Expensive living

When I went to the market one year ago the price for one kilogram of rice was 24 to 28 Pesos. Today the price for the same product is 38 up to over 40 Pesos. Many people say the price is soaring so much because the producers don’t hand over their products and stock them instead in their homes to earn more later on. And why is the oil price soaring so far? Because of the many difficulties of life especially for the poor I had to find out about how is it with other important products. I realized that one square foot of steel roof was 30 Pesos one year ago and costs now 39 Pesos. This is an increase of almost 25%. The gasoline prices increased from around 48 Pesos per Liter up to 62 Pesos for the same quality. In consequence of that the Tricycle-, Jeepney- and Bus prices increased also at around 10 to 20 percent. My experience is, that many sellers and salespeople increase many products for more than 10 percent. When I asked why is it more expensive now, the answer often was, because of the oil price. Even if the product is not really related to the oil price, many sellers try to make more money by this opportunity of general soaring prices. There is always a good reason or even an “evidence” for them. My result is, that many prices increased artificially. I’m sure that even a big part of the oil price is made by speculators. They buy materials and hold them back until the price is higher and they can earn a much higher price. I’m sad about those people who make life of poor people more difficult by searching their own success. Are they responsible traders and aware of what they are doing?

Picture by MH

Education

Kürzlich hatte ich die Gelegenheit in der Diözese von Calapan eine Weiterbildung zu besuchen. Ich konnte lernen, wie man aus Heilpflanzen grundlegende und günstige Heilmittel, Crèmes, Salben, Sirup, Tabletten und Säfte herstellen kann. Die Produktion einzelner Heilmittel mit den lokalen Verantwortlichen war jeweils ein Anlass, bei dem viele Fragen gestellt werden konnten. Das kleine Social Action Team der Diözese Calapan ist sehr tatkräftig und arbeitet insbesondere in die Richtung der Verwendung von natürlichen und organisch-biologischen Mitteln wie Medicinal Herbal Plants. Der Umweltschutz gehört da selbstverständlich zum Programm und bleibt keine Farce. So werden Anlässe zur Sensibilisierung der Menschen bezüglich globaler Erwärmung und nachhaltiger Abfallverwendung etc angeboten. Wir konnten für einige Tage bei Jon, einem jener Mitarbeiter wohnen und feststellen, dass er selber ein leuchtendes Vorbild ist. Er hat nicht nur seine Farm auf biologische Bewirtschaftung umgestellt und benützt die spezialisierten Vermin-Würmer für die Produktion von Bio-Dünger, er experimentiert auch mit verschiedenen Reissorten, um für die Menschen eine möglichst grosse Ernte zu erreichen und das selbst unter Bedingungen erhöhter Niederschläge und Überschwemmungen. Die Vielzahl der vorhandenen Heilmittel um sein Haus ist überraschend gross. All die Begegunungen während der verschiedenen Seminare wurden für mich zu einer Bereicherung und das Gelernte zur Herausforderung, es bald in Taten umzusetzen.

Bild: MH

Time

When the Typhoon „Cosme“ crossed our Country I got scared the day after. So many destroyed trees and damaged houses. There are no words to describe and the pictures only show a part of it – never the whole view. I’m feeling with all the people who lost their home or a part of it. For myself I had to suffer only a flood in my house and lost some documents and books. More than two weeks after the incident I was able to use my computer, because the electricity came back. There were already so many deals to do. At the same time a tree in my garden had to be removed. All the duties made me feeling so much expected too much from myself. Maybe I will never be able to follow up all the work I planned and so I have to concentrate on the most necessary things. Now I feel how much worth time is. The following pictures show what the storm did.

Ich weiss nicht, was ich sagen soll. Ich sehe in der Zeitung während zweier hintereinanderfolgender Tage jeweils ein Bild mit beleibten Personen, die Reis davon tragen, das für die Ärmsten zu fast halbem Preis abgegeben wird. Die Arroyo Administration gibt Reis für 43,7 Milliarden Pesos für Arme zu günstigeren Preisen ab. Die Bezüger erhalten je nach Bezugsort einen markierenden Tintenfleck auf dem Finger oder Hand, um Missbrauch zu vermeiden. Wie aber kommt es, dass Menschen als wirklich arm eingestuft wurden, obwohl sie offensichtlich an z.T. massivem Übergewicht leiden? Es ist sogar ein stark übergewichtiges Kind mit Reisbeuteln in den Händen zu sehen. Tatsächlich ist das auch eine Form von Fehlernährung - sicher aber kaum eine Form von Unterernährung.

