Living Leyte People Features: Paige Elizabeth Leslie, Humanitarian at Heart

Paige Elizabeth Leslie
AGE: 22
Originally from: Houston and Austin, Texas, USA

Paige has a heart for humanitarianism. In her 22 years of life she has participated in aid and volunteer work in 3 prominent global disasters  and they are: Hurricane Sandy which occurred in the United States eastern sea board, the most recent earthquake in Nepal and with us here in Tacloban City after Typhoons Haiyan and Ruby. By now she has become a seasoned humanitarian but I believe she is just getting started. This is her interview.

LL:  So Paige, can you tell us about the place and the vibe where you come from?
PEL: I’m from Houston, Texas. I grew up in a quiet and small suburbia called Sugar Land in Texas; it’s 20 minutes from downtown Houston. I don’t like it, it's cookie cutter, safe, a nice neighborhood. It’s great for when you are raising children, I understood why my parents raised us there but it’s not a good place for adulthood. When I got older I began to explore Houston more and I found it to be a very diverse city. I went to the University of Texas in San Antonio, then to Texas State University in a campus that's 20 minutes from the Austin city limits.
LL: I like Austin too, it’s like a culinary mecca of sorts; what’s the Southwest by Southwest Festival like?
PEL: It’s awesome, it’s a great time. All the bands play in the streets, the big band names and there are films being shown as well.

LL: What was your life like before you came?
PEL: I had already been working with All Hands as a volunteer for Hurricane Sandy.
LL: I understand this occurred in New York and New Jersey right?
PEL: Yes, we had sites in Staten Island and Brooklyn, we did rebuilding...
LL: Of houses?
PEL: Mainly basements.  The basements were flooded and we worked with "Resurrection Brooklyn" which is partnered with Red Cross, they funded the project we had.
LL: How many volunteers were there? And didn’t it happen during winter? 
PEL: There were about 400 volunteers in a period of 9 months. Yes, it was in the winter, it was brutal, it was very cold. I was also in Nepal these past 7 months, I had already come here to Tacloban to help after Typhoon Haiyan then I went with All Hands to Nepal. I was with a DAR (Disaster Assessment Relief) team, where we go and assess the damage incurred by disasters. After the initial assessment there, it was already very bad that we  had to help immediately. There are already 940 volunteers from All Hands in Nepal post earthquake, that number is changing as people get done with their volunteer work. .
LL: There was a second earthquake that occurred one week after after the initial one right? Can you tell us about that? You were already there for the 2nd one right?
PEL: Yes, the first one was 7.8 and the second one was 7.4. There were many aftershocks, we got used to it but then the 2nd one happened. We thought it was just one of the aftershocks but it was very extended and buildings began to shake harder, things were falling to the ground. We were at the roof top so we ran downstairs, we were told to stay indoors though because of the debris falling from the buildings. We were in Katmandu at the time, we couldn’t see the extent of the damage at first but as soon as we went outside, we saw  it, then we moved to Sindhupalchok where 90 percent of the place was destroyed.
LL: What are the Nepalese people like?
PEL: They are very sweet, they would help us with the things we would do, such sweet people.

LL: What's your impression of our place?
PEL: I have already been here since last year, but I’ve never met anyone like the people here.

LL: How could we improve as a people?
PEL: I guess, people could take better care of the environment.

LL: What pivotal moment made you choose to become a volunteer/aid worker?
PEL: After Hurricane Sandy, I just had to help. I was in school, I did 3 years of school but I have stopped for now and did volunteer and aid work. I have to do 1 more year of school though.

