Part 4 of my Yolanda Series. A view from a volunteer builder. Dave was a free-spirit whose outlook changed after doing noble work as a volunteer. From his words: “I don’t believe anyone who has an emotional journey through volunteering ever walks away the same as they arrive. These experiences do stay with us.”
Dave reminded me of that former NBA star, Bill Walton. (courtesy of ballerball.com)
I first met Dave last January when I went to inspect Habitat’s reconstruction projects in Bantayan Island. A tall, skinny guy with rather unkempt long hair, David Wilson looked like a smaller version of one of my favorite basketball gurus of old, Bill Walton during his younger, hippie days. I was almost tempted to put on my basketball jersey and challenge him to a game of hoops. But then I realized I was no longer the young speedy point guard I had used to be decades ago.
Dave was a walk-in volunteer, and he had indicated his desire to join our team in far-away Bantayan Island, one of the small islands in northern Cebu, which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. he would be assigned in one of our relocation sites, in Sulangan, Bantayan. Conditions there were less than ideal…
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