Bringing Light to the Poor

Training installation teams has begun for the LightStrike solar bottle project! What is "LightStrike" ? Read on- 

 So many families live in darkness every day in the poor areas of the city, their windowless homes creating an atmosphere of despair.  For a few that have access to electricity, they often can’t afford to pay their bill and the power is cut off. The rest only have what little light that the entrance to their shack provides, or from light coming in the small holes on the tin roof. Most small shacks are built closely together with a dark narrow alley as the only access to these homes.

The lack of light lowers the productivity of many and the people feel apathetic. It is difficult to do tasks such as housework, students homework, and other daily activities. The use of candles is always a danger in the slums, but these residents must burn candles for light not only at night, but during the day.

One of our community projects, “Light Strike”, gathers volunteers to help provide free light for the homes of the poor.  Recycled soda bottles, filled with clean water and bleach, are installed in the roofs of shanty homes to create light with the equivalent of a 55 watt bulb. The soda bottles provide light during daylight hours. Sunlight enters the top of the bottle which is above the roof approximately five inches, then is refracted by the water and provides light shining through the part of the bottle that is under the roof. The bottle has been fitted and sealed on a square of corrugated tin then silicone sealant and rivets create a waterproof seal to prevent roof leaks.

 We first train volunteers within the neighborhoods to install these lights. The local barangay (community) leaders are contacted and their neighborhoods surveyed to make a list of the families in need of light. With the financial help from our friends in Rotary International, we are now training teams to provide LightStrikes in 8 barangays this year. They will also receive sets of tools and be able to continue to help their communities!

With the installation of the solar soda bottle light, we have found that families are less apathetic, more productive, and their quality of life is greatly   improved!

 

January brought many new changes!

There's so much to catch up on! January really flew by and our little ministry has expanded. The first major change was the Sewing Center. The expansion of the sewing training center is a reality! It's been a long week of cleaning and moving as the Sewing Center is relocated to a much larger space in the building we rent. The sewing machines are being repaired, new shelving built, and plans underway to start the new class with 25 students on February 10. The new room is 1,850 sq. feet, with areas for machines, cutting tables, a lecture/classroom and office.
We traveled to Iba, capitol city of the Zambales province, to meet with officials of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) last week. We have started the process of being recognized by TESDA, and they will administer competency exams to all of our graduates. A TESDA certificate is highly valued for those seeking employment here and abroad.
The grant from Rotary International (Oakhurst Sierra , Oakhurst Sunrise, District 5220 and Subic Bay Freeport Zone), and our collaboration with Malampaya Foundation and PACTEC has been a blessing. Because of their help, we will be able to train 125 men and women this year and equip them to get jobs, plus train many more in the jail! Maraming salamat to all that helped make this happen!
The new space-

before move

Emy and Leslie cleaning windows

Joel from PACTEC doing maintenance on the machines

Cindy and Emy sorting fabrics that will need to be stored on shelves

Joel and Greg moving machines into place

More ministry news:
 BULANGHAGI- Connie and Tina have begun the new bible study in the Bulanghagi tribal community. It's up on the mountainside near Connie's place and the neighbors have been asking her to start a bible study there. Please keep them covered in prayer as they step out to do this new ministry.

UPPER ROOM- The music classes resume on Saturday at 2 p.m. with Sonny teaching bass, Anthony and John Rick teaching guitar. Then the Upper Room Youth Group, led by Anthony, begins at 4 p.m.  English classes are now being led on Fridays by two American friends who also teach at Brent International School.


LIGHTSTRIKE- Training for the LightStrike teams will be held early this month and the first four LightStrikes will be held in March and April. This solar light project will impact hundreds of people and help communities. The Rotary International grant will fund the eight LightStrikes plus equip eight barangays to carry on the work!

Next blog: Big changes at Matain and 12th St!

As we near the end of 2013

"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes." Isaiah 54:2

2013 has been a year of growth for project Life Subic and as we look forward to 2014 it shows no signs of slowing down!  It has taken years to identify, mentor and build a strong team of leaders from the slum area, but they are now leading most of the weekly ministries in five locations! Here's what's happening in Project Life Subic:

1. The 12th St area still has women's fellowship, Kids Church, and the Feeding Program.
2. The Youth are now meeting in the Upper Room on a main street of Olongapo and the English classes are also held there.
3. In the predominately Muslim area of Matain, Subic, the men's and women's bible studies have grown, and the Matain Youth Group is reaching out to so many teens.
4. The Sewing Training Center is located in the heart of the Red Light District in Barrio Barretto.
5. Sewing training is being conducted in Jail 164.

Along with these weekly activities we have done other community projects such as clean water and sanitation. We do relief efforts when disaster strikes, and occasionally hold medical/dental outreaches as well as provide on-going health education for all locations.

2014 will be another year of expansion. The Upper Room will offer free music classes to the youth (we are directly across the street from a high school with 10,000 students) where they are also invited to the Youth group. The sewing center will be moving into a larger room in the building that we currently rent space in. One of the rooms now being used for sewing will become a classroom for outreach opportunities to youth and bargirls such as English class, Music class and other vocational and spiritual activities. We will also be adding an Alternative learning System course (approved by the Dept. of Education) in June for out of school youth who want to get a high school diploma.

"Do not hold back." Yes, we must move forward no matter what obstacles are placed before us. We have been called to this place, for this time, and will have faith that the plans come to fruition! Please pray for all the workers in Project Life Subic. We all need encouragement, strength, wisdom, good health. We need you to pray that favor is extended to us in the area of city governments, landlords, and other community members. Pray that doors continue to open and lives are touched with the love of Christ!