LL: Has your experiences here affected or changed you as a person? And do you think that your experience here will be useful for you in the future?
PEL: Being here made a very big impact on me. There was more of an obvious need here compared to New York. We were restoring and rebuilding basements in there but when I came, one could see that the need was more obvious.
LL: Yes indeed, after the typhoon loads of people had no houses at all.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, the political and religious upheavals between countries and ideologies, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you feel there is hope for the future of our planet?
PEL: Call me an optimist but things are constantly changing and people will help with the change, like in Nepal, new ideas have come up in building more earthquake-resistant structures.
LL: How so?
PEL: There is this new thing called “Earth Bags”; it’s new, but they are trying to do this now where they use bags filled with soil and they stack them until they are dense to make the wall. It makes the walls absorb more shock in the event of an earthquake because unlike concrete which is rigid, it breaks; whereas the walls with Earth Bags will sway and not break.
LL: Cool! Like the suspension bridges during earthquakes.
PEL: That’s the idea.

LL: Given an opportunity to resolve one global issue or conflict happening in the world right now,  which one would you take a gander at?
PEL: Homelessness and the way we treat mentally-ill people.
LL: Indeed this is a concern isn’t it? After Yolanda, there was an increase in the number of people who could not cope mentally, a lot of them bear the trauma of watching their loved ones drown or get taken by the water.
PEL: That’s so sad.

LL: Apart from volunteer work or being an aid worker, what’s the next best thing that makes you eloquent with words?
PEL: Swimming, volleyball, shows, concerts.

LL: What’s next for you?
PEL: I might take an extended break but I am not done with All Hands, I am very passionate about this organization and doing humanitarian efforts.
LL: Who founded All Hands?
PEL: A guy named David Campbell began All Hands. He started after the big  Southeast Asian tsunami that affected Thailand and Indonesia. 
LL: How many projects has All Hands been a part of from the beginning?
PEL: In the past 10 years, we have had 55 projects. 
LL: How impressive!

LL: We are about to get done but wanna play one-word-answer questions and Bonus Q?
PEL: OK.
Moon or Sun?  Sun
Monochrome or Colored?  Monochrome
Iceland or Australia?  Iceland
Fútbol or Football?  Soccer
Coffee or Tea?  Coffee
Eagle or Dolphin? Dolphin
Heels or Flats? Flats
Red or Blue: Blue
Beach or Shopping: Beach
Bonus Q: If you were given the power to spend 2 hours with someone who has passed on, who would it be and why?
PEL: Andy Warhol, because I would like to talk about his life in New York during the 60’s. I’d like to ask him about Edie Segdwick, the very first “It Girl." I like the pop art he did. I find that whole lifestyle interesting.

The things that Paige has gone through in the 22 years of her life is profound to say the least. Her good deeds done will leave memorable footprints for the many people she has touched and affected. It was an honor to talk to Paige, she has put many things on hold like her schooling, pursuit of a successful career, personal life and comforts for the sake of the stricken. That cannot be taken lightly at all, not by the New Yorkers, the Nepalese and the Filipinos who have seen her hands reach out to them in the time they needed it most. 

Thank you very much Paige.

Living Leyte People Features: Jo Ah Yow, Engagement Coordinator, All Hands

  Jo (R) and Moi from Living Leyte (L).

Joanna Ah Yow, 24
Originally from: Mauritius and has been living in Coventry, England, a graduate of Coventry University.

LL:  So Jo, Can you describe the place and vibe where you come from?
JAW: I originally came from Mauritius but I went to university in Coventry England, I have lived there for the past 4 years but when I finished I went back to Mauritius before coming here. Mauritius is multi-cultural, multi-racial, it’s a mixture of Chinese and Indians. It was colonized by the French then the British, the trade there was sugar cane, local rum made from sugar cane; tourism is big there because we have nice beaches, like the the one in Kalanggaman. It’s relaxing, it’s not a big city but traffic can become intense. Cuisine is mixed there, Chinese, street food, Indian food, one can find french bread in the shops for example. A majority of the population is of Indian origin. Hindu is the majority religion, the official language is English, Creole and French. My great granddad went to Mauritius when he was 17 years old and we are the 4th generation.

LL: What was your life like before you came?
JAW: As I said I went to school in Coventry University for 4 years. My major was in Disaster Management. When I finished I went back to Mauritius to catch up because it had been 2 years since I’d been back. I caught up with old friends, everything changes when I go back home.
LL: True, nothing stays the same.

