Sholing Philippines Project 2010 – 2016

Being back home in England a few days now has really given me the chance to reflect on the whole project, and i miss it so much already. The 18 months of hard work and dedication was so worth it and i would do it again in a heart beat.
No amount of words will ever express how incredible this project is, and im so proud to have been a part of it. The time i spent in the Philippines has honestly changed my life, and made me appreciate life so much more than i did before.
Being with the PCF children made me so happy, i miss walking through the doors everyday hearing the laughter of the children and being run up to for high fives and hugs. The children at PCF are just inspirational, to still smile everyday when they have the home life they do is just incredible.
Being able to take every single child out on a field trip was amazing, they were so happy to get the opportunity to do something like that and they enjoyed every minute. Seeing the smiles on their faces made every minute of fundraising for it worth while.
The team that went out to the Philippines were just the best possible team there could of been, everyone worked so well together and what we achieved at the school was amazing. Painting every floor of the school, decorating the music room, improving the playground and making murals for the corridors. We couldnt of wished for a better team and ive made friendships with people that i will never forget.
Going to the old school and the final assembly were by far the hardest bits for me. Listening to Jane Walkers speech (Founder of PCF) about how she started the whole project was incredible, shes such an inspirational person and i cant thank her enough for starting this whole thing!
The final assembly was so emotional for every single member of the team. Seeing how grateful the children were was so humbling. The hard work they put into the assembly really showed, they are all such amazingly talented children! The bit that really got me was when one little girl was singing a solo song and came off stage and shook all our hands, it made me feel so emotional i just burst out crying. When she finished singing we got a massive flood of children run down from the above floors to say goodbye to us, it was one of the hardest things ive ever had to do. I miss them all so much and hope that one day i get the opportunity to go back!
I just wanted to say thankyou to everyone that made this trip possible. Bezza and Freeza for organising it, all the teachers for looking after us, Mick for always being positive and keeping us all going and everyone else that made the whole trip amazing!! Thankyou all so much!
Michiela Bradbeer

So, 18(ish) months ago, I, along with 26 other students received the most amazing news…we would be going on a trip that was not only life changing for us but for the people that we would meet too. What we didn’t realise then was that this will be not just a normal school trip but a lifelong project – something that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

Personally, at the beginning, the thing I was most excited about was not getting out of school, going on a plane or the food – it was the thought of making just a small difference to a child’s life.
I don’t think any of us knew exactly what to expect and I know I have said this a lot but pictures don’t do it any justice. Pictures don’t show the smells, the heat, the bonds with the children, the distance we were away from home – we had to wait to get there for that. I’m sure I speak for quite a lot of us when I say that everything was much more then I expected. The smells were worse and the heat was hotter then I ever thought was possible. The poverty seen on the way to the hotel from the airport was worse then expected – my first experience was seeing a family on the side of the road washing their baby in a plastic box with a small bottle of water! That night on the way to the mall, a few of us were also shocked when a boy not much older then 7 years old came up to us begging for money or anything.

Just 2 bridges separated the rich from the poor. 2 bridges… The school honestly is one of the most amazing places I have ever been to! I never thought one small school could do so much for so many people – not just the pupils at the school, but the other children supported by PCF, the parents employed to make money for their family, the families of the pupils being provided with food because of their attendance. If you didn’t know what the PCF school was for, you genuinely would have no idea, the kids and staff are so friendly and happy that you completely forget why they are there!

I have had the best time of my life and knowing that small things like giving the children hugs and taking them on a field trip will make them so happy and give them hope makes me feel even better! I have heard some truly inspirational stories from the children at school, that made me cry but in a good way, the children have such a good outlook on life. They are so positive about things that people would moan about back here in England.

So I would like to thank everyone that has given me this opportunity. Teachers, thank you for keeping my spirits up when they were down and thank you for all the hard work that you have put in. Thank you to Mick for the amazing sing-alongs on the coach every day and cheering me up when I was sad. Thank you to Freezer and Bezza for making this whole project possible. Finally thank you to everyone else that was there with us for helping us finish all of the projects!

These 2 weeks are something I will never ever forget, I have memories and friendships that I will cherish forever! Thank you once again for this opportunity!

Caitlin

To say thank
you to the students and staff from Sholing does not enough justice to the words.
You were, for seven days, one of the reasons I woke up at 6am ready to face the
day. The other reason was, much like yours, the opportunity to interact with
the children at the PCF School. None of us will be the same, and that is good.
You showed me what it is like to become a better person, and to sacrifice not
because you have to, but because you want to. Bravo!

