YGAT Sharing By NATHAN MARI
I attended the YFC GAT (Great Adventure Tour) last year in which I was able to help construct a home in a depressed area of Arkong Bato. I was so overwhelmed by the experience, that I desired to share this with other youth such as myself. I wanted other Australians to know about this who weren't in the community and may not get the chance to see or experience this "Great Work". God whispered to me and this was all I wanted.
I became a Youth and Young Adult Ministry Coordinator for the St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parish of Cronulla in Australia on May 21 2003 , a day before my birthday. I had no plans on sending youth over to the Philippines to build houses for "Gawad Kalinga" then. I was given another opportunity to serve outside the community and I took it. But I slowly felt the spirit moving this way which would allow the young people to experience first had the reality of poverty and social IN-justice present in today's world. Seven young friends attended the newly formed YGAT (Youth Great Adventure Tour), for non-YFC and non-Filipino's. Garth Wentzel, Bosco Mai, Marilee Mai, Kim Mai, Meryl Remedios, Kira Timewell and Jaime Ovens.
During the two week Great Adventure Tour, we wanted to build and finish a home in which our parish community raised funds through various fundraising activities. Through God's grace we had enough money for two homes. When we arrived at Brookside, Payatas, two shacks occupied the site where we would be building our two new homes. Needless to say they had to go.
So armed with crowbars, we got to work. Boy if I can only describe to you the feeling of ripping apart those symbols of poverty. There was an incident where myself, Garth and Bosco, (the Three Amigos) pulled a wall down together. A metaphor for our future engagements perhaps? So for four days we built with the assistance of skilled laborers and carpenters. We carried bricks, laid bricks, carried cement, mixed cement, meticulously hacked at two concrete pillars, plowed our way through garbage infested dirt to fill rice sacks and use it to level the two foundations. I can honestly say I have never worked so hard in my life.
As we rested often to try and catch our Aussie breaths, there was a great deal of frustrations as we saw just how little these people rested. We just couldn't work as hard and soon it took its toll when Bosco fell victim to an asthma attack. The first one in years he said. He had to be hospitalized and missed a portion of the Youth Great Adventure Tour. This symbolized our frustrations as we simply couldn't do as much as they could. There is a Great Spirit at work among the residents here. It's as if they are powered by something greater. I say this with great humility as we were relatively fit individuals who exercised often to stay in shape. And yet we still couldn't keep up with them. So when we got tired physically, we played with the children to recharge. The people are so happy here and they don't have much. They become overjoyed with the simplest of things, even Australians coming to visit.
It was an extraordinary feeling when we finished the homes. We painted them in the colors of our parish logo, red and blue. As we took a step back we each whispered, how could you not be moved to do a little more after seeing this. I pray that in July, the parent's this time will be given a chance to experience what we've experienced or perhaps, simply be part of the spirit that exists in here Brookside . We thank God for being a part of it.
So armed with crowbars, we got to work. Boy if I can only describe to you the feeling of ripping apart those symbols of poverty. There was an incident where myself, Garth and Bosco, (the Three Amigos) pulled a wall down together. A metaphor for our future engagements perhaps? So for four days we built with the assistance of skilled laborers and carpenters. We carried bricks, laid bricks, carried cement, mixed cement, meticulously hacked at two concrete pillars, plowed our way through garbage infested dirt to fill rice sacks and use it to level the two foundations. I can honestly say I have never worked so hard in my life.