LL: What's your impression of our place?
JAW: I love it here, I have been to the nice beaches, it’s not really the physical aspects of things, it’s the people, the people are respectful. Whereas back, home people swear.

LL: What pivotal moment made you choose to become a volunteer/aid worker?
JAW: A lot of it came from my parents’ influence, they are traditional Christians and I grew up with that. I volunteered with a Christian organization in England and I discovered that's what I like. Volunteering came along and it’s the obvious thing for me. This gave me a perspective that’s why I majored in Disaster Management and not engineering which is what I was planning on.
LL: How long can one volunteer?
JAW: It depends on the funds, I am lucky because my parents support me. I volunteered with All Hands and I am now an Engagement Coordinator.
LL: What does an Engagement Coordinator do?
JAW: It has anything to do with fund-raising, engaging the community with our organization.

LL: Has your experiences here affected or changed you as a person? And do you think that your experience here will be useful for you in the future?
JAW: Definitely. Example, I am so used to things like air-conditioning, shoes, nice clothes. Now I think twice about what’s important in life. I am less materialistic now.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, the political and religious upheavals between countries an ideologies, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you feel there is hope for the future of our planet?
JAW: Yes. I feel like if there’s no hope then we won’t bother but we can see that people volunteer for example and it restores faith in humanity.

LL: Given an opportunity to resolve one global issue or conflict happening in the world right now,  which one would you take a gander at?
JAW: The war in Syria, the refugee crises. I feel that if the main issue will be resolved then the surrounding issues will be resolved around it.

LL: Apart from volunteer work or being an aid worker, what’s the next best thing that makes you eloquent or effusive with words?
JAW: Music, acoustic guitar, My favorite song is “Superstition" by Stevie Wonder.

LL: What’s next for you?
JAW: We are going thru the end of February with the project. We’ve had collaborations with Street Light, CRS (Catholic Relief Services). I’m looking to go to Nepal and I heard of new people from another outfit dealing with refugees in Europe, I may join that.

LL: Wanna play one-word-answer questions and Bonus Q?
JAW: OK.
Moon or Sun?  Moon
Monochrome or Colored?  Colored
Iceland or Australia?  Australia
Fútbol or Football?  Soccer
Coffee or Tea?  Coffee
Eagle or Dolphin? Eagle
Bonus Q: If you were given the power to spend 2 hours with someone who has passed on, who would it be and why?
JAW: Nelson Mandela. I would talk to him about his life. He is just was an inspiration to so many people. I’ve been to South Africa and I knew about him growing up. 

LL: There's just one thing left, I need to take a photo of you.

Jo is reluctant but concedes and agrees to this but only if I am in the photo with her too. I guess this is not a bad bargain, after all she's done for the community. ;-) .  

Jo  obviously has this kind heart that extends towards us and I believe even further beyond. Jo, from all of us, Thanks very very much!

Living Leyte People Features: Hassan Adebayo Bello, One Happy Volunteer

Hassan Adebayo Bello  FB: Bayo Hassan Bello
AGE: 22
Originally from: Osun State, Nigeria, Currently lives in Dubai.

When I met Hassan, he was with his friend Costa in a coffee shop. The positive spirit that flowed from Hassan was obvious the moment he walked inside the room. His story as a volunteer is an atypical one. He visited Leyte without any intentions of becoming a volunteer at first, but after getting to know some of the other All Hands volunteers and learning about the need for helpers to build a structure somewhere in the Tagpuro area, Hassan rose up to the challenge. One really has to admire that.

LL: Hassan, can you describe the place and vibe where you come from?
HAB: I have been living in Dubai for some years now. Dubai is like a playground for young dreamers, because it’s a young country, the things that Dubai has achieved there within 10 years is amazing. Dubai as we know is rich in oil, however, it has diversified on to other ventures because in 10 years the oil will run out. It has become a tourist place, an important port around the region and a place of enterprise. Dubai has it’s flaws but it’s a nice city; the only way you can know it is by visiting it.
LL: My impression of Dubai is that no one can go there unless you have an exorbitant amount of money or unless you enter as a worker. But as a tourist, don’t they check if you have money to be able to afford your visit?
HAB: No,  you need money to travel but they don’t check your level of income or something, you’ll be OK there. There are places for the working class or low income earning people too and they are just as nice as the ones for the upper class. Like cute cafés or restaurants.