Women's fellowship at Matain is Growing!

It was such a joy to see over 50 women, young and old, attend the community fellowship last Thursday! They are all participating, and enjoying themselves. Leaders Cathy and Cindy have done an excellent job of teaching and caring for the members of this community. Their commitment and love for the people of this area is so evident in the lives of those they have touched! Neighbors are living in harmony now and helping one another. Their hope is rising and they face the constant hardships with a new, God- given strength.
Cathy and Cindy are now identifying future leaders of this community that can be trained to lead programs to help with the community development needs. Our goal is to raise up and equip the leaders from within each neighborhood that will carry on the needed projects.



Cathy and Cindy take turns teaching and leading activities. Cathy stays tuned in to the needs of this community. Her mother and other family members live here. 

Cindy has their attention and is an amazing speaker!

Our friend, Mila, on Matain beach. The village is behind her.

Typhoon Yolanda Disaster Relief Efforts

We were all shocked by the extent of the damage and loss of life caused by Typhoon Yolanda. We still can't believe what we are still seeing on tv. Project Life Subic was not able to do much, but then a large donation was sent for relief supplies and we had a connection here to send the goods, so we went into action! Sonny and Leslie called friends Tony and Angela to help us shop and transport the relief supplies. A local company, Ocean Adventure, (similar to Sea World), was taking supplies on their 60' boat to Samar, so we were able to send our supplies with them today!
Please continue to pray for the victims of this horrible disaster. The Filipino people are resilient, but it will take months, maybe years for them to recover.

Fire on 12th St destroyed the homes of 24 families

Another shock to the community happened last Saturday night. A fire swept through the last block of 12th St near the canal and destroyed the homes of 24 families. Miraculously, they all escaped and only a couple small injuries were reported. It took a very long time for the fire trucks to arrive, and there was complete chaos on the street. Adults and children were crying and in shock. Once the fire was out, the local authorities opened the Barangay Hall Covered Court for temporary housing.
During our first visit the women broke down and cried and all needed extra strong hugs and prayers! It was an emotional time as they all shared stories. Nanay Linda told how she put her 28 yr old disabled grandson under one arm and another grandchild under the other and dragged them out of the burning building. Another family escaped with eight children through a break in the plywood wall of their upstairs shanty and ran over the tin roof to get away from the flames. They have lost all their belongings except for the clothes they were wearing and a handful of items they could grab as they ran.
Thanks to all who are helping with gifts of food, clothes, bedding, tarps for shelter and more. The families expressed their gratefulness to those of you who have prayed and helped in practical ways. The city also brought food and now the mayor has awarded each family with some money to buy roofing materials. Unfortunately we have a super typhoon predicted to hit our city by Friday, so we aren't sure where these families can take cover. The children are still afraid and some having nightmares of their narrow escape. We are trying to organize a debriefing time with skilled childrens workers to be held at the Saturday children's ministry and feeding time.We will keep you updated.
Here are pictures from the fire and life at the covered court.

 

October Updates

This has been a very busy few weeks since the historic flooding of Olongapo and Subic. Flashfloods and landslides contributed to 34 deaths. Our old neighborhood was underwater and three children were trapped in a home and drowned. The bamboo and scrap wood shanties of Matain were wiped out along the beach. It has been three weeks and still the cleanup continues. Now the main hospital is overflowing with hundreds of leptospirosis patients who contracted the disease when exposed to rat urine infected flood water. Eight  Leptospirosis deaths have been reported. Red Cross has mobilized, bringing much needed meds, cots and volunteers to help triage and treat.
 We are all doing what we can to help. As we reported in the previous blog, we were able to provide food and tarps because of your donations.  We also distributed rice to 150 families in four locations and listened to their heart wrenching stories of survival. One of our friends who raises pigs broke down and cried as she shared the story of her livelihood being washed away in the current, and she couldn't save her two precious dogs either as they were trapped in the house. on 12th St, some of our friends stood on a high wall and saw furniture, appliances, animals and parts of homes wash down the raging river. Another friend shared his story of a fellow trike driver and family who were killed in a landslide. An elderly friend and her husband stood on a dresser in their bedroom with water to their neck and the ceiling just above their heads, frantically texting for help. The windows had iron bars and the doors wouldn't open due to water pressure so they were trapped. When the water subsided six hours later, they were rescued.
Our dear missionary friends who have a charity birth center here were flooded and lost almost everything they owned. We can empathize, having been in that position ourselves. It is a horrible, scary feeling of powerlessness when you realize the force of nature can not be stopped and there is little you can do.  Please continue to pray for the victims of the flood here!

Sonny helping deliver the rice!

Melinda will distribute to Sta Monica flood victims

On a happy note, the Upper Room has opened and our youth are holding a Core leaders bible study there as well as weekly youth group and bible study. Our English classes start tonight! Hopefully the music class will begin next month. Here's a picture of the youth cleaning and preparing the classroom.

Other exciting news: The "LightStrike" project was funded by a Rotary International grant and two clubs in Leslie's hometown. We will hold a planning meeting next week to begin implementation. We hope to install solar soda bottle lights in approximately 450 homes in the squatter areas of Olongapo and Subic over a period of 18 months! More on this big project soon.

Last, but not least, the Sewing Center had another graduation! Big "THANKS" to trainers Emy, Cindy, Cathy, Angie and Glenda, our 'fantastic five"!