Final farewells filled with heartfelt emotion, tears and song!!

Rotary Club of Ormoc present GSE team with hand made 'coconut' hats!! Oh what a night!

The 'final farewell' with the mother club RC Cebu. Pictured above is President Joe Soberano III and club members with the team. Each team member expressed heart felt appreciation for this extraordinary and unbelievable experience and talked of the welcoming, family centred, friendly, generous and  happy spirited Filipino people.  Team members were in tears as they spoke of their special privileges and  how different events and experiences 'touched hearts and minds' over the last four weeks. As a tribute from the team to all present, Martin sang the song 'Once Before I go'. There were few dry eyes. I am most proud to have been the leader of this GSE team. Thank you David, Rebecca, Martin and Kylie for you commitment, hard work, dedication and the way you embraced every second of this Group Study Exchange. You made our Rotary District 9690, Rotary International and your families most proud!! Congratulations and every best wish and blessings for the time ahead, where hopefully, you will get an opportunity to use this experience to make a difference in someway for those less privileged then yourselves, 'turning concerns into actions'!! Daghang Salamat! (Thank you very much!)

GSE leaves for Ormoc City, Leyette on the early morning SuperCat!!

After a 4am start and a 2 hour SuperCat ride, the GSE team arrived at Ormoc Bay to be again warmly welcomed by Rotary Club members!

Bec and  Kylie  decide to 'disembark' by another means of transport!

The Rotary clubs of Omoc (two of them) have adopted a brilliant program of 'be a leader by being a reader...' program. They target underprivileged communities and assist by providing books and actually read to the children. Just wonderful.

GSE team leader, Ian was invited to read 'Clifford The Dog'!!

The  school children pose for the camera...note the Rotary sign .. 'Every Leader A Reader Program'.

Afterwards the team was taken  to Lake Danao, a 2 kilometre deep!!.. fresh water lake, for a special treat on a 'house boat'! Meals were brought on board and out we went! Fabulous!

DGN Peroc Rodriguez and GSE leader Ian enjoy a dip! 

Kyles, Marty, Bec and Dave...AFTER!!...they swam across the lake!!

Ormoc Rotarians farewell the team before their return to Cebu.

Only a few days to go!!  The team  has some  much needed R&R  before  the final farewell  dinner hosted by the Rotary Club of Cebu.  Only one more blog post after this!!!

Visit to Balamban full of surprises!!!

The team was delighted to be driven in the countryside, mountains and  the Barangay centre of  Balamban, North West of Cebu. The views were stunning and the team went on a trek to view the crash site (Mt Manungal) that killed the Philippine President Magsaysay in plane disaster  in 1957.

On the way to the crash site we met the 'Hills Angels'..a local community group dedicated to planting various trees up and down the mountain! Amazing!

Our host, Dave  Karamihan,  Rotarian from  Cebu Fuente , explaining to the team  the details at the crash site.

This pic shows the wet and muddy conditions of the trek, very much enjoyed by all going down to the crash site but not going back up!

In the classroom

Marty talking to the local fire chief (again!!)

That night all enjoyed a walk through the local markets with Marty and Bec 'tempted' to 'sample' the local fare!!

Kyles and David  considering  possibilities!!  

Rebecca loved the police transport in Balamban and wished this type of 'open air' flexibility at the Holroyd Command!!

In this pic David talks to a local bank manager and as always 'lights up everyone' with his enthusiasm for the banking business!! A revelation to Dave was the  'pawn shop' facility of the bank, where jewellery  can be valued and 'a 70% of the value loan'  will be given at 3%  over one month. More food for thought for the Strathfield Branch of the Westbank Bank!!

Our visit  finished with a delicious lunch of the Philippine special  dish of 'lechon de leche'....a piglet cooked to perfection!! Just fantastic! The team now moves to Ormoc City in Leyte. Not long now and all is just brilliant! An unbelievable experience.

Stunning Opening of the 37th District 3860 Rotary Conference, 2011!!