I think we all
were humbled at the final assembly. As I wandered taking photos, I noticed each
and every one of you, and your reactions were raw, genuine, heartfelt and
beautiful. Do not lose that ability to react and feel. Too often age brings cynicism;
you know better, and reinforced my belief in the goodness of people, young
people in particular. Additionally, I must compliment all of you on an
incredible evening at the home of the Ambassador. I so wanted to have my
picture taken while reclining on one of the deck chairs by the pool, but that
would not have been appropriate considering the formal tone you set for the
evening. Thanks for keeping me restrained. Finally, as I said when I left you
at Nomads, any of you are welcome to visit me in the states. Dave, Nick and Tom
know how to get a hold of me, and I am a short 45 minute drive from the Seattle
airport.

Now, some
reflections regarding the Philippines and the children at the school. I do not
know when I have ever met a people more open and friendly. For many of the
people we met, life is tough, but they persevere. I learned from that. Life is
good. Everywhere I went I saw children smiling. Though it took a while for some
to warm up to us, Jane’s comments at the site of the old school put that in to
perspective. Some are afraid of getting too close, I think though that the
Sholing students and the PCF students showed that living in the moment,
dropping pretenses and barriers, while making one vulnerable, is what makes us
personable and real. Finally, I will never forget the feelings generated in the
final assembly. I have been a teacher for 34 years, and I have never
experienced anything like that. I believe that though the PCF children had
practiced and rehearsed the program, they performed it with love and genuine
thanks for all you had done for them.

In closing,
let me again thank you all for allowing me to be a small part of your
experience. You are setting the tone for the future, and the future looks darn
good.

Mike

So I’m sat here on my living room Sofa, just finished planning tomorrows lessons, and watching Dragons den, having now been back on UK soil a little over 24 hours. I wanted to write a final blog, describing our final day at PCF and summing up the trip, but to be honest with you, I’m not sure I have a vocabulary sufficiently equipped to do justice to the absolutely magical ending we had.

We had the latest get up of the trip, having to be down at the lobby all packed and out of our rooms for 10am. A final weighing of the bags showed that most students (and Miss Wallace!) had been spending their pennies on gifts and souvenirs as almost everybodys bag weight had gone up. Ezra, our guide to Manila and Taal volcano, popped in to say goodbye to us all and gave us all a little keyring as a momento of our trip. We said our final goodbyes to the Shalom staff and headed off for the school.

We had about an hour or so at the school to catch up with any staff/students we had bonded with and say our goodbyes. I caught up with Justin (although sadly not Dante, who wasn’t in), who had been teaching me Tagalo over the 2 weeks, and left him my hat, which he had been telling me for 2 weeks made me look very ‘Pogey’ (handsome). I also had a chance to say goodbye to Ricardo, Leonido, Juju and Eduardo, the Filipino inbetweeners from Tuesday, as well as Kee, Edgar and other members of the teaching staff, who were all very kind with their words of thanks for the inset the previous day.

Once I’d finished saying goodbye, I headed up to the music room, determined that all of the guitars would have a full set of strings and pins put on before I left (I’d been and bought a load of strings at the mall earlier in the week, but hadn’t had the opportunity to put them on yet). Once all the guitars were fully strung and tuned, I started to play a little on one of them, and found myself joined by several students who all wanted to have a sing along. Having worked our way through sketchy covers of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and ‘That’s what makes you beautiful’, one of the students piped up ‘Do you know any Glee?’ I very hastily worked out Don’t stop believing, not expecting what was about to happen next. I was quickly surrounded by about 15 students, who all knew every word, and sang in beautiful harmony. This was an amazing moment for me, as someone for whom playing music has had a big impact on my life, seeing the music room being used for its rightful purpose, encouraging the PCF students to sing and dance and make music, and being able to join in.

