Hi Everyone, 

As many of you know, I've been living in Tacloban City in the Philippines for the last 4 months, assisting in the disaster relief effort with All Hands Volunteers. It's been an amazing four months, full of both devastating heartache and incredible achievements.  It's hard to describe everything that happens out here and I don't do as good a job as I've meant to. Hopefully this provides a little information and is a glimpse into our world out here. 

One of the projects that we are currently working on is to provide permanent houses in one of the barangays (neighborhoods) that was flattened by the storm surge during superstorm Yolanda. The combination of the typhoon winds and the storm surge destroyed or severely damaged 1.1 million homes and there's been a massive effort to rehouse those people affected, especially as we enter typhoon season. Since relief efforts began immediately after the storm, infrastructure rehabilitation nears 50%, but there's still a lot to do. 

Ideally, people are rehoused within their own community so as to not to further disrupt their lives. I've spent a lot of time in these neighborhoods that resemble shanty towns - unreliable shelters made with GI metal sheets, plywood, cocoa lumber, and tarps. I've listened to amazing stories of survival, from people hanging onto coconut trees for hours during the surge to a man rescuing 18 people because his 2nd story hadn't blown away like all the rest. But beneath the incredible survival stories is the devastating loss of families and houses being wiped out, and survivors living without a safe place to sleep each night. 

So tomorrow, I'm running a road race in the crazy heat of the Philippines with about 40 other volunteers. We are running for the spirit of Tacloban with hundreds of others and we are running to raise money to provide shelter to a family that doesn't have an adequate house. To build one house, it costs us $2,750. As a group, we are trying to raise enough for at least one house.  All of the money that is donated is going directly into the project for material and local labor costs. If you've got a couple of extra dollars kicking around or know someone who might be interested in the project, we all appreciate your support out here! 

Thanks for listening and I'll be posting pictures (of course) of the run as soon as I'm able.