All Hands is proud and excited to announce that we’ve been selected as a finalist in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good Program. We’ll be competing against four other non-profits on our voting day and can win a NEW TOYOTA TUNDRA!   Now we need your support!

On May 25, make sure you’re signed into Facebook, then click here & VOTE FOR ALL HANDS!

Want more info? Check out our video entry!

We can’t do this without you!

Kick that competitive instinct into high gear and let’s win this thing!

It’s one thing to say that All Hands Volunteers has built 20 schools in Haiti and to applaud that achievement. But truly picturing what that means to each student, parent and teacher takes meeting them. So we want to introduce you!

Krosley Armand is the director of Saint Armand de Biré, the fifth school that All Hands built in Leogane. Students grades K-6 are educated there.

“I’m involved in education, because my father was a professor and director,” says Armand, smiling broadly. “I replaced him and that has been seven years ago. I brought some changes, because the obligation of the Haiti education ministry had us change old systems into new systems.”

Two years ago, the ability to educate students was severely disrupted when the earthquake shook many schools to the ground. Not only were the facilities lost, but children and adults alike were frightened to step inside buildings.

“They had difficulty to learn,” recalls Armand, his smile fading. “They kept thinking about the action that happened. When All Hands went to the place the school was before, so they could make an assessment, they found it was totally broken down. It had been built against earthquake code.

“They decided to rebuild it, and explained to the children that the new building would be built according to a code, so they wouldn’t be scared coming to school.”

According to Armand, there is a strong sense of pride by the children and community in the new building and furniture that All Hands built for them.

“Rebuilding the school is bringing life back,” he says. “Without it and education, there is no development. It will mess with your future. So it was a very good relief to have All Hands come here to help. We have more space now – we had 155 students before and now we have 171 – and it’s more comfortable. It’s nicer.”

Amalie, who is a 6^th-grade student at the school, agrees.

“I like it very much, because it’s a good school,” she says. “I did not feel good when we could not be in school (after the earthquake). I sat down every day and was doing nothing. I felt bored. Now, I like the way the teachers work. I love the way the school in general works.

“It has a lot of discipline,” she says, seriously. “I like that. A school would not work well without discipline. I would feel I missed a lot of things in my life without school. I like seeing my friends.”

Mila, who is also in the 6^th grade, nods.

“Without school, I would miss having an education and having security,” she says. “Education is a big part of security in your life. It is a priority.”

Armand, who is a father, says that is true for most families.

“As a parent, I would feel very bad if my child didn’t find enough education that she needs,” he says, holding his daughter on his lap. “There are parents who don’t have the possibility to send their children to school. There is still a need for help.

“The way that All Hands helps, you can see it,” he says. “They help well. They are not like those who come to Haiti on behalf of Haiti, but don’t help Haiti. But All Hands did. They are different.”

Wish you could help All Hands in a major way with nearly no effort? (Check!) Spend half your day on social media when your boss isn’t looking? (Check!) Love to win? (CHECK!) Us, too!

All Hands is proud and excited to announce that we have been selected as a finalist in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good Program.   Now we need your support!

SAVE THE DATE* and ask your friends to do the same because on May 25 — from 6:00 a.m. Eastern to 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern — you  can use your Facebook account to vote for All Hands at www.100carsforgood.com to win a NEW TOYOTA TUNDRA! Seriously, with your help, we can win a free truck!

There are two ways to save the date, add this .ical file to your calendar, or visit https://apps.facebook.com/carsforgood/ today, click on “finalists” & search for “All Hands”.  To the right of our name, click the “remind me” link. Then on May 25, you will receive an email reminder to vote (BETWEEN 10am & midnight eastern standard time) for All Hands using your facebook account.

Still not inspired watch this awesome video or read on…

Should we win, we can use the truck’s 4-wheel drive and powerful engine to provide us with fast, reliable access to areas that are facing overwhelming damage and destruction.  It will act as an office to our assessment team, until they set up a project base for all our amazing volunteers.  Then the Toyota Tundra will allow us to safely and efficiently move six volunteers in its roomy cab and our tools in its huge bed.  When needed, the Toyota Tundra would allow us to dislodge heavy debris and haul it to places where it can properly be disposed.