Around a 1000 Rotarians in District 3860 attended  a spectacular opening of their 37th Annual Conference to singing, dancing and extraordinary fellowship!!
The Conference, hosted by the Rotary Club of Port Centre, was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Cebu with the theme 'Rediscover Cebu'.
The Aussie GSE Team was introduced and paraded into the venue with much applause and welcome!

This was the first real chance 'to bond' and get to know the Philippines GSE team bound for Australia, departing Tuesday 8th March.

The large audience were entertained by traditional Philippine folk songs and welcome dances (Putungan) which were very much enjoyed by all.

GSE team leader Ian was invited to pose in this pic with seven past presidents of D3860 Rotary Clubs who later danced magnificently to assist open The Global International Night!

What a transformation!!!
The theme was  'International' and so the Aussie team came as 'you would', enjoying a day on Bondi Beach!!

Everyone loved it!!!

The 1000 strong crowd all had different themes and costuming and the evening was opened by the Governor of Cebu, Gwendolyn F. Garcia.

It was a fabulous evening and the team had a ball!!

The Philippine team joined the Aussies and asked many questions about Bondi beach!!!

There were many forms of entertainment through the evening with extraordinary solo artists and various (invited) Rotary clubs putting on their 'set piece' of different types of modern dance.

Absolutely stunning!


An excellent rock and roll band played throughout the evening and the team did not waste any opportunity to 'enjoy' the occasion!

A great time had by all.

The Philippine Team:

Pictured left is Rucel Cayetano, a lawyer, working the Regional Trial Court and right, Lorna Mandin, a women's advocate advancing the rights of women in all fields of development.

Pictured left is Ben Masungcad, a College Biology Professor, at San Pedro College and right, Chris Carmona, a Loans and Credit Analyst with the Development Bank of the Philippines.


The team leaves for Australia in a few days and all are very excited about the experiences that await them!!

The Australian GSE team will meet up with them again when they visit the Hawkesbury region on Sunday 3rd April and attend the Alumni Dinner to be held on Tuesday 5th April.





The GSE team eventually made their presentation at 10am on Saturday 5th March to an enthusiastic audience and were very well received. It was hugely successful and the team are to be congratulated!!
Not long to go now.....with the team proceeding to Ormoc on Tuesday!

Only 6 days to go!!

Very Interesting and Insightful Vocational Visits an Inspiration to the GSE Team!

 The Philippine Rotary District of 3860 has really
worked very hard to provide extraordinary vocational visits for the GSE team. The depth and variety of the visits has been very much appreciated by the team.


Pictured right is Kylie with award winning chief photographer, Alex Badayas, from the largest community newspaper in Cebu.

Kylie was excited to meet famous Filipino (and world recognised) magazine and advertising photographer Ted Madamba. Much discussion took place re techniques, marketing, commerce and future opportunities!!
Go Kyles!!

Rebecca was most interested in visiting the Legal Alternatives for Women Centre. This Centre works to assist marginalised women from all forms of discrimination, abuse and exploitation.


Bec is pictured here with legal services officer Mel Yu (2nd on right) and executive director Lolet Alino (3rd on left).












Another pic visiting the Women and Children Protection Regional Office in Cebu. Standing to the left of Rebecca is Chief Superintendent Milagros Soukno.

David was most impressed with the a visit to the RCBC (Rural community Bank of Cebu) and it's 'state of the art' EBIZ Centre! This electronic Biz Hub is open 24 hours, has wifi facilities, telephone & internet banking, two ATMs and a Bill Payment System!!
Certainly food for thought for Westpac (particularly the Strathfield Branch!!!)

 A view from the street!

Ian was able to fit in various visits to different schools to discuss how the children are engaged in their learning.
Almost all elementary schools were involved with 'discovery' learning where Bloom's Taxonomy and Cooperative Learning Strategies are applied.

Pictured here is Ian with with a kinder group in a private school of 300 students named 'The Marie Ernestine School' (named after it's founder). The curriculum based on Cooperative learning.

A delightful experience!

Another pic of Ian with the principal of Cebu International School, Deidre Fischer (an Aussie and Rotarian!).
This school has around 700 students from Kinder to year 12 and is considered to be one of the best schools in the Philippines. Over 70% of students are children of expatriates, living in Cebu.
The teaching methods, curriculum and assessment bench marking are similar to Australia.
This fee paying school has magnificent resources and was seen to be far superior to anything seen as yet!

