Ready for take off

It's Friday and the things to be packed are ready. We're flying to the Philippines with mixed feelings: on one hand, we're excited about the country and the Batulong team, the children who now come to eat and the normal operations at our center. On the other hand, the health condition of our manager Thata weighs heavily on our hearts: she has breast cancer with metastases and started her first chemo yesterday. Actually, she knew about the disease 2.5 years ago, but out of fear of surgery, she refused to undergo an examination or start therapy. It was only when the breathing problems caused by metastases in the lungs became worse that she sought medical attention. Until recently, she was also sure that she didn't want any therapy and only trusted natural remedies and prayer, but the doctors in the hospital seem to have done a good job of convincing her. It has been difficult for us in recent months to understand why Thata seems to be closing her eyes to reality. Whatever the future holds for our manager, she will not be able to drive to the office in the foreseeable future, and even though she has been able to do the accounting from home so far, this can change from one day to the next. So we have decided to hire an additional employee to support Keno's work. On Tuesday, we already have a job interview with a former Batulong student, and we are hopeful and excited to see if she will work for Batulong. As always, we will provide regular updates on our stay in the Philippines - just log in and read along :-). Warm regards and thank you for reading!

Franca and Mäge