Living Leyte People Features: Jayson Alexander Carr, All Hands Volunteer

Jayson Alexander Carr
AGE: 22
Originally from: California, USA
Position held prior to coming over to the Phillipines: Graduated in May of 2015, worked under a government contractor company cleaning up after the Avian Flu epidemic in the US for USDA.
 
One would need to do a double take on Californian Jayson Alexander Carr because he could very easily pass for Liam Helmsworth with a beard right? But make no mistake, this gentleman is worth his weight in California gold because of his big heart. Jason volunteered here in the Philippines because to put it in his own words, he wasn’t happy not doing anything at home in a humanitarian sense. This is his interview. 

LL: Can you describe the place and vibe where you come from?
JAC: I come from Orange City, California, a suburb, I live in a track home or a cookie cutter home where everything looks the same, it’s a  small, safe and nice little bubble of a neighborhood. 

LL: What was your major in college?
JAC: I majored in psychology.

LL: What was your life like before you came?
JAC: I was the intermediary between contractors and the government, we were in place to make sure there was no over charging of equipment and services. Life was great, my parents provided for everything, I had a private catholic education. I had plenty of opportunities to take. Living in Southern California, the weather is amazing, there’s the ocean, it has a relax feel.

LL: What's your impression of our place?
JAC: I was in Manila first, then when I came to Tacloban, there was this welcoming party of the porters who would clap (a rhyme) and bid us welcome. When I arrived, the sun was just rising, the fishermen were already out to sea. It was a great welcome. I find that the shops are distinguishable, the sari-sari shops, it’s redundant but it makes sense. I’d never seen the living conditions I have seen here, I visited in the coastal towns and to see so much trash… I saw toilets that are on the beach with kids just playing underneath it. It doesn’t make sense to me why there’s poop where you play. I also saw these signs on some barangays which said, “this is a public feces-free barangay,” I didn’t understand why the sign was even there. The way I see it, you start with a clean bedroom, your begin and end the day somewhere clean, then you extend this to your entire house, then your neighborhood, then your community.

LL: How can we improve our place and as a people in general?
JAC: Knowledge on cleaning up trash.

LL: What pivotal moment made you choose to become a volunteer/aid worker?
JAC: I heard about All Hands from a friend who went to Nepal, also a big reason was that I never traveled, and I think when you travel and make a home in a place, it would involve you in making a place better. Also, I am a huge follower of humanitarian efforts. Personally, I wasn’t happy, I was only sitting at home.

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?
JAC: It has definitely helped me because it has actualized an idea I had with traveling. I didn’t know what I could do with my own hands. Regarding NGOs, you get ideas about how to do work and coming into All Hands, it’s different because you are doing labor, though I was expecting more locally sourced help, I didn’t realize the projects would take the whole day for the team.

LL: Are you an activist or an advocate?
JAC: I’m an advocate. I spread the knowledge that way.

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?
JAC: Yes, I feel it in myself, everyday when I can control myself. Then I know that someone else can control their own selves. For me, there’s empathy out there, every human has the same biological grain and if i can do it, it’s possible for someone on the opposite end to do it too, if there’s a little hope than theres hope for the general sense. If you can do it in your way then anybody can do it.

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?
JAC: The refugee crises in Syria through Europe.

LL: Apart from volunteer work or being an aid worker, what’s the next best thing that makes you eloquent or effusive with words?
JAC: Reading and writing, I like essays, I write from the stream of consciousness because that’s what people are, that’s why I studied psychology.
LL: What have you written?
JAC: Letters to people, essays from my own stream of consciousness.

LL: What’s next for you?
I have a flight booked to Vietnam and I will go to the Northern province to teach English in Hagiang (pronounced Hazhing), then I will go back home to pay my student loans and I want to help in the Syrian refugee crises.

LL: Wanna play one-word-answer questions and Bonus Q?
JAC: 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?
JAC: Earnest Hemingway, I just want to know how did it, how he get there, what made him write what he wrote. I’m not even sure if I can say anything, it will be more like he will be the one who would talk and I listen. 
LL: Good choice.

As we conclude the interview, we wish Jayson all the best in the world and all his endeavors. What a fortuitous circumstance that we first got to know him while he was extending himself to us in such a selfless way. 

Jason, from all of us, Thank you very much!

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: 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.

