Jill Pineapplebum's *30 Days of Fun'd* Challenge - homes for homeless Yolanda Victims

Jill Lucas is raising money for All Hands and Hearts (UK) Trust

Team: Remembering Yolanda Victims

In memory of Yolanda Victims
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All Hands and Hearts addresses the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by disasters. By listening to local people, and deploying volunteers, we rebuild safe, resilient community infrastructure. 100% of all funds raised by the UK Trust go directly to those in need.

Story

Hi Darlings (sweet talk straight from the off – smoooooth I know, sold??)

This is me reaching out for your help pretty pretty please; and when I say help, I mean your very kind donations of monetary value - please - for a cause that I will have donated half a year to. This plea is rather lacking in comfortableness for me as I find fundraising marginally embarrassing, but I am writing this with a big smile in my head (although with stiff fingers and a gritted nose).

I’ve been in the Philippines for nearly 5 months now, volunteering with an NGO called All Hands, which shares the same belief as I do: to help people who truly need it the most.

I believe life is about happiness, and I am so incredibly lucky to have the choice in doing the things in life that make me the happiest: drinking baileys coffee, eating far too much barbeque and being ridiculous with my closest; travelling to different countries and meeting amazing people; cycling down the river just behind my house with Roger (my bicycle, Raj for short – Asian parentage); and wearing patterned clothes. Completely taking for granted that I have a home, food, water and live in a safe country with my family and friends (so much so I had to add this last sentence).

It’s been nearly a year since Typhoon Yolanda hit the islands of Leyte and Samar, and people here are still homeless. Homeless, helpless, but not hopeless. Many have no choice but to wait and hold on to the hope that they will be one of the lucky ones to receive a new home. When speaking to people still living in the tents they told me exactly this, all the while smiling and offering me the little food and water that had been handed out to them a few days prior. 

I signed up to stay on project for the full 3 months by accident, as I thought that this was my only option. However, after I met people staying on project for no longer than two or three weeks, I quickly realised this wasn’t the case, and that maybe I had made a massive mistake when applying.

The first day was incredible, and I have never before felt a stronger sense of belonging and happiness. I was wonderful and enthusiastic while being silently smug and poo-pooing people who took breaks, thinking I was going to be such a hard-working amazing volunteer. That night I woke up beyond agony at 12:30am. All of my muscles were dying of pain and my body was in the excruciating process of sprouting new muscles – it hurt, hurt a lot! I took some Tramadol that was left over from my motorbike-“related” accident, yet I was still in so much pain.

I went to work the next day, having vomited quite a lot after breakfast and again after lunch, and took a picture of a green bean that shot out of my nose as apparently my mouth was not large enough for all of the sick to come out of! Alix sternly but lovingly told me to go sleep in the Jeepney. That night I text my dad and friends wimpy messages feeling very very sorry for myself, admitting that I may not be able to stick this out at all and that I was a stupid idiot for thinking I was capable of doing this, and could I secretly just leave one night and forget about all of this volunteer rubbish and come home, as this clearly wasn’t for me. That probably wasn’t the exact message. It was most likely far more waffle-y and pitiful - but you get the gist. 

After having changed flights twice I will be leaving here at the end of a 6 month stay, but only due to commitments I made elsewhere. I am saddened and anxious to leave the Philippines and these beautiful people who have taught me so much; both the locals and volunteers. I want to help as much as possible before I have to go, and so, I’ve dedicated myself to this massive fundraising push to finally help provide people who lost almost everything a home again.

As my Dad says: ‘if you aren’t going to do it, then who will?’ Although that was a life-long campaign of his to get me to help with housework (which worked very well thank you father #SteveLucas), I am now an obsessive cleaner and people joke that I will make an amazing housewife…perfect...and exactly what I went to university for, not really - that was sarcasm. But the same holds in this respect: I believe we are all responsible for helping those who really desperately need it. We can’t return or make up for what these people have suffered or lost, but at the very least we can give them back a home so they can feel safe again and finally begin the long process of rebuilding their life.

Our goal, and my sole purpose for the next month leading to the anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda, is to help raise 1.1million pesos, which will build 9 permanent homes for 9 very deserving and lovely families. Please chuck us a few quid (or many squids or clams (Brooklyn accent) so we can give these people who have suffered so much for so long the home that they deserve.  

If you still aren’t sold on lovingly handing over your little cherub shiny pound coins, then I propose to work even harder for your monies.

My crazed, malnourished, exhausted, full of wonder volunteer buds will accept any challenge from you (within reason) and upload a hysterical picture of us doing it, because we are amazingly funny people (Brooklyn accent again). Seriously – we’re all in!  

Love you all, hugs and kisses – to be collected on my return xoxo

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Donation summary

Total
£153.72
+ £25.00 Gift Aid
Online
£153.72
Offline
£0.00

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