sponsoring Open Hands and through them, we were introduced to Cherry and her difficulties of teaching in such an underprivileged environment. After hearing her story, four members of the Ecosave Club - Soo Lee, Daniel Kim, Justin Chung, Cindy Kim - traveled to the Philippines full of excitement, ready to serve the community and help Cherry.

    First, we went to Cherry's village and watched her teach math to the local children. The children, around 60 of them, were chaotic yet eager to learn. Following Cherry's math lesson, we taught a simple dance and thankfully, each and every one of the children were jumping up and down and having fun. We also handed out bubbles for the children to play with. To provide the children a better learning environment, we gave out school supplies such as whiteboards, notebooks, pens, pencils, and crayons. By the time we were done handing out the materials, everyone was hungry and it was time for feeding. We helped out by pouring porridge into small bowls and filled up their stomachs. 

  Then we drove down to Cherry's house and met a few other kids. She talked about how she was struggling to properly educate the underprivileged kids due to economic difficulties and a lack of resources. We learned that many children could not access proper public schools since they were not able to receive their birth certificates. We had the opportunity to interview her and ask a few questions regarding her life. Overall, Cherry showed us great hospitality and it was a humbling experience to witness how she went through her daily life.