Lots to share with you this week including a surprising hidden find local to my house but first off is a long-delayed trip back to my Philippine experiences and a most unexpected offer.
Totally out of the blue, I was lucky enough to be offered the chance to – twice – join the local Dasmariñas chapter of the Kiwanis international charity and help distribute food to children in need. I was excited to spread the word about what I saw there, especially as I wasn’t expecting such a wonderful offer but was nevertheless eager to take them up on it and see a side of the Philippines so far unfamiliar, up close.
Kiwanis International has been around since 1915 and now has over 600,000 members in over 80 countries and aims to help children in many ways; according to the website Members stage nearly 150,000 service projects and raise nearly US$100 million every year for communities, families and projects. Impressive stats, showing how dedicated people are and how generous, with their time and money.
All projects are member funded and help feed some of the kids who live below the poverty line, as always with charities, they can only do so much with what they have but from what I saw, the little they have can go a long way and with more support a lot more good could be done. There is so much more to this wonderful charity than I could write about here, so please head on over to the website http://www.kiwanis.org/ and take a look at what they do and of course any donations would be wonderful.
My next post will be an amalgamation of my personal experiences of going to a couple of these events, it certainly opened my eyes and made me eager to go back and be in a position to do more. That will be the post I have been perhaps most excited in sharing with you, which is why today, I have been deliberately vague. Plus I haven’t yet written it out past the first draft so that’s always a factor.
Book to the Future 
It is always wonderful to be able to give back to society no matter how much small. More vim to you Ste J. 🙂
LikeLike
It was good to see where donations go first hand and to help in all ways I could. I look forward to more such opportunities.
LikeLike
How wonderful that you were able to help out and participate – will check out their website now, thanks for the link!
LikeLike
When I was asked to go, we made sure that the day was free as it was ore important than anything we had planned. It really puts things into perspective about one’s life when with people who really need the help.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good for you, Ste J! Not only have you joined in the fight for the Third World, but you haven’t taken First World problems with you.
LikeLike
It is amazing how many first world problems can be nullified after a trip to a place with people who really struggle. Since coming back, I don’t even buy books anymore. It really is an experience everybody should try at least once.
LikeLike
Fantastic for you. I hope we hear more.
LikeLike
My next post will hopefully be out in the next day or two, its a great story to be a part of.
LikeLike
Well done Ste J! These experiences can be life-changing as you have discovered.
LikeLike
Since I have returned I haven’t even picked up any books. The value of money is even more pronounced than ever and when I have a decent bank balance again, I’ll be able to do my charitable bit once again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad to hear about your involvement with this wonderful organization, Ste J! I was involved with a local chapter of Kiwanis back in high school. Great to hear it’s still going strong! After all I was in high school a looooong time ago 😉
LikeLike
I debated long and hard about what to write back concerning your last sentence and decided it is safer to not attempt any sort of humour as it will be accidentally, if comically offensive. It’s safer this way! I hadn’t come across Kiwanis in my travels or on the internet so it was good to be educated in such a meaningful way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Smart you are regarding steering round last sentence haha 😉 Yes, your post is indeed meaningful.
LikeLike
Ste J,
Your experience (this post and next) are lovely.
Thank you!
LikeLike
It is great to share, I wholeheartedly wanted to get involved with the work and look forward to more such efforts in the future.
LikeLike
A great opportunity Ste, I’ll look forward to reading about it.
LikeLike
Had I planned it, it would have been wonderful but being surprised with the opportunity was definitely a highlight.
LikeLiked by 1 person