As I walked out of the music room, I thought to myself, ‘that will be the moment I will take home as the highlight of my trip’. Little did I realise what was about to come. We all sat down for the PCF schools Thanksgiving assembly, where we were the guests of honour. Now, having sat through many leavers/end of term assemblies, I was expecting fairly standard, ‘Thanks for your hard work’ type assembly, but what we were actually treated to was the most magnificent display of talent, coupled with a wonderful sense of appreciation. No one on the trip worked hard because they wanted to be thanked, but the school made us feel like absolute heroes, offering messages of thanks from every single year group, with representatives reading a message from each grade. We also were given a dance routine, several choir numbers (including ‘Keep holding on’ and the previously mentioned ‘Dont stop believing’) and a number of speeches, from PCF founder Jane, General Manager Philip, Head teacher Anita and Trip organizer Bezza. Each of these lavished praise on our students and staff for their hard work over the last 18 months, both for raising the money and also the hard grafting that had been done since entering the Philippines. The whole thing felt very special. What topped it off though was Mary, one of the PCF students, singing a solo song called ‘Thank you’, which she did while walking to each member of the team and either shaking their hand or giving them a hug, accompanied by the 500+ PCF students who were all watching the assembly from the 4 floors we had painted over the week. This was the bit that got even the toughest of us crying, with everyone shedding at least a tear or two for this most beautiful moment. It was the most euphoric, uplifting experience I have ever had, being thanked in such a personal manner, by 500 students for whom we had given blood sweat and tears to help, but who in actuality had given us so much more in return. It was fantastic to see the love shown between our students and theirs, and the appreciation from the staff for what we had done for their students. I can’t possibly do this moment justice in words, but it will be a moment that I will never forget, and Mike, our American friend summed it up nicely by saying it was the most magical experience in his life, akin only to his wedding day and the birth of his children. Having experienced neither of these yet, I have no trouble putting it to the top of my list.

We then were able to give out a shoebox to each and every student in the school, thanks to the generosity of hundreds of people who have donated them to PCF over the past year. This was also an incredible feeling, seeing the faces of the PCF students, some of whom would never have been given a present in their lives due to the extreme poverty in which they live, accepting their presents and then playing with the contents.

Following on from this truly lifechanging few hours, we had to pack up our things an go, something everyone found very difficult to do. It was very hard to leave behind the friends who had welcomed us so warmly into their lives, knowing that many of us would never see them again, however comforted by the fact that we had been able to make their lives ever so slighly better with our work.

Our trip to Nomads helped to soften the blow of leaving, with us having the opportunity to have a swim, play football, play in the park and use the wifi. From there it was onto the airport, and a mad dash to beat the final boarding call for Dubai. As I’m sure you are all aware by now, once we got to Dubai, we ended up waiting around for nearly 6 hours (5 of which sat on the plane, on the tarmac) before setting off. Not once did any of the students moan or complain, which showed the type of students we have taken with us. A ‘quick’ 7 hour flight followed, and then we were back at Heathrow, our adventure of a lifetime finally come to an end.

The school we left looked totally different from when we had started, with different brightly coloured walls on each floor, fantastic murals created in Mrs Rumsey/Freeza’s art lessons, a repaired, sanded and restained playground, and a very inspiring musicroom, filled with pictures, instruments and a new stage. Every student had been taken on a trip, and the staff had been given some tips and pointers, as well as jam doughnuts. The PCF students had experienced love from our students and staff the likes of which they may never have had previously.

The other thing that looked different was our students. Over the course of the 2 weeks, each of them has overcome emotional difficulties and pushed themselves to their physical limits. They have coped with seeing the most harrowing poverty, and built strong relationships with people who they would have very little in common with. They have made small talk with dignitaries at the Ambassadors residence, and they have shown resilience and maturity beyond their years. Each and every student has risen to every challenge put infront of them, and they have done it with a smile on their face. I will miss the cameraderie, from the diving competitions, to the bus singalongs, to the evenings poons, which is an odd thing for a teacher to say. But these students haven’t been like ‘normal’ school trip groups, they have been strong and compassionate, caring and supportive, both for each other and the young people with which they were working. They have looked after each other, and worked as a phenomenal team, to produce an astounding level of work, and they have done it all while demonstrating a positive outlook far beyond anything I, or anyone else could have expected of them. I am so incredibly proud of the 26 young adults that we took with us, and what they have achieved, and I will fondly cherish the memories of these 2 weeks forever more. They were a credit to their school, their families and their generation these past 2 weeks, and it has been an honour to work along side them.

A lifechanging fortnight brought to a close, all that is left to say is a final ‘Baahlam’ and see you at the Rosebowl!

