Today we had the pleasure of meeting officials from two villages that we most likely will be collaborating with in the near future. One project is most likely to be a renovation / extension of an old Learning center. The other project is a new building on a location we could not even dream of back in the U.K.

This village does not have facilities often found in other places such as a basketball court or a playground. Being involved here seems like another fantastic opportunity to improve the environment of local children by construction a space dedicated to them and their needs only.

A special thanks to Ate Anning from Rural Development Initiative (RDI) who helped making the introduction and took us to see the sites.

Sonod Simana! Means “Next Week” in Visayas. We know this a little too well by now.

Initially, the Philippines and it's sunshine, nature & friendly locals seem like a rather perfect place to work. But charity architecture is in many ways frustrating, slow & difficult.

Despite receiving nothing but positive feedback from everyone we interact with, delay after delay is holding us back from construction. After months of being promised that progress will happen “Next week!” we cannot help but sometimes question ourselves: Why Charity Architecture? Why do we bother working here when it so much easier in Europe?

Whenever this question comes up, the answer is often no further than the kids on our doorstep. They (or their hard working parents) cannot quit or hand in their notice and have no cosy first world country to move back to when things get hard.

Interacting with these kids every evening keep us in check and puts things back in perspective. We came to improve their reality. That was our goal when we started 6 month ago, it still is, despite delays and complications. It feels like progress is just around the corner: Sonod Simana!