The beautiful sunrise on Cebu City port

Celebration of the Sinulog festival

Travel team members Sarah, Lia and Melissa as we approach Bohol island

Our travel team and some members of the community enjoying fresh coconut water together

An incredible sunset in Bohol to end our day

As our alarms jolted the travel team awake at 5am Saturday morning, the initial feeling of grogginess was quickly replaced with anticipation – we would be on a ferry to our final destination, the island of Bohol, in 2 short hours! We quickly scarfed down a continental breakfast (sadly lacking the side of rice I have already become fond of), packed up the van, and drove through the crowded streets of Cebu. As we approached the port at 6am, we saw streets crammed with hundreds of people holding balloons, wearing colorful masks, and hoisting dolls of baby Jesus above their heads. Today was the first day of the Sinulog festival, a traditional Cebuano celebration drawing millions of people into Cebu City. The masses of people became denser and denser as we navigated towards the ferry. Our speculations as to why were quickly answered when we discovered that the main focal point of the parade was, in fact, the very port we planned to depart from. We then learned that the 7am ferry had actually left at 4am, and there would not be another ferry until the evening. Our quick-thinking, fearless leader, Concepcion, determined our plan of action without breaking a sweat: we would travel to another port and take the noon ferry. Meanwhile, she encouraged us to enjoy the music and dancing of the festival. Despite frustration from the delay of meeting the community in Ubujan, I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to partake in the Sinulog festival. It was an incredibly beautiful and fun cultural event, and it was a once in a lifetime experience.

After an exciting but exhausting morning in Cebu City, I was glad for the respite of the 2 hour ferry ride from Cebu to Bohol. While the travel team discussed our upcoming itinerary and various goals for the trip as Cebu faded into the background, both my excitement and apprehension to meet the community swelled. This was the moment I had dreamed of since I joined EWB – I was finally going to meet the community whose lives I hoped to help change. Would they be just as excited to meet me and our team? Would they still be invested in the project? Would talking to them be difficult or awkward due to language barriers?

With these questions racing through my mind, we stepped off the ferry and walked towards our van. Among the gorgeous backdrop of the Bohol landscape, we saw the leaders of the community walking towards us with huge smiles on their faces. They fondly greeted those travel members who had been here before, and enthusiastically shook hands with the rest of us. They then proudly led us to the recently constructed reservoir in Ubujan. Our team knew little about the reservoir, and we were excited to see it in person. Once we reached the reservoir, we were shocked, but thrilled, to see that they had a working water pump at the base of the reservoir. The community leaders and their families surrounded the area and excitedly told us how they had set up the pump just a couple of days ago in preparation for our arrival. Our team was so excited to see the dedication of the community to this project, since that is the most important factor in the longevity of the project. Our inspection of the site quickly turned into a party when someone climbed up to the top of the coconut tree and we were presented with fresh coconut water and coconut meat. The feeling of community and happiness surrounded us, and I knew that all my reasons to be nervous were foolish. The people were thrilled to have us in Ubujan, the community has remained as dedicated to the project as ever, and language barriers seem to disappear in the face of a delicious meal. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to meet these amazing people, and I’m looking forward to spending the next 10 days working with this incredible community.

– Lia