After my first arrival to the Phillippines in Talisay, it was all new to me. I was shocked to see the lifestyle of some hardworking people and the living conditions they were in. I noticed a little tent made of different pieces of material like mesh, zinc and plywood that made a little tunnel, I then began to ask who lived here and it was a single mother with two children aged 9 and 11. I was shocked to hear this was a rental which they paid about 500 pesos a month for, and they were close to being evicted because she could not afford rent.‍

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The next day I came back to visit the family and was able to get to know a bit more from the woman. She explained she was a cleaner in a local hair salon but was unable to make ends meet and pay rent on time and was packing her things because they were being evicted. I made the decision right there to help this family and assist in building a home. Her neighbour saw us speaking after letting him know about the situation, he offered to take me to the city council to get permission to build a small home on a part of the land there. 

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Once I was approved, I hired a local carpenter to come over and give me an estimate of the materials needed. After purchasing the materials I hired a helper and we began to clean out the area and began building this family's home. 

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It took us about a week to do everything from cleaning the area, building the foundation and the home. Once we finished and it was ready, the people in the village surrounded us as we welcomed and celebrated as the family moved in.