Que Lastima!
July 21, 2010
That means “What a shame!” in the language of the reigning football champions. What a shame. What a shame that I stopped posting when I joined the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation in February! After 3 months with the Red Cross I decided to try working on more developmental projects, and found a place at the newly formed PDRF (Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation… check out www.pdrf.org). Without trips to Customs and Talim Island to write about anymore, I stopped sharing my volunteer experience, it had morphed into a 9 to 5 office type job. A friend asked what was happening with abituntogether.wordpress.com and I replied “what am I going to write about, my favourite transition effect on Powerpoint Vista? My trip to National Bookstore and our new filing system?”. But really, there has been a lot to write about… and a lot of learning.
We’ve had meetings with government where I’ve gained some new insight about how the great machine of bureaucracy turns; sessions with NGOs that have presented on the state of our environment, the poor, and the causes of Ondoy; and also meetings with international aid organisations that have followed up our presentations with sermons about how Filipinos are doing it all wrong. Pardon my french but ‘tangina nyo (more on that later). So here… a commitment to write about my top, let’s say 3 experiences at the PDRF. In no particular order:
1. My first meeting at with the Special Public Reconstruction Commission: held at the executive board room of the Development Bank of the Philippines: a wood paneled, cavernous room with portraits of (mostly dead) dignitaries, and those mics with the red lights around them to show that they’re on.
2. The Delta Plan workshop that heads of the Worldbank, other multilaterals, and the Laguna Lake Authority attended, along with representatives from the MMDA, PAGASA, DPWH, and also Architect Jun Palafox.
3. A last minute invitation to discuss our projects with representatives from Ausaid, USaid, The European Commission, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and also Korean International Cooperation Agency.
4. Oh yeah tree planting in the Marikina Watershed. Make that 4.
5. And also one more – riding in a security back up car! Make that 5!
So it’s 5. Just to make sure that I do this, I’m going to set my self a timeline. 1 every 2 or 3 days so, 2-3 weeks at most. And this counts as an entry so next one to be done on the weekend. Waha, aren’t I clever.
