Evolution is a Dive Resort which actually is a business even though its hard to believe its a job sometimes. That’s what we do. We go diving and offer rooms and food. But since Yolanda came and turned our little island upside down we have developed a few extra unwanted skills, namely in post calamity aid and relief.
So when repeat customer Stephanie got in touch about arranging a return visit to Malapascua she pledged to help the local economy but she also wanted to lend a hand on some other projects. She and her friends wanted to mix a traditional beach and dive holiday with something more meaningful.
The winds of Yolanda blew away the veneer of island life a little and showed us how many of our community live. So we suggested that Stephanie and her friends do some fund raising and we could put donations into a variety of projects. She set about it with great focus and suddenly we had 16 eager Hong Kong residents, known as the Project X team, ready to dive and contribute to the enhancement of our community.
We set about three projects. The first was to help a still homeless family get a head start on a new life. On November 8th Nene our fruit seller had her house blown away. She and her children and grand children all lived in a basic hut on land they did not own. 6 months later she couldn’t financially make it work to buy or rent land even though she already had materials ready to build a house donated by Evolution. The Project X team paid rent on a small lot for two years so now Grandma Nene and her children and grand kids have a real and secure home again and can plan for the future.
The Project X team also wanted to focus on some of the kids of our island. Guimbitayan is a small fishing village on the far end of Malapascua and is not really effected by or benefitting from tourism. We decided to go to their Elementary School on the first day back of the new school year and feed every kid with our special hot dogs and marshmallows, spaghetti and chocolate cake with juice. The Craic House kitchen as always worked all day to make 25 kilos of noodles and cooked endless sausages and then the Beagle took all the food and volunteers to the other side of the island for a great afternoon of games and full bellies.
Our guests then added the remaining funds to the Evolution sanitation project where we are installing correct sewage treatment facilities in the local communities.
So in conjunction with a few days of diving, sun bathing, eating and drinking the Project X team from Team Hong also managed to contribute to the environmental sustainability of the island, fed 250 hungry kids and turned a homeless family into a homed family. Not a bad weekend’s work!
Thanks to Stephanie and all her friends for a really memorable visit and taking eco tourism to the next level!
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