Adrian Tok

The 2 aspects of PL that resonated with me was providing education and installing solar lights in the community. I believe that education is a ticket to a brighter future and I want to spark the inspire of the children. As someone who is also have a Filipino upbringing, I am grateful that my mum was able to break out of the cycle and having create a better life for her family because of education. Hence, I want to pay it forward to illuminate the lives of others. In addition, one thing that enticed me was that we are reaching out to the Aeta tribe - a minority group in the Philippines, and I want to expose myself more towards their culture.

What I enjoyed most of the volunteer experience is seeing the children everyday. They always have a smile on their face and they are full of energy and eagerness to learn. One moment that I always remember was when Madam Villarie got her Grade 4 class to introduce themselves to us and talk about their dream careers. All of them said they wanted to be police officers, firefighter, teachers etc as they want to help people. This resonated to me as one thing my mum always tell me is to always be kind to others as good things will happen to you.

I believe my contribution in helping to install solar lights has help improved the lives of the people living in the barangay and helping their daily activities. As it get dark very early there, it is now safer for the people to walk at night. It was so nice to see the smiles on their faces when they talked about how the solar lights have helped them.

Personally for me, it has taught me to be even more grateful for the little thing and to have a different POV in life. I also was able to push myself to do things I didn't expect to do, like leading a team to cook meals for 100 people and enduring the extreme heat when installing the lights.

Thank you PL11 for this amazing opportunity!