All hands on deck (2)
IWOKE up early last Friday and, as was my habit, I immediately opened my Facebook account. What greeted me on my timeline was the picture of a young sweatdrenched man bent forward while working with a spade. His head was wrapped with a T-shirt (in the fashion of street workers) so that only part of his face showed. But his tanned, well-defined arms told me that I know this guy. The photo caption read: “#MeetOurStaff Mike, a software analyst from Los Angeles, California. Mike first volunteered for #ProjectLeyte on January of 2014 and has since volunteered multiple times in Tacloban and has also volunteered for two months on Project Nepal. The Filipino-American said, “I volunteered to help out our fellow Filipinos and the work and the people at All Hands is what makes me keep coming back.” The caption continued: “Mike has taken on the role of the new associate project director for our #RebuildHernani satellite project in Western Samar.”
My heart swelled with pride. Mike Arceo is my nephew. He is the eldest child of Charito Oca Arceo, my wife Mira’s younger sister.
In Los Angeles, California, Mike Arceo works as an IT project manager for a few health care organizations. He arrived the other week for his third tour of duty in the Philippines as a part of All Hands Volunteers.
All Hands Volunteers is a volunteer-driven US-based organization that provides hands-on assistance to survivors of natural disasters.
It was founded in 2005 following the Southeast Asian Tsunami. AHV has since coordinated more than 17,000 volunteers from over 42 countries. AHV has participated in 36 disaster operations worldwide.
The volunteers consist of people from all over the world. The UK, New Zealand, Australia, and the US. Their ages range from as young as 18 and 19 to 50s and 60s. Usually they are students who are on break, professionals taking a break, and retired professionals.
Mike’s volunteerism never ceases to amaze me. Why would a young professional like Mike take time off from work, travel half-way across the globe, pay for his own expenses, including medical insurance, carry his back pack and own sleeping pad, to join like-minded volunteers?
What drives him to help in digging septic tanks and clearing rubble, constructing drainage canals, planting trees, rebuilding schoolhouses, and building transitional shelters?
In exchange for his sweat contribution, Mike gets to live communally, provided only with basic accommodations and simple, local meals on work days.
“When I saw the images of the death and devastation ……. I felt the urgent need to help. I could easily donate to relief organizations but I decided that I wanted to do more,” Mike explained.
Mike first served in Ormoc. On his second tour, he served in Barangay San Isidro, Tacloban, helping build “transitional homes.”
He went home to LA but only stayed briefly. Next time I knew he was in Nepal. The April, 2015 Nepal earthquake flattened entire villages in many districts of the country, killing more than 9,000 and rendering thousands homeless.
According to Mike, the best part of working in disaster areas comes from inter-acting with survivors.
“The kids would come out and hang out with us. Some even try to help with the removal of the rubble.
“Nothing beats the sight of those young children who are smiling once again.
“We also get to talk to residents, who in time slowly open up to us. They relive their experiences and fears. But always you can sense their hopes and boundless optimism.”
That’s Mike Arceo, my nephew, my young hero.
Heard in the streets
The conviction last week of US Marine Lance Corporal Pemberton and the perceived unequal treatment accorded to him as a convict triggered another wave of resentment against the one-sided agreement known as VFA.
Here are just some of the remarks heard in the streets.
VFA – Visiting Filipinos Agreement. Activists claim that under the VFA, we are treated as visitors in our own homeland. VFA – Very Funny Agreement VFA – Very Favorable to Americans
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The two ships recently pledged by President “Barko” Obama at the sidelines of APEC will, according to activists, be named “BRP Jennifer” and “BRP Nicole,” respectively.
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