Oh here it goes again!

I've been coming down with a lotta bugs lately. The lazy bee stung hard right before Christmas and then came the travel bug that bit the hardest. The travel bite just had to be soothed! I can't help it! Haha!

So, here it goes again! Oh here it goes again! Oh here it goes again!

Originally, I had set out to go to Germany to visit Nico but the whole visa application shenanigan turned me off so badly that I just finally decided to go to a place where I won't need to apply for a visa. What better place to look at than my own birth country, eh? And with that, I settled on my location. Now, the motive. Looking for a motive was a total gimme since I had been wanting to volunteer for Gawad Kalinga (GK) (translation: to give care) since I was in high school. A few emails to an NC contact that is spending a year volunteering for GK got me hooked up with the right people. After corresponding for a few days, I was all set to go. =)

I asked to be assigned in Davao City and will be staying at GK's Mission House. I'll be visiting sites and spend nights in some of them. I will be immersed with the admin side of the work and meet with local leaders and caretakers. My main assignment is to help the admin prepare for the local Bayani Challenge (Hero's Challenge) in Compostela Valley where numerous GK teams from all over Mindanao will participate in a 5-day long build. I'm really excited about this experience and as much as I'm anxious, I know it'll turn out fine!

Now, I'd be lying if I told you that volunteering is my main motive for this trip. It's a big part of it but you know me. Haha! I'm always on the lookout for visiting new places. I'll tell more on that on my next post!

For now, I'll give you these Gawad Kalinga videos to look at to give you a better idea of what it is! =)

A presentation on how GK works




Testimonials of Foreign GK Volunteers