 Martin is pictured here visiting another fire station (!!) and posing with rather 'outdated' masking equipment, which is the 'standard' in Cebu. Clearly, the Fire Brigades of Australia are much more resourced than their colleagues in Cebu! (This indeed is an understatement!!)

The Cebu fire fighters were very interested in techniques, processes and equipment used in Australia.
In this pic, Marty held a captive audience showing them fire fighting images of Australia from his USB!
They were incredibly impressed with the range of equipment used in Australia.









The team now is preparing for the 2011 3860 District Conference Opening!! More soon.

More Than Half Way and All Okay!!! : Cultural and vocational visits and more presentations.

The GSE team has had a packed few days with cultural and vocational visits and presentations to the District 3860 Rotary clubs. All the clubs are preparing for their District Rotary Conference beginning tomorrow (Thursday March 3rd). With 92 clubs and over 2000 members, the conference registration is approximately 1000!!! The Team is looking forward to presenting to such a large group!!!???

The team has had many privileges which have been very much appreciated.
A special tour guide showed the team around Cebu with highlights being the Tindalo Wood encasing Ferdinand Magellan's Cross presented in 1521.

The team also visited the famous Basilica Minore Del Santo Nino which was built in the 16th Century. This church is one of the most important  Catholic spiritual centres in all of the Philippines. The frescoes and architecture were stunning.  Extraordinary.

From the 'spiritual heart' to  a more contemporary monument .....the team posing in front of a very creative 'montage' of steel, brick and marble depictions of the history of Cebu!

Our presentation to the Rotary Club of Cebu Fuente was an outstanding success! The club members were very appreciative of Martin singing the Philippine Anthem and a great spirit of fellowship, humour and sharing of cultures flowed through the evening.

As with previous presentations, the 'vegemite song' is a great 'hit' and the volunteers have the privilege of not only dancing the 'vege dance' with special vegemite hats brought from Australia, they also get to taste vegemite!!!
(With a Koala each as a prize!!!)
It is so funny, so enjoyable....the club members roll around laughing, everyone having so much fun.
Of course this is done after the 'proper presentation' which has been very well received indeed.

The Rotary Club of Cebu Fuente were wonderful hosts, presenting us with gifts and t-shirts as a momento of our visit...this 'muck up' pic was requested by the club members and indicates the spirit of a fabulous evening had by all.
Great Rotary fellowship.

Pictured here is a another presentation to the Rotary club of Cebu West. Another successful and enjoyable evening.

The next day the team had a early start for a full day of vocational visits.
Pictured here is a modern fire truck purchased by the Rotary Matching Grants program (note the Rotary emblem on left of truck).

The team all had turns with the fire hose with Martin (the singing firefighter) 'coaching' of course!!

If you look closely in this pic you will see the same fire truck (in the centre of the image) assisting with a major fire late last year in a village lacking basic services.
This fire truck saved many lives and property....again emphasizing the work Rotary does to make a difference.
Amazing.

The team moved on to a local public grade (elementary) school, Zapatera Primary.
This school has nearly 3000 students....(this is not a typo!!)
The school structure is amazing, having a large preschool, special education unit and 12 grades per cohort! (That's 360 kinders for a start!)

The children were amazing...very well behaved polite and beautifully groomed in uniforms. Philippine parents take their children's education very seriously, wanting the optimum opportunities for their children's future.
Lot's of hope and aspiration in the kids.
Very impressed.
(But very few computers...)

 An idea of the scale....quite large classes.

Martin and Rebecca were able to have an insightful discussion with the Operational manager of the ERUF (Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation) which is funded in part by Rotary International. This unit, provides efficient and effective rescue and emergency medical services to the residents of Metro Cebu and the team was informed during our visit that a platoon of members were on 'readiness'
to travel to NZ to assist with the recent earthquake.

The Ambulance Support vehicle pictured below was donated to this group in Cebu by the Rotary Club of Canberra!
Bravo! (More vocation pics next blog).