October 7th-12th, 2010
Homma Kancho, accompanied by Nippon Kan graduate uchideshi Cihan Karaogluol and Go Suenaga traveled to Illigan City, Mindanao, Philippines this past October to supervise the construction of the new AHAN Mindanao Learning Center. At the time of their arrival, the foundation of the building had been laid and construction of the walls had just begun.
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- Sudents carrying concrete blocks
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- Working well in to the night in the pouring rain.
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- Homma Kancho mixing cement
With only enough time to drop their bags after their arrival, Homma Kancho and crew went to work buying materials and joining the volunteers working at the site. It is rainy season in October in the Philippines so everyone worked in a downpour huddling under ponchos and tarps in a futile attempt at staying dry.
At the AHAN Mindanao Learning Center construction site, equipment and tools were in limited supply. Manpower was the driving force and Ava Yancha Sensei and her students worked long into the nights carrying heavy bags of concrete, mixing concrete by hand with shovels and cooking meals over meager fires to keep the staff going. Homma Kancho commented that the foundation of the new AHAN Mindanao Learning Center was made of the strongest of foundations: team effort and teamwork.
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- Ava Sensei leading the way by example
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- With students at the dojo
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- Volunteers work to keep the crews fed
Taking a break from construction, Homma Kancho and crew assisted Ava Sensei and her students in cooking and serving a hot meal to over 200 Bajao villagers. Link here to see a video of this Bajao meal service in Mindanao
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- Ava Sensei cooking for the Bajao people
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- A crowd of Bajao people waiting for the meal service
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- A foot pedal sewing machine donated by Cihan for making keiko gi. Foot pedal power can be useful in areas with electric blackouts.
Homma Kancho and AHAN Nippon Kan General Headquarters have sponsored all of the expenses for the construction of the AHAN Mindanao Learning Center and Cihan Karaogluol also donated sewing machines and cloth material for the making of keiko gi. Making uniforms will provide the Learning Center a way to earn income to help cover needed study materials. The AHAN Mindanao Learning Center is scheduled to open in February 2011.
Written by
AHAN Turkey Coordinator
Cihan Karaogluol