Mr D

The past 18 months have been difficult trying to raise the money and preparing for the trip but they were so worth it. seeing how glad the children were to see us and how happy they were when we finished painting the school and the music room was amazing. Basically spending 2 weeks painting was tedious at times but the children and the rest of the team got you through it. I think it is safe to say that most of the team don’t want to see a paint brush and paint for a long time. The people i went with were just amazing. Being ill and being thousands of miles away from home isn’t the best thing in the world but the team were so caring and supporting and i thank them for looking after me.
Taking all the children on a field trip was stressful especially nomads but they were great. All of the children had so much fun and so did we! Trying to keep them safe on the play equipment was difficult and there was a few injuries but they were all just having so much fun. Its sad to think that they probably wont go top a sports center or museum again but knowing that we took them to one makes you feel so much better.
What pcf do is amazing not only do they provide education they also provide food and cleanliness. Jane walker is an amazing person for what she set up i cant even imagine the strength and determination it must of took to build a school and provide education to the poorest of poor.
Seeing the conditions these kids lived in was difficult, i would not be able to cope living in them. The families on the dumpsites are just strong. Living in conditions like that raising a family, working and trying to get food must be exhausting. And still being able to smile at the end of the day and be happy is amazing and for that i commend them.
Saying goodbye was probably one of the hardest things i will ever have to do.Knowing that in a couple of hours i was going to be walking out of the door onto to the coach and leaving to most likely never returning was heartbreaking.Knowing the difference we had made to a group of children helped.The assembly they put on was amazing and it showed how talented they are. By the time we left there wasn’t a dry eye in the school. I didn’t really hit me that we that we were leaving until one of my friends ran up to me hugged me so tight and said bye i’m going to miss you.
through out the past 18 months there were many time i didn’t think i could do it. If it wasn’t for my parents i would of dropped out and would of regretted it for the rest of my life and for that i thank them. They supported me through out and believed in me when i didn’t believe in myself and helped me and the rest of the group change peoples lives and change our lives.
I would also like to thank all the teacher for choosing me for this live changing experience. it must of been so stressful for them and mr berry to arranged this trip and choose the people to take.
so thankyou

Amber

Well now I am back in England after the wonderful 40 hour journey and I already want to hop on a plane to go back out there! I remember the nervous feeling I had when I first arrived at the school wondering if I would see the children I met in 2012, and I remember the amount of happiness I felt when I saw them all again with the biggest smiles on their faces! I remember the tour and walking around to see all the previous work of 2012, and looking to see what we would be doing this time!! I’ve loved every minute of it all!! I remember every single emotion I’ve felt since arriving in the Philippines!! I’ve enjoyed every aspect of this trip, from the celebration assembly on the Friday to lifting very heavy boxes up to the 4th floor, even climbing the Taal volcano! I’ll never forget the people I’ve met, the memories I’ve made and what I have seen!
This project is honestly something I’d love to do all day, every day for the rest of my life because it delivers the best feeling and experience I believe any other job could offer!
I absolutely love the Philippine culture and the fact that everybody walks round smiling and waving at everybody they see!
I really also after hearing Jane Walkers speech whilst at the Happy land dump site visiting the old school, admire her very much not only for creating PCF but to going to great lengths to understand the lives of the people living in poverty.

I really enjoyed the last day, although it was horrific having to say goodbye it was amazing to see the genuine grateful attitude that children all had, it was very moving to see the children giving away their things to people in gratitude and for remembrance even though they do not have much!

This project is truly amazing and changed my life both times I have been, and I am so grateful to have been twice, so I would like to thank Mr Berry for being the man behind it all, he has a very stressful job that needs complete dedication and every time he does it but also a very rewarding job that manages to change the lives of many children as he does it and I am quite sad at the fact that unfortunately 2014 is the last project because now other people cannot experience this in the way that all these other people have! It truly has been amazing from start to finish even including the 4 and a half hour delay on the way home!

Thank you all – Shakila Texeira 🙂

18 months ago I was congratulated with the news that I would part of the Philippines Project 2014. Since then we have grown as one and achieved amazing things.

The whole experience for me has been a real eye opener, the first day when we went to the dump site and saw where the children lived was such a moving experience. However, their enthusiasm and cheerful nature made me realise that you have to enjoy your life no matter where you live or what you have.
Visiting the school and seeing the children was defiantly the best experience of all. Being greeted with friendly gestures of hello and smiles made us all feel so welcome. Within the first few days everyone had made lots of philippino friends and from there friendships grew. A comment I will never forget was when Jane Walker (the founder of PCF) said ‘when you give a child a hug that could be the only hug that they get that day.’ A hug at home is just part of every day life so this made me realise how I should never take this for granted as for these children it would impact on their lives forever.

The final assembly on Friday was the most memorable experience of all. It was so moving as we all realised how much we had achieved over our time with them. The schools choir sang ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ which fitted the moment perfectly. All these young singers showed so much talent and I’m so glad they now have a music room where they can keep singing.