LL: What was you life like before you came?
HAB: I am a software programmer, our clients are those that need enterprise solutions and so on.

LL: What's your impression of our place?
HAB: To be honest, I barely knew about Tacloban before I came. I only knew from the news about the typhoon (Haiyan), I saw the news and I just had to get here. I just hooked up with All Hands when I arrived here. I was at the Yellow Doors (hostel) and a lady there Marielle Trixie suggested that we volunteer. I started to volunteer for just half a day but it ended up to be more. I saw the site where we worked and I saw buildings that were pretty new.

LL: What pivotal moment made you choose to become a volunteer/aid worker?
HAB: I saw the initiative of the other volunteers from All Hands. It’s very gratifying to see how the locals are and you can really see the gratitude by the people we do this for.

LL: Has your experiences here affected or changed you as a person? And do you think that your experience here will be useful for you in the future?
HAB: Certainly, I was looking at the videos and they are educating us about the typhoon and how the death casualty was really not just 6,000. We saw a video about this shop owner whose warehouse was looted and how she just allowed the people who were in need to go ahead and get what they needed. She also allowed her warehouse to be used for charitable purposes.

LL: Do you consider yourself as an activist or an advocate?
HAB: I am an activist because I put action into my words.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, the political and religious upheavals between countries an ideologies, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you feel there is hope for the future of our planet?
HAB: I do. I was in Magallanes St. and I saw shoes and stuff instead of corals on the sea shores but because of the things for example that All Hands that has done, there’s improvement, simple things that they have been done inspires you.

LL: Given an opportunity to resolve one global issue or conflict happening in the world right now,  which one would you take a gander at?
HAB: The problem of generalization.
LL: You mean prejudice or lack of education?
HAB: No, its generalization, for example, when people think that all Muslims are bad. I am reading a book right now called "Black Swan," in the book there is a black swan, it exists but is rare, just because you only mostly see white swans, that doesn’t mean black swans don’t exist. Another example is the typhoon; before the typhoon nobody knew that a typhoon of Yolanda’s magnitude would happen but it happened and because it did, it can bring about change. This can apply to religion and so on.

LL: Apart from volunteer work or being an aid worker, what’s the next best thing that makes you eloquent or effusive with words?
HAB: Extreme sports, mountain climbing, skydiving even though I cannot swim. And also BoSfit videos (extreme workout videos). 

LL: What’s next for you?
HAB: I’ll go back to Dubai to my work, I still have one more subject to finish at university.

LL: Wanna play one-word-answer questions and Bonus Q?
HAB: Sure.
Moon or Sun?   Sun
Monochrome or Colored?   Colored
Iceland or Australia?   Iceland
Fútbol or Football?   Soccer
Coffee or Tea?   Tea
Eagle or Dolphin?  Eagle
Bonus Q: If you were given the power to spend 2 hours with someone who has passed on, who would it be and why?
HAB: Anne Frank. She was only 8 years old when the events in her diary happened and for her to think like that, I mean other kids were only perhaps thinking about hula hoops. She is one I could easily identify with. The hardships she experienced.

The interview has now come to a close and it was admirable to see Hassan and Costa because they were both open and very enterprising. Indeed I may not see them again but I know I will not forget this encounter or this kindness given to us by these gents that they would volunteer their efforts for people they don't know.

Hassan and Costa, thanks for all your efforts.

Living Leyte People Features: Jaime Martín Grau, Hardworking Volunteer from Spain

Jaime Martín Grau
Age: 24

From: Barcelona, Spain
Currently going to a university in Denmark where he is majoring in Architecture/Engineering and Law

I met Jaime in a coffee shop where he would hang out in between his volunteer work. I found him to be warm and affable. Very engaging not just in conversation but also with life. It was inspiring to see a young man be very committed with helping people he’s never met and are not familiar with. All these were palpable throughout the interview.

