Garduch... on top of the World!!!

"Mountaineer Romeo "Romi" Garduce accomplished his mission of reaching the summit of Mount Everest on Friday at 11:20 a.m. (Nepal time). With Garduce’s feat, three Filipinos in three days have reached the top of the world’s highest mountain. " - excerpts from GMA Everest website...

at long last, Romi Garduche has reached the summit - May 19, 2006!!! ang Saya...

by Joanne

2nd Pinoy on Top of Mt. Everest....

Yes ... it's not Romi... but Erwin 'Pastour' Emata was the second Filipino to summit the the peak of the Everest... my Garduch will still have to traverse 24 more hours to reach the summit....

GK... I am to take the Plunge!!!

Last May 11th 2006, we went to Ruwais, a paradise amidst the Abu Dhabi deserts… what to do there??? I really have no idea, other than this is all about GK… We were told by Dude CJ to just bring these and that, not this and especially not that… and off we go…

From the city centre, the place was a 3 hour-drive and we arrived past 11pm at the humble crib of brother Jeffrey, the one, the only, and the sole SFCer of Ruwais… right from their doorsteps we were greeted with a warm welcome..

The house was so cozy and very accommodating, we were so at home… and then… the story began…

We started the night by giving praises and thanks to the Lord, singing the songs that CJ and Ate che taught us at the bus on our way to Ruwais… we prayed and gave God honor and thanksgiving… we were sleepy but when were led to sing and praise the Lord, we were empowered …

And so, they started… this plunge was all about GK… and all about GK alone… this was actually the information drive that was supposed to let us (new SFC members) know everything there is about GAWAD KALINGA, from which I have learned means "to Give Care"…

I was attracted to the mission and vision of GK, and since I learned about Habitat for Humanity in the United States, I was actually waiting for something like that to be initialized in the Philippines, and without me knowing it, GK was already there… and so, … I told myself, Join ako dyan!!!

I learned not only GK builds houses for the poorest of the poor, but also I learned that GK doesn’t stop there, it is only where GK starts… after house building which they called TATAG, more GK concepts arises – KABUHAYAN, where GK helps the bread winner of the family to look for a job or helps them to become more productive so that they can maintain their household and not come back to where GK had found them – being poor again. SIBOL – for toddlers and kids that needs special care, attention and education, GK has its own agenda to help them become a better person when they grow old. SIGA, for those youngsters and out of school youth that thought of themselves as hopeless cases, GK is there to provide help and assistance to them. KASULUGAN, a GK community will be not complete if there's no one to take care of their health and well being, GK also extends their hands in giving medical attention to those people who cannot afford to even pay a doctor a visit.

In totally, GK is not only good… it is the best!!! And I am thankful GK found me…through the SFC community. But as for me, sabi nga din ni Ate Che, being a member of SFC – I should not stop there, I should also be out of the open, using the talents, time and resources God gave me, to be of help to those who needs most of my help…

In the light of the Holy Spirit and through the guidance and will of the Lord, I pray that I will be able to respond to His call, a call to being a GK volunteer, a call to be of service to others, a call to follow Christ's steps, a call to be human enough, sensitive to the needs of others, and a call to fulfill my pledge in Gawad Kalinga…

By Joanne Lopez

(Photos courtesy of Kuya Jojerry ...tagal pa isend wala pa hanggang ngayon ;-) pasend n lang sa email ko: jlopez@bensalem.ae TY!!

Filipinos ... on top of the World!!!

I have been following the summit attempt of Romi Garduche, (known as Garduch to his fellow climbers) excited as I am, GMA news team also followed the trails of this mountaineer from Bataan, having an extensive "GMA Everest Watch"… everyone is excited, including me of course… siempre first time meron Filipino mag attempt umakyat sa highest peack on earth…

And so there he was, acclimatizing in Nepal since March 2006… going back and forth from the Everest Base Camp, then to Camps 1, 2, 3 and 4… getting his body used to the thin air of a high altitude place… but something seems to be wrong, I thought Garduch is being slow… he should have attempted to summit when he had a chance long before… long before Leo Oracion of Lucban Quezon reached the summit…

YESS??!!! One Filipino has reached the summit today, May 17, 2006… the first Filipino to ever set foot in the highest mountain in the world is not Romi Garduche (like most of us is expecting), but in another person of Leo Oracion, a member of the Philippine Everest Expedition team, who was climbing with another Filipino, Pastor Emata whom from what I believe is already at Camp 4 by this moment. Another controversial independent climber – Dale Abenojar, whom was rumored to have reached the peak yesterday, but was actually seen by other climbers turning back to Base camp.

A Filipino was actually there, a fellow countryman waved our very own Philippine flag on the top of the world… something we should all celebrate to, but my heart still wants to rejoice if Garduch first made it to the top… although from the very start he's quite clear that his summit assault is not a contest and he prioritize his own agenda health and well-being, I still feel sad kase hinde sya and nauna, pinag pray pa namin sya nila Ross at Mother Marie…

Anyway, at the end of the day, we can still be proud because Filipinos are among the brave hearts who attempted and actually summited the most dangerous and highest peak of the world – Mt. Everest.

(Photos courtesy of http://www.mounteverest.net/ and http://www.gmanews.tv/everest)

Climb for Peace....

It is sad news indeed… although we've prayed so hard and put our high hopes on this, no one could really know how this history making climb would turn out? But still, we are so proud and honored that one of us attempted the summit assault…

"Although his health prevented him from summiting the peak, his heart and mind still wants to pursue, but because of his love of his family he made the wisest decision to turn back."

I am talking about my colleague, Mr. Ali Bushnaq, whom some of you might have read articles about him in the Gulf News. Yes people, he's one of my colleagues and we've worked closely together being the Project Manager – project coordinator tandem.

He made a history-making attempt to climb the highest peak on earth – the Mt. Everest… being the Palestinian member of the Everest Climb for Peace expedition, he was climbing side by side with two Israeli mountaineers, to prove the world that Palestinian and Israelis can settle their differences and can have harmonious, unconditional and peaceful friendship, amidst the world's perspective that these two nations are at war since time immemorial. Mr. Ali is not a climber, although he has been athletic and sports minded all his life, and he has submitted Mt. Kilimanjaro in South Africa , his goal was never been to summit the Everest but to "climb for cause", of promoting peace and bringing inspiration to the rest of the world.

Here in Abu Dhabi, we have been closely watching his Everest expedition through the dispatches of their expedition team leader Mr. Lance Trumbull in their official website. We have seen how they struggle to surmount the colder than cold climate of the Tibetan side of the Everest, the physical torture the mountains gave their bodies and minds, the emotional sacrifices each one has to endure for being far from home… everything is a struggle… and each surpassing day is a victory for each one of them… and although Mr. Ali's health prevented him to reach the summit, he's still a man of history – being able to climbed higher than any other Palestinian person, reaching beyond the altitude of 7000 meters (23,000 feet)…

Turning back I believe is a wise decision for him… and as person I truly admire his determination, his intentions and purpose to become an inspiration…

Kudos Abu Naber!!!

By: Joanne Lopez

(Photos courtesy of http://www.humanedgetech.com/expedition/peace/)