Krantenartikel 3 2007 (in het Engels)

Filipino and Dutch youth build houses, visit orphanage

Filipino and Dutch youth built 5 houses for the Gawad Kalinga Village in Bogo and visited Batang Pinangga in Carmen, Cebu last July 12-17, 2007.

The house build and the immersion to the orphanage are part of the activities in the Pinoy-Dutch Xplore II Program that facilitates understanding and educational exchange about Filipino and Dutch culture.

RAFI and its employees donated the 5 houses that were turned-over to the recipient-families last July 17. Five more houses will be donated by RAFI to the same GK village in Bogo.
In the post-activity evaluation done by RAFI, Dutch participants involved in the GK build observed the “unbelievable hospitality of the people living in GK.” They also learned that working together improves the results and the process.

The Dutch participants who visited Batang Pinangga and assisted in the work of the organization said that their immersion meant a lot to the children.

Pinoy-Dutch Xplore II, which is within the framework of the Sister City Relationship between Cebu City and Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, is a joint undertaking between the Cebu City Government, Meerlanden Youth-Cebu, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) – the overall coordinator, and other organizations in Cebu.

The program started in 2006 and this year’s second run from July 8-29 involves 33 Dutch youth who are joined in by Filipino counterparts from two RAFI youth programs, Timawa Adventure Leadership Inc. and Young Minds Academy.

Youth members of Justice, Peace and Integrity (JPIC) and Commission on Youth also participated in the activities like the environmental exposure in selected marine sanctuaries in Mactan and Olanggo islands, among others.

Another upcoming activity lined up for Xplore 2007 is the tree planting at the watershed area in Pung-ol Sibugay. The participants will also visit Don Bosco Boys Town in Liloan, college farm of Cebu State College of Science and Technology, JPIC communities in Lapu-lapu City, FORGE, Share-A-Child, KAPAI, SOS Children’s Village, St. Arnold Janssen Community Learning Center, SAPAK Foundation, Cebu Micro-Enterprise Development Foundation Inc., and Cebu City Medical Center.