LL: How did you start off with volunteering?
JMG: I did volunteer work at home with the homeless, the elderly and people without families but that was when I was very young, then I wanted to do something else.  At University, I became a member of an architect NGO made up of students but we were not able to do a lot and we didn’t have tools;  I also wanted to do volunteer that had to do with my home in Spain and I wanted to help in the poor countries. In Barcelona, I was working in a “Comidor Socíal” a kitchen not necessarily for homeless people but also for people who were down and out; you could see that some of those people just fell on hard times, they were embarrassed to be there.  Also with my grandmother, she had Alzheimer’s disease, she was in a home for old people, we got involved easily, me and my sisters, it came naturally for us. We took our grandmother home to live with us and we when we saw that there were other elderly people in the care home who didn’t have families that could take care of them the way we did our grandma, we helped in the old people’s home. 

LL: What made you decide to volunteer in our place?
JMG: In April, during the earthquake in Nepal, I wanted to go there but I couldn’t  because there were already a lot of volunteers helping, so  I asked my university  some time off to do volunteer work, but after internet research I couldn’t find an outfit with which to volunteer. I needed to go somewhere, so I went to visit Cuba for the break that I had, I also visited Central America. I researched about Latin and South America but I couldn’t find any for which to volunteer, I didn’t know where to go.   I did more research in the internet, then I remembered Yolanda (Haiyan), the typhoon in the Philippines, the faces of the people, it came to my mind and I found "All Hands” (NGO) and I saw that they were doing the rebuilding phase;  All Hands has been here for 2 years already and there were projects for  building  houses, many volunteer outfits were here only for the emergency phase, but All Hands has been here for the rebuilding.  I also wanted to continue with the human experience.  I was disillusioned in a way with plainly doing architecture because I didn’t just want to work in an office.

LL: How would your field of work connect with doing good in the world?
JMG: I really believe that architecture will improve the people’s living condition. These points are connected, people need to live in a place that is healthy for them, they have to be careful with that and they need to live in a place that is comfortable  and they should have dignity with their home; it has to have proper conditions that they can live as a human, not as an animal. When I saw this in Tacloban, it was a match for me, it had the need for rebuilding as well as an element of humanity.

LL: How was your volunteer work for Samar and Leyte? How did you find the people?
JMG: I think people are doing good. In my goodbye speech for All Hands when my time to volunteer was up. The biggest thanks that I have is for the people I’ve met. There is really something about this word “resilience” here in the Philippines. People have been through so much but they carry on, they continue.  During the 2nd anniversary, there was this candle lighting, I saw people who were sad but I also saw people who were positive, they gave candles for the dead. I saw this old lady, who wanted to talk to me, she was happy. I asked her why she was happy? She said "the bad things are gone now, the city is even looking better, there were many people who helped and it was good." I think the people are positive and want to move on. This is also connected with my own life personally. One of the mottos of All Hands is "rebuilding lives", not just homes. It made me admire the positivity of the people, they are thankful with what we do for them. Sometimes people don’t understand that being a volunteer, one does not earn while volunteering. But they are thankful.

