Wow I can't believe I haven't posted since Thanksgiving. Perhaps proves that I'm not really cut out to be a blogger. If only the narration in my head could somehow be captured....haha.
After Thanksgiving, things got very busy for Steve in Roxas, Philippines. We actually didn't hear from him much at all the first week or two of December. It sounded like they got a lot busier because transport channels and supply chains were beginning to get sorted out and supplies were arriving every few hours from very early in the morning until the evening. He was quite understaffed as well, though later he told me they'd hired a bunch more people. He also said that their HQ was regularly moving people around on them, to fill critical staffing gaps, making it harder for him to plan and train up people.
In the last week, we've heard from him more, and even video skyped with him last weekend, and Griffin was able to see him and talk to him. Living conditions were still pretty hard- no air conditioning but blazing hot and humid weather, no hot water, food options were pretty limited also, and he'd run out of multivitamins. Sounded like stress was pretty extreme too- everyone was starting to get burnt out and he said tensions were rising. Also, many of the Filipino transporters were starting to get wise to the NGO system and were not showing up to honor their contracts if they got a higher offer, thereby not transporting goods to a waiting community.
Yesterday, he finally finished up in Roxas and flew up to Manila, where he's working out of the office there and planning his handover and doing debriefs. He's staying with old friends of ours from Sri Lanka, Marianne and Will, and catching up with another old friend from Sri Lanka, Gianni. Small world, these disasters are!
And with that, he comes home Thursday evening! Couldn't be soon enough!
Happy holidays!
Christie
After Thanksgiving, things got very busy for Steve in Roxas, Philippines. We actually didn't hear from him much at all the first week or two of December. It sounded like they got a lot busier because transport channels and supply chains were beginning to get sorted out and supplies were arriving every few hours from very early in the morning until the evening. He was quite understaffed as well, though later he told me they'd hired a bunch more people. He also said that their HQ was regularly moving people around on them, to fill critical staffing gaps, making it harder for him to plan and train up people.
In the last week, we've heard from him more, and even video skyped with him last weekend, and Griffin was able to see him and talk to him. Living conditions were still pretty hard- no air conditioning but blazing hot and humid weather, no hot water, food options were pretty limited also, and he'd run out of multivitamins. Sounded like stress was pretty extreme too- everyone was starting to get burnt out and he said tensions were rising. Also, many of the Filipino transporters were starting to get wise to the NGO system and were not showing up to honor their contracts if they got a higher offer, thereby not transporting goods to a waiting community.
Yesterday, he finally finished up in Roxas and flew up to Manila, where he's working out of the office there and planning his handover and doing debriefs. He's staying with old friends of ours from Sri Lanka, Marianne and Will, and catching up with another old friend from Sri Lanka, Gianni. Small world, these disasters are!
And with that, he comes home Thursday evening! Couldn't be soon enough!
Happy holidays!
Christie
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