Handing out the shoe boxes as part of this assembly really did make the whole trip worthwhile. Seeing the children’s faces light up when they were given their gifts, is a memory I will never forget. Christmas really had come early!

I would just like to thank everyone involved as you all made this such a special experience for me (especially to room 208- Helena, Fran and Daisy).
Of course another huge thank you to the teachers too, as without them the trip couldn’t have happened and they made our time away so enjoyable. In particular my group leader Miss Kennard who adopted the name ‘Mummy Kennard’.

I would to thank TSTC as I know I am very privileged to have experienced all that I have through this life changing trip. The memories, stories and pictures will stay with me forever. My time away had made me appreciate my life so much more and see how unimportant the material things really are. The children and the school I have visited has inspired me even more so to work hard and do well in my fast approaching GCSE’s, as I realise how lucky I am to have the education I do.

Anything is possible in life you as long as you ‘don’t stop believing’.

Olivia x

Sitting on an airbus A380 for nearly 3
hours now and likely to be another couple of hours yet due to fog.
The mood among the group is remarkably chirpy but in many ways, i’m
not surprised with this group of kids. I have been on this trip 3
times now in my role as playground builder/leader and each time I am
so impressed with how they all conduct themselves. Its not just about
their behaviour but as individuals, each one of them needing to adapt
to difficult circumstances that they have paid to be a part off.

When I first came on this trip in 2010,
I was amazed to hear that a group of 14,15 and sixteen year old kids
would be under taking such a task, starting with all the fund
raising, loading containers before they go out there, working
extremely hard when they are there and all the emotions of what they
experience throughout the 2 week period. Its difficult enough as an
adult to deal with let alone being a young teenager! They have a
great work ethic and build fantastic relationships with the children
from the dumpsites at the PCF school.

Leaving yesterday was a real roller
coaster of emotions as the PCF school children had put on a leaving
assembly which I have to say meant that there wasn’t a dry eye in the
house. The Sholing staff and pupils also handed out the gifted shoe
boxes which had been donated from children in the UK and that was
truly magical and extremely emotional, I can feel myself welling up
now as I write this blog.

What I would like to say to everyone
that I have come on this journey with, staff and pupils alike.

It has been an absolute pleasure to be
with you all. To the parents of these pupils that you should be
enormously proud of each and everyone of them as they are a credit to
you and their school and they will leave this process as better human
beings for the experience that they have had. I look forward to
seeing you all again at the Rosebowl and as we say in Ireland. It has
been a great craic!

Mick

Yesterday we attended a special thank you assembly at the PCF School. It was absolutely lovely with many of the Filipino children contributing with songs, dancing and little speeches, thanking us and wishing us fond farewells. There was not a dry eye in the house. I have been so privileged to have spent an amazing fortnight with a group of fantastic students and staff. We have experienced a huge number of highs and lows but each time we have bounced back ready to face the next task with renewed energy and enthusiasm. We have all faced things that have challenged us both physically and emotionally. The students are now accomplished decorators, porters and teaching assistants who have the confidence to make small talk at an Ambassador’s reception full of strangers. I have been honoured and so proud to work with them. They are a credit to themselves, their parents and TSTC and have proved themselves to be fantastic ambassadors for their generation and their country.

Caroline

Ok so where do I begin.

It seems like only yesterday I was in the Shalom reception waiting to meet the group as they departed the coach looking tired from their long journey. How time fly’s as the two weeks are already over. Looking back at what we have achieved as a group and how proud each member of the team can be with their personal contribution.

The transformation the school has under took while we were there was amazing and to also see the transformation of some of the students from TSTC and to see them grow as people has been amazing. I was also amazed in the way the group absorbed and adapted to the surroundings they were in.

I feel very privileged to be a member of this team and i will take the memories from this trip, as i have done on the previous ones, and look back with pride at what the groups i have been with have achieved and the way in which we have changed the lives of many children.

In a strange way my personal highlight from this trip is the raw emotion that came from every single member of the team at the final assembly and there was no place to hide amongst all of the PCF students. I don’t think any one was expecting what happened and no one who had been on previous trips had seen anything like it.

I would just like to thank the group for letting me share the experience with them and i know they will all take memories with them for the rest of their lives. Remember always keep smiling because you never know what that smile may mean to someone else.

A wise man once said to me you can’t change the world but you can change somebody’s world.

Tom