LL: Has your experience here given you more desire to volunteer?
JMG: Of course, because volunteering makes you learn many things. How to work with the city, with different people, different cultures. I have seen nature destroy but I also have seen how people can rebuild. And I learned many things. I will volunteer again.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, there are political and religious upheavals between countries, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you feel there is hope for the future of our planet?
JMG: Thanks to the social media and the internet there is more information within the people, so that the population are more able to criticize their own governments, they are able to say “ you don’t represent us” to the leaders of their country. The panorama right now for the world is bad but there will be pressure from all over the world. Syria for example, the government was using the lack of education of people; they should be more proactive though, especially the rich countries. They should be more involved. In connection with this when the time comes, I want to help rebuild Syria, just because the conflict is manmade, doesn’t mean we should not help. When I am talking about hope I am not being unrealistic, don’t just say "everything is sh—" ; you need to face the truth and do something about it. I have been lucky with travel, I have been in 55 countries in my 24 years. I have seen many things, poverty, disasters, dictators, I don’t trust the media on how they influence us. The best education is to see it with our own eyes. Example Iran, it was surprising , we have a bad perception about Iran but in terms of the people, they are the most amazing people you will ever meet - The Persian people. How cynical we are, but when you travel you are able to understand. I really have hope in young people because they are saying a lot now. Social media helps them to express that. It’s still far in terms of connection but with the leadership, it’s about the power struggle, the youth is now saying to their governments “You don’t represent me, this is not the government/country that we want.”

LL: Are you an activist or an advocate?:
JMG: Advocate. I am not militaristic.

LL: Given an opportunity to resolve one disaster or conflict going on in the world right now,  which one would you take a gander at?
JMG: I would show the reality of the the guns, I would show them that the people who are behind guns are people, like co-workers. I would build more schools instead of guns.

LL: Do you still find time for your personal life after all the travels and volunteering?
JMG: Yes, yes i do.

LL: What’s next for you? Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
JMG: I am also studying law, I don’t want to be a lawyer for the sake of being one, but it (law) is important for everything. I am interested in human rights, people’s lives, if I make good with engineering and architecture then I also want to help improve people’s human rights, to improve dignity.  In university, I had this paper about helping the slums in India, in terms of architectural and things that will improve lives.

Jaime did volunteer work in Leyte and Samar for 3 months, he helped build and rebuild homes in Leyte and helped rebuild  schools in Hernani, Samar. After his work in the Philippines, he will take a break and go back to the university to finish his studies in Denmark.

From all of us, thank you Jaime.

Living Leyte People Features: Sian Mackey aka The Duchess

NAME: Sian Mackey
AGE: 30
Originally from: Brighton, UK
Position held prior to doing volunteer work: Traveler

Sian, is at times called “The Duchess”, and because of her larger than life presence, we’ll call her that. The Duchess has a constant smile on her face and that joie de vivre that we only wish we have for ourselves. I bet, everyone wants to be her friend and us Taclobanons are most grateful for her advocacy and her efforts for gracing us with her hard work and efforts in helping to rebuild our community.

LL: Sian, (pronounced ‘Sean') you have an unusual name, where does it come from?
SM: It’s Welsh.
LL: And your last name?
SM: It’s Scottish.
LL: Those two heritage of yours are pretty strong.
SM: Yeah, yes they are!

LL: Can you describe where you come from?
SM: I come from Brighton, it's like London by the sea, it’s young, vibrant, lots of clubs, bars.  It’s a fun place to be. There’s no place I’d rather live in England.

LL: What was your life like before you came?
SM: I’ve been traveling for 2 years now, I worked in farms in Australia, a banana farm, worked in a cattle station and in a farm for beans where I washed the green beans.

LL: So, what’s your impression of our place?
SM: I love Tacloban, I love the Philippines, people are friendly and loving all the time, I feel like I’m Lady Gaga (laughs), because there’s not a lot of white people here. After the horrible disaster, people are still very happy, they have managed to build up. 

LL: What pivotal moment made you choose to become a volunteer/aid worker?
SM: I’ve volunteered for charities in the past in England. Helping out elderly people, there is a program there where they pair you with old people who cannot go out and you spend time with them. I have this older woman I visited and we have become best friends she’s so lovely I’d sit and talk to her, she would love it. I’ve been away for 2 years now so I e-mail her and her son reads the letters to her. A friend of mine introduced me to All Hands and that’s how I got to volunteer.

LL: Has your experiences here affected or changed you as a person? And do you think that your experience here will be useful for you in the future?
SM: In the western world we are just all consumers and we  waste too much,  we don’t need all the things that we have, yet, people here don’t even have a bathroom or a bed, but are still happy. The kids play this game where they hit cans with their flip flops and they are more happy.  Kids in the west have things like iPhones, video games and so on.

