Rotary 5520 GSE 2010 - Philippines

Thursday April 8th
Host Club: RC Cotabato East
Another day, another adventure....starting with breakfast. The day’s first meal has been considerably different than what each of us is accustomed to at home. This team member, who usually starts her day with copious amounts of coffee and a mid-morning smoothie is quickly growing fond of hearty Philippino breakfasts! Today it was rice and sweet chorizo with a fried egg, mango, papaya and fresh guava! Crunchy, bright, not too sweet…almost like a not-quite-ripe pear, only made better by a modest sprinkle (or generous dip, depending on personal preference) of course ground salt. Truly a delight to the taste buds!

The days outing was to be hosted by Cotabato East, of which Charlie, host of TL Lisa, is the President. Charlie has been so gracious in meeting us each day to say good morning send us off with our host club for the day before going off to a busy day’s work at ChinaBank, that it was a nice treat that he was able to join us today! We met at the office of the water department were we were welcomed by YuBeng and Congressman Diggs, who were to accompany us to the Water Treatment Plant. But first we took a drive to visit a special project of Congressman Diggs. We drove though past miles of rice fields, only half of which are planted currently, due to the lack of rain. Amongst the fields of rolling green we came upon a structure that was only recognizable as a mosque beacuase of the partial spires completed. Usually so ornate and palatial, this mosque-under construction was a massive display of concrete and steel. Upon its completion (scheduled ambitiously for August of this year) this mosque will be the largest in all of the Philippines. A ways beyond the mosque in an area not yet developed adjacent to the sea, Congressman Diggs has plans to construct a golf course and resort as a means of economic development for the region.

Next stop…the Water Treatment Plant which is a RI project with RC Cotabato East and a RC in Taiwan started in 2001 and supplies water throughout Cotabato City. The process of filtration at this plant was at the same time simple and complex. The plant currently process river water at a rate of 150 liters/second. In the first step, sediment is removed with the good old fashioned gravity method. Next, the water goes through a sand filtration and is then followed by a chlorination sanitization. The whole process takes 3 hours. A new microfiber machine, once in operation, has the potential to increase the rate from 150 to 400L per second.

Boodle Fight Lunch
When we saw this on the schedule we weren’t quite sure to expect. We were pleasantly and messily surprised….but we had one more project to visit first, and this was a fun one because we got to be involved! Many clubs here participate in re-forestation programs. Over the years, much of the natural forests have been lost to illegal harvesting. There is a district-wide if not island-wide concern over this issue and the effect that the lack of trees has on watershed, siltation, and microclimate. They had a special treat for us…we each had the opportunity to plant our own seedling there at the watershed. We hope we get to come back and see how it’s grown!

We walked up to a covered picnic area where a long banquet table was covered with giant banana leaves…the Boodle Lunch. Still not sure what to expect, we were instructed to wash up thoroughly. We were invited to each take a place, standing, at the table. The banana leaves were removed with a flourish, revealing a feast to the eyes and to the palate…traditional dishes of pancit, adobo, local langostine, whole fish prepared with lemongrass and ginger and vegetables, a delicious cold salad of hardboiled egg and mango, and of course….rice. Our eyes grew big and our stomached growled as we searched hungrily for a spoon and fork... and there was the catch! The Boodle Fight Lunch is fashioned after how the Philippino Army ate when rations were low…soldiers would line up at the mess table while baskets of rice were poured out on the table and whatever protein could be found…usually sardines…topped it off. Since it was typically the main if not only meal the soldiers would have in a day, they had to fight—literally—for their food! The table would get so crowded we were told that they would stand to sideways, eating with only one hand so more could fit. Our lunch, even though we did eat with our hands, was much more civilized, of course, as we are dainty ladies! (although you may see pictures of messy hands and faces that may prove otherwise!)

After lunch and a thorough hosing off, we went to our host families to rest before meeting again in the evening for the club meeting, also held at Kitoks. We were delighted that YuBeng and Congressman Diggs attended dinner, as well as Romy Millan, an amazing man and Rotarian, who we look forward to seeing each day and hearing his stories and history. Another wonderful feast awaited us. We gave our presentation which we are becoming a bit more comfortable at and President Charlie shared with us a presentation of the many projects they are involved in.

A very long but very incredible day...and we've really only just begun!