Living Leyte People Features: Marinel Valentini, Aid Worker, All Hands

Marinel Valentini, 28
From: Milan, Italy
Status prior to volunteering: Social Media Officer for a website service in London, UK

This lady I spoke with has an exuberant spirit wherein her humanity, sense of hope and beauty spills over. She has been in our town for over a year now touching people’s lives via volunteer work and giving of herself tirelessly. She is Marinel Valentini, A staff member for the non-governmental organization “All Hands” which has helped in rebuilding  homes and lives for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan as well as the Earthquake victims in Bohol.

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

MV: I came from a large city in Italy, I've always lived in a city, always been a city girl, not used to open spaces or nature. I was fortunate enough to be an exchange student in Illinois for 8 months, Highland Il., so I saw what it’s like living in the middle of nowhere.
I went to the Goldsmith University of London to do my master’s in producing musical theatre. After having been there I needed to explore the world. Then I came here to the Philippines.

LL: What does a musical theatre producer do?
 

MV: The producer is responsible for the behind the scenes for a musical, logistics, coming up with the set, auditioning the cast, etc.

LL: What’s your impression of Tacloban?
 

MV: Tacloban was at first shocking but soon enough I felt at ease, I felt I could go around on my own and people were nice. Right now at base there is a large group it feels like it’s a hostel.

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

MV: always wanted to become a volunteer because I always wanted to do good. My family always donated to Greenpeace and things like that, after living in London I needed to travel the world and volunteering was a good avenue for it.

LL: Why did you choose to be a volunteer worker in our place?

MV: I  knew I wanted to volunteer in the Philippines because of my Mom’s heritage (she’s a Filipina), there were two projects with All Hands in Bohol from the earthquake and the victims of Haiyan in Tacloban and I wanted to help the Philippines in general not just exclusively for typhoon Haiyan.

LL: Has your experiences here affected you or changed you as a person? And do you think that your experience here will be useful for you in the future?

MV: Yes it has changed me profoundly, I cannot even express it in words, it’s changed my perspective in looking at life, I see the communities where I have worked as an example. The Taclobanons has gone through so much but still they smile. My experience here will be useful for the future, on a personal level, yes for sure. And it made me appreciate the things I have. I am thankful, grateful for my life in general because of my experiences here. 

LL: Are you an activist or an advocate?

MV: I am more of an advocate, I am not good with being militant.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, there are political and religious wars between countries, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you really feel there is hope for the future of our planet?

MV: There is always hope even if there’s evil, we have to hold on to hope because how can we live without it. There are some things that are good. I like being in Tacloban because it’s like I am in a bubble, I am protected here from the bad things of the world.

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?

MV: The Syrian refugee crises because it’s current, I will advocate for more tolerance. The borders are strict. I feel like blocking/closing the borders are not helping them.

LL: Can you still find time for your personal life given your very busy life as a staff worker of an NGO in the field?

MV: Our communal living limits for personal time because I am surrounded by lots of people. So in my alone time I run in the mornings. I go to this coffee shop (Rustic Coffee). In London I couldn’t to things on my own.

LL: What’s next for you?

MV: I hope to stay with All Hands for a while, volunteer for sure, I need to get a job eventually, hopefully in the NGO industry. Help on the side. But I definitely need to travel.

LL: I have 7-one-word-answer questions I want to ask you, you must choose one answer between the 2 choices and you are not allowed to explain why. Shall we have a go at it?

MV: Sure!

Moon or Sun?   Moon

Monochrome or Colored?  Colored

Flats or Heels?    Flats

Paris or Tuscany?   Paris

Beach or Shopping?   Beach

Coffee or Tea?   Tea
Eagle or Dolphin?  Eagle!

Marinel will continue with All Hands’ remaining  projects here in the Leyte and Samar and plans to go to Nepal also through All Hands for her next venture. 

Marinel, from all of us: Thank you!

Photography: Long Exposure Shots of the San Juanico Strait

Where I live right now is situated close to the Strait (about 500 feet). It's a blessing altogether even though it's sure that I will have to evacuate with each typhoon rated at Category 3 and above. However, looking at this at any weather and at the end of the day, somehow I forget it all because of the picturesque vista where I see Tacloban City from across and a small island of Samar.  It's both breathtaking and God-given. 

To show you what I mean, here are photos shot at sundown, with a DSLR camera, with settings anywhere from f/22 - f/29, ISO from 100 - 200 and exposure from 5 secs to 25 secs. 

Samar Island across.

Tacloban City w/ lights at early dusk.

Towards east of the Strait w/ purplish sunset.

The sea had minimal waves I couldn't control but the colors are spectacular.

On a cloudy dusk.

Clouds reflecting...

Photos: ©YpilleMiaTirse