LL: I am happy that we have that impression on foreigners, and since nobody is perfect, what are the ways you think we can improve? I myself realize that a lot of garbage is thrown all over the place.
SM: Yeah, there are trash all around. 
 
LL: Are you an activist or an advocate?
SM: Activist, yeah.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, the political and religious wars between countries, ideologies, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you feel there is hope for the future of our planet?
SM: Yeah! we always come back, I mean look at this place, this is an example.

LL: Given an opportunity to resolve one global issue or conflict happening in the world right now,  which one would you take a gander at?
SM: Terrorism, it’s a big problem. I mean why would you kill?

LL: Apart from volunteer work or being an aid worker, what’s the next best thing that makes you eloquent or effusive with words?
SM: Fiction stories mainly, I write fiction stories, mostly about dreams. I write a journal at times, my dreams give me ideas for things to write.

LL: What’s next for you?
SM: I will keep traveling, I am going to Hong Kong, and  I want to go back to Australia. I also want to help with all Hands in Detroit (Michigan), there has been bad flooding there. Next year I plan to live in Germany.

LL: I have a few one-word-answer questions I want to ask you, you must choose one answer from the choices and you are not allowed to explain why. Shall we have a go at it?

SM: Yeah!

FEMALE:
Moon or Sun?  Sun
Monochrome or Colored?   Colored
Flats or Heels?   Flats
London, New York or Paris?  London
Beach or Shopping?  Beach
Coffee or Tea?   Dahling, I drink nothing but tea!
Eagle or Dolphin?  Dolphin

Obviously, The Duchess is the quintessential modern English girl, she has claimed royalty, awesome hair, loves tea and has a free spirit. As Sian heads to her succeeding adventure beginning tomorrow, we are thankful for all that she has done for us, we are touched by that exuberant life that emanates from her. I can also see that her life may be more interesting than so many of the fiction books we read.

Sian, from all of us, thank you.

Living Leyte People Features: Amy Marshall, Field Coordinator, All Hands

Amy Marshall
45 years old
Originally from: California, also lived in Washington State, Michigan, Switzerland and Hong Kong
Position held prior to coming to Leyte: Worked as a program director for a treatment center and a teacher for teenagers; taught Math and Science, History and English

No nonsense + Big heart + latté lover = Awesome Amy Marshall

LL: Amy, can you describe where you come from?

AM: I come from California, in Sonoma which is north of SanFransisco, it's wine country with vineyards and good food. I am a connoisseur of food, the biggest wine makers there are Kendall Jackson and Korbel the champagne.
There’s a rivalry between Napa (Valley) and Sonoma, there’s a bumper sticker that says,  “Napa makes auto parts and Sonoma makes wine.” I also love Truckee, Ca, my parents have a cabin there, at the north of Tahoe.

LL: What’s your impression of Tacloban?

AM: I was amazed by how warm and welcoming this culture is. I was shocked when I arrived here at first with the tent city.  I didn’t understand the gravity of Yolanda before coming over, just seeing the people 6 months after the disaster and still living in tents, that impacted me. I was in Bohol since Febuary 2013, I remember being struck by the street signs that said “need food.” When I got here, it was worse. We were doing deconstruction in Bohol but then I saw in Anibong some people were living inside the ships, rebuilding their homes among the debris. They did warn us that we could find bodies when we began rebuilding (the community).

LL: What pivotal moment made you choose to become a volunteer/aid worker?

AM: Growing up in Hong Kong, I would travel to different places.  I remember seeing poverty being a child, so I wanted to help people that needed help. With volunteering, the biggest fear for me was the “unknown,” but once I took the first step, I went for it, I had a 2-month vacation from work and I was going to be here as a volunteer for 6 weeks, but during the 4th week I sent my resignation from my work and decided to stay longer. I had volunteered for 11 months and I am now an aid worker, a field coordinator with All Hands.