Mit ähnlichen Schwierigkeiten habe ich bei meiner Arbeit zu kämpfen. Die wirklich armen Menschen sind oft deshalb so arm, weil sie sehr abgelegen wohnen, viele Kinder haben und keine Landbesitzer sind, sich also nicht selber versorgen können. Mir scheint, dass niemand so wirklich an jenen Ärmsten interessiert ist. Wie gerne lanciert man doch ein Projekt, das gut sichtbar ist und das es entsprechend einfach möglich macht, sich eine guten Namen zu sichern. Genauso macht der als rechtskräftig der Plünderung verurteilte Ex-President Estrada seine Medienauftritte und schmeist gern einmal einige Medikamente in die Menge, um zu zeigen, wie grosszügig er (wohl mit dem Geld anderer?) ist.

Es mag eine der grössten Herausforderungen sein, mit und für die wirklich ärmsten Menschen zu arbeiten. Denn jene glauben oft nicht mehr an eine Veränderung, nicht selten haben sie keine Träume mehr und hoffen nicht mehr auf Hilfe. Wer dort arbeitet wird oft nicht von der breiten Menge gesehen und kann keinen Ruhm erhalten, ausser vielleicht den Dank der Menschen vor Ort. Wer sich mit jenen Menschen abgibt macht sich darauf gefasst, dass alles Mühen kaum oder nur schwer Früchte trägt. Doch jedes Leben ist es wert, gepflegt zu werden. Jede Hoffnung die gesät wird, möge hundertfach Frucht bringen. Ich hoffe und arbeite daran, dass der Reis der Hoffnung am richtigen Ort ankommt.

Philippine Inquirer Frontpage Saturday, April 5 2008

After one year

As a member of the social action of the diocese of Alaminos (Pangasinan) in the Philippines I am very much interested in the difficulties of life of the people, especially of poor people. It is part of the program of the Bethlehem Mission Immensee to improve the sad situations of the needy. Actually the rising food prices became an international problem. In some parts of the world are even violent clashes reported, because the people suffer of hunger and so far they fight for food.

If I try to be honest to myself, I can’t make a bread reproduction like Jesus in the bible. But I realize that we still have some resources to do a similar kind of reproduction. In the Philippines we’re living in a tropical area where we can plant trees or vegetable all the year. Even if there is dry season we always experience enough groundwater up to the start of the rainy season with the typhoons and their rainfall.

My friend Joe with his wive Joselyn and their family started last year with some experiences by planting more vegetable around the house. The area doesn’t belong to them. But as long as they are living there they can use the area. After some small Ampalya plants we had to find new ways. First of all I started an own fertilizer-compost behind my house. Soon out of it grew some Kamote (sweet potatoe), Papaya etc. After two month I started to use the fertilizer as well as the Papaya. My experiences were good, so we started with Joe’s family in the backyard of their house. We even found a Malunggay, which is also be used for producing fuel and is often used as a side dish for rice in Philippino meals. Malunggay is famous for his wealth of vitamins. Even Malunggay is easy to plant. Just cut a branch and put it into a fertile and wet soil. After some days up to two weeks it starts to grow. This is the way to get more food for more and more people.

Our only problem is, that people really don’t know how to use or to establish things like this. Often people are so poor, that they need food just by now. In the cold areas of the world people had to lern how to store food. So there is always an interest of doing that. But in the tropical area it seems to be a bit different. We will adapt to this situation here and do the best we can! After only one year of being here – I still have to adjust myself. Life is still an experience!

Pic: Joe's son Jovel watering the garden

Together

After one year of working, organizing and connecting, many people told me that they are interested in helping for some sustainable projects for the needy. I got excited when the priests told me they have also good ideas to improve the health situation in chosen Barangays. They will also connect with some additional doctors. All good things need time and at least patience.

After organizing with the parish and the health center, people from the KASAKA in Manila and of course with the Bethlehem Mission as well as with all the donors of our projects we were able to refer a multi drug resistance (MDR) Tuberculosis (TB) patient to a special treatment for around 1 ½ up to 2 years. It was a very big thing to find a way and to organize for this single case. I hope and I still work on it with some nurses in the Philippines – which are responsible for TB-cases in the well known DOTS-Centers – that there will be a better possibility to treat all MDR cases which have only a few or no own funds…

But now we’re concentrating on our feeding program which will improve the health situation of the needy by teaching them how to use medicinal herbal plants and to learn about biological fertilizer to get own vegetable. Our concern is that people get more and better food.

