After jet lag

After the long journey with an overnight stay in Cebu, we spend 9 days in Camiguin to get some diving and above all to get the jet lag behind us. It's like coming home to Camiguin: "our" cottage in the "silent garden" of the Swiss René with his wife Irene, friends and acquaintances that we meet and the dive shop, which is a few hundred meters further away, but otherwise same as before: but above all we will have our diving guide Dondon, who is about to graduate as a divemaster and is now employed by the dive shop, which we are very happy for him. The only thing that changes is the water temperature (wonderfully warm, 30 degrees on the surface) and the coastline, as every time the wind direction changes (now the transition to the cooler season again) changes by shifting tons of sand.

We are ready for the first interviews, which will begin immediately on Monday after our arrival in Cagayan de Oro. It's exciting to talk to the candidates (they're all women) who made it to the shortlist. Of a total of 25 applicants for the position of social worker and all-rounder, 7 came to the second interview (one was sick, one didn't show up). We could have imagined three of them as good employees, but only Aiza ideally combined all the desirable requirements: she is friendly and nice, neither too self-confident nor insecure, open and uncomplicated and has experience as a social worker. We are very happy to have her on our team!

Aiza starts her work on Saturday of the same week, because then the sports festival for the 4-6 graders is planned, which she will lead as the main person responsible together with Keno. The two are supported by Batulong College students who meet to discuss the organization. This year we have a record 90! Registration for the sports day. Mainly relays and skill games are carried out, which are thought up by the students and later explained to the children. Even during the preparation on Saturday there is a lot of laughter when trying out the games: especially with the relay, in which flour is passed from person to person using a playing card as a spoon. Laughing is forbidden, otherwise the other person will have a white face!

It's a win-win situation: the students learn leadership skills with younger children and our team receives organizational support. We're happy that the students are going somewhere with Keno and Aiza afterwards to be together for a while. Batulong not only wants to be a relief organization, but also “a family,” and Keno brings the members together well.

It is often exciting for us to see how interpersonal problems are resolved in Filipino culture. While conflicts are usually not resolved (or resolved too late), on Saturday we will witness a fairly organized mediation. The reason for the conflict was the rule that during the retreat for college students on an organic farm they were only allowed to leave the premises with permission, but some apparently secretly went out one evening to smoke. So now an accused was sitting in our office, along with two witnesses in his favor, on the other side his mother and a student who was commissioned by Keno during the retreat to see whether everyone was still on the premises and who testified that the teenager was smoking with others. The whole thing seems trivial to us, but we realize that it's about whether the boy will be allowed to go to the retreat again next time.

The hearing on both sides continues, the boy claims to be innocent and, above all, his witness sounds very convincing (as far as I understand) and it turns out that the statement that there was smoking outside was not made by the other student, but rather that someone from the local kitchen team told him about it. Mäge and I are committed to ensuring that the benefit of the doubt (due to hearsay) is decided in favor of the defendant and the matter is so far off the table: the prosecutor apologizes because he did not have all the facts and the two parties shake hands at the end to reaffirm that there is no longer any grudge.

Our working week is otherwise characterized by cleaning up and preparing for the new employee. We realize, not for the first time, that our office in the Batulongcenter has become too small - and not just when Mäge and I are there. Often several students want to go to the office, for example to pick up school supplies, but things immediately become crowded and there is then a queue in front of the building. We now want to clarify what the options are for widening it by around 1.50 m. An architect is coming by next week.

At the same time we have to renovate the kitchen. After 12 years, moisture and termites have primarily destroyed the interior of the cabinets. Unfortunately, some of our volunteers' understanding of hygiene is somewhat reduced and when I'm clearing out the cupboards I come across a lot of cockroaches! Of course you can crawl in through all the holes, but that's not allowed. We will pay even closer attention to cleanliness in the new concrete kitchen!

We have repeatedly reported in the past about Marivic, the woman with schizophrenia. A year ago her health deteriorated again and we even had to accept that she would be locked or chained at home. Even adjusting the medication again didn't seem to have the desired effect and our project that she could come to the Batulong Center to eat twice a week seemed to be on shaky ground. She needed two people to protect her from "stupid things" and we each had to lock ourselves in the office, for example, because she would immediately grab everything - and not give it back.

Now we meet Marivic again – practically a new person. She comes, looks into the office and says hello and then goes to have lunch. Her eyes are open and she can smile at you! After eating she mops the floor and at some point she goes home again (with a companion). She is dressed normally and no longer smells of the urine she used to lie in at home. The medication is working very well and we are sure that she is feeling much better now. What we no longer dared to hope for has come true: Marivic is balanced again.

We are looking forward to next week with our new social worker and lots of work!