LL: Why did you choose to volunteer in our place? 
AM: I had been following All Hands for 5 years already. When the news about Typhoon Haiyan came, I saw on television, I sent an application to All Hands and they gave me preference whether to volunteer in Bohol or Leyte so I went to Bohol, the project was finished by June 30th and they asked us of we would come to Leyte, so I came along with 15 other volunteers.

LL: Has your experiences here affected or changed you as a person? And do you think that your experience here will be useful for you in the future? 
AM: Yes, I often wonder how I will adjust back because I have been living here for 20 months now. I have only bought a shirt and a pair of shorts, this shorts I am wearing is a hand me down. I’ve become very appreciative, when I went back to the US last July, I saw the material things that everyone has and I thought it wasn't necessary. One thing I find, along with all the people I volunteer with - we are humbled by the people here who are resilient, positive, have a smile and they mean it. It’s sweet, it makes me appreciative of things, it’s inspiring to me. And when people at home says to me. “Oh what you are doing is selfless," I feel they don’t understand; it feels like I am not doing a lot really.
A couple of things I do for the new volunteers who did not see this place when it was bad here is  I orient them on how it was and show them how resilient this community is.
Sometimes we go to the communities; for example one time we played "Duck Duck Goose” with kids, the mothers who were watching join in too and after this round of game, one mother said “For a minute I forgot about Yolanda.”

LL: Are you an activist or an advocate?  
AM: I think I would say I am an advocate.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, the political and religious wars between countries, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you feel there is hope for the future of our planet?  
AM: I know that there are so many horrific things that are happening (in the world) and that’s why I decided to stay here so that I can help. With what little I can do I hope there is a ripple effect of good that comes out of it and I hope it will become bigger.
 
LL: Of course, we must never underestimate the power of one. In connection with this, given an opportunity to resolve one disaster or conflict going on in the world right now,  which one would you take a gander at? 
AM: Before working with All Hands I was monitoring the water problem of the world closely, 1 billion people are affected by the lack of good water. Women and children are affected, some kids who are not able to go to school because they have to walk for 4 hours to fetch water and it’s not even drinkable water at that. This organization called Charity Water (set up by Scott Harrison), I saw him speak, he's set up where your donation goes directly to digging for wells, there’s transparency in the reports and he mentioned that not a lot of people donate to this cause.

LL: Apart from volunteer work or being an aid worker, what’s the next best thing that makes you eloquent or effusive with words?  
AM: My 7 nieces and nephews, spending time with them, whether playing with them at the beach, camping, just spending time time with w/ them.

LL: What’s next for you Amy? 
AM: I actually will take a break, I am going home for Christmas, you know, my mom turned 75 in July of this year, I surprised her by going there, not letting them know I was going. Now it’s my father’s birthday, I think when I am there I’ll know a little bit more about whether we will extend our work here, I know we have a project in Nepal, and another one in Malawi, but I don’t know if that project will still be there. I love living in a community, I would love to travel the Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, I visited Thailand last year.

LL: I have 7 one-word-answer questions I want to ask you, you must choose one answer between the choices and you are not allowed to explain why. Shall we have a go at it?
AM: Okay.
Moon or Sun?   Sun

Monochrome or Colored?  Colored

Flats or Heels?  Flats

London, New York or Paris?   Paris

Beach or Shopping?    Beach

Coffee or Tea?   Coffee

Eagle or Dolphin?   Dolphin
Bonus Q: Star Trek or Star Wars?   Star Wars

As I conclude my interview with Amy, I am amazed by her, she is indefatigable. She’s been here for 20 months now and has remained committed the whole time. I mention to her that many people would have already up and left and relinquished the duties. But despite the challenges of not having a comfortable bed to sleep at night,  a decent shower, proper laundry, the food she's been used to, she’s still here and is determined to see all these through. Amy takes it all in stride. How is it that for everything that she’s done, she still remains humbled. Perhaps this is what the real thing is made of. 

Amy, we are very honored for all you’ve done. From all of us: thank you.