There are many things to improve slowly but surly. I like to thank to all the people which are supporting the needy and me as well, especially all the professionals like doctors, nurses, staff of hospitals, bishops, priests and social workers and all the supportive friends in my new life in the Philippines as well as in Switzerland, which are not less important.

Thank you very much!

Picture: MH

Martins Spring

I’m sitting on a bench studying the birds, which are passing by. I was pondering where all the beautiful birds are coming from or where they are going to. Many of them are reserved. I was looking for the names of them in English. In German we call them Alpensegler, Mauersegler, ...etc. But probably they are not exactly the same. But they look like with their white rump and forked tail and black back. I know they are gathering together to fly back to the north.

Now in the Philippines started the dry season. In april and may the heat will achieve the peak of heat. It is an opportunity for all birds which are migrating in winter/summer time. At the same time in the north is calm and a fruitful weather.

The birds will rise up the offspring in the north just to come back for a winter vacation in the south. The martins (bird of the swallow family, also called swift) are leaving now. I see them gathering here in the Philippines in spring instead of autumn in Europe.

The nice name of this birds may be one reason why I like them so much – they share their name with me. In the dictionary I see that this birds are called: house martin, sand martin bee martin etc. Now they are flying to the north and I told them to greet you when they meet you!

Many greetings to you! Martin

Pic: Internet

More pictures

I realized how difficult it is to send many pictures in high resolution to a friend. So I decided to create in a very short time a new homepage just to safe the pictures for downloading.

After a while I thought how nice it looks. And because of that I like to share this with all of you.

But this blog-site (Tinu = shortcut for Martin in Switzerland) is and will be furthermore the main page to get informations. This page is called blog. The other page is called Homepage and there is a small difference between. This page includes informations and pictures. My homepage only contains additional pictures in high resolution.

Click "Homepage" on the right side of this page or click the link below.

martin.hungerbuehler.googlepages.com/

Um mehr Bilder zu sehen, bitte auf den Link oben klicken.

Earthquake

It is the last night of the meeting of the Bethlehem Mission Immensee in Bontoc, Philippines. At 8.15 pm at January 13, 2008 a strong earthquake (5.3) is shaking our house and our self. Confused about that, all of us are thinking: let’s get out of here. After seconds all of us meet on the meadow in front of the house. More than a half an hour we are speaking about that what happened just minutes ago. One is telling that her knees are shivering, the other is explaining, that her heart is still beating fast. Until midnight we experience three more low earthquakes, which fears us. Even the following day in Bontoc are three more small earthquakes. When I left the town my tricycle driver told me: last night all inhabitants were praying… We are living on the Ring of Fire – surrounded by volcanoes.

BMI-Team-Philippines

Erdbeben

Es ist der letzte Abend unseres Treffens der Teammitglieder der Bethlehem Mission Immensee in den Philippinen. Um 20:15 Uhr an diesem 13. Januar 2008 erschüttert ein heftiges Erdbeben (5.3) die Stadt und unser Haus. Verwirrt über das Geschehene denken alle: Lass uns nach draussen gehen. Nach Sekunden treffen sich alle in der Wiese vor dem Haus. Mehr als eine halbe Stunde sprechen wir über das Geschehene. Jemand erzählt, dass ihr die Knie zittern, ein anderer meint, er fühle noch sein Herz rasen. Bis um Mitternacht gibt es noch weitere Nachbeben, die jedes Mal aufrütteln und erschrecken. Sogar am nächsten Tag gibt es noch drei weitere Nachbeben. Als ich Bontoc verlasse, erzählt mir der Tricyclefahrer, dass wohl alle Leute in der Nacht gebetet hätten... Wir leben eben im sogenannten Feuer-Ring – umgeben von Vulkanen.

earthquake.usgs.gov/

Charmy's Duck

Maybe it was my initiation here in the Philippines when I ate my first Balut (see my blog of November 13 2007). OK, there are many Pinoy and Pinay, which never ate that. Perhaps my first Balut was also my last one at the same time. Why? Last week I visited a family. Their daughter Charmy brought home a still very young duck. We called it Pato (Tagalog for duck). The still small duck is a cute little thing. Also I asked myself which of us has more hair on the chest – the duck or me. Charmy's mother said, the duck is still too small, that we can eat it for Christmas.