Being awarded the truck would also save us a ton of cash by ending the need to rent or purchase our own vehicle for our US-based projects. That, in turn, would allow us to spread our reach and benefit even more people.

Disaster victims benefit by having their hope renewed as they see their homes, schools and communities being rebuilt by volunteers from around the world. Volunteers who contribute their sweat and tears benefit by helping others, expanding their world view, enhancing & growing skills, — plus getting in great shape from sheer physical labor!

We can’t do this without you!

Kick that competitive instinct into high gear and let’s win this thing!

Questions?  Email fundraising@hands.org.

*When you add the Save the Date (.ics file) to your calendar program, please make sure to add a reminder (email, popup, text, bell). Otherwise, you might miss your chance to vote.  Thanks!  

Mud-filled streets, uninhabitable houses, uprooted trees and crumbled livelihoods — when we arrived in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, to assess the devastation from Typhoon Sendong, this is what we found.

On January 20, 2012, we set up base along the streets of PN Roa, Cala’anan, located just a five-minute walk away from the first visible tent city in the region. Together with Shelterbox Philippines, we assisted families pitch their tents donated by Shelterbox. These were temporary solutions until permanent housing could be built.

During the past three months, we’ve been working hard to provide assistance to families as we expedite the process of recovery. We’ve worked in unison with other organizations to create a strong foundation for this.

You have believed in us. Because of the funds you’ve donated, time you’ve given actually working under the blazing Filipino sun, and/or information you’ve shared with friends to inform them about All Hands Volunteers and the people we help day in and day out, we’ve made great progress.

Here is a three-month report that is testament to your support and the families who are profoundly grateful:

We are deeply saddened to share that David Driscoll, a friend and longtime volunteer with All Hands Volunteers, has passed away. We will forever be grateful for his contribution to the “soul” of All Hands. He kept us grounded, connected and aware of the importance of the personal connections he established so well.

The obituary written for David truly captures the essence of his life. You can read it here.

David and his wife Jo-Ann will always be an essential part of the All Hands family. His friends are encouraged to go to the All Hands Facebook page to post in his honor.

Here are a few of our favorite photos:

You’ll be missed, David.

Please enjoy reflections and testimonials from volunteers on Project Tohoku, and if you like to read more click on the authors names, whose names are in All Hands blue, to be taken to their blog.

If you are Project Tohoku Alumnus or All Hands family member and would like to share your experiences with the rest of the world, please email us your story along with a picture. Thanks.

Canada is where I am born, but Japan has always been home. On March 11, 2012 last year, a friend of mine told me, “I’m sorry to hear about Japan,” while I was still oblivious of what had happened. In the ensuing weeks, my country had been on every news network, painted with doom-and-gloom stories, and I had felt useless on the other side of world because I was not doing anything to give back to a place which had given me my best childhood memories.Until All Hands Volunteers provided me with the opportunity to do something. One lesson I took back from the relief project is an idea preached regularly by a volunteer. He held the view that we were not there to find ourselves, and feel warm and fuzzy over the work were doing. We were there for one purpose: to help the people of Ofuanto recover as quickly as possible. I am back in Canada, nestled in a quiet, quaint college town. When I look back on the photographs, I am overwhelmed by warm and fuzzy feelings, but remind myself that Tohoku is still struggling. I have nothing but kansha for the volunteers and locals who I met on the project, and I have every intention to return to Tohoku, and continue with the reconstruction efforts. Until Tohoku has fully recovered, I will have no reason to be satisfied. Terukazu Ikeda

“Why did you come all the way here?” It’s a question I received from the local residents over and over throughout my stay in Ofunato. I was fortunate to be able to fill the role of interpreter while volunteering with All Hands and got to hear some direct comments from the victims of the disaster. And this one came up often.They ask, not because they don’t want us there. They ask, because for most locals, the US, UK, Australia, and the two dozen other countries we flew in from feel like light-years away. This small town doesn’t receive foreign visitors very often on a normal day, so why would such large group of foreigners come now, during a disaster? Taking the time off from work, leaving family behind, paying our own way, riding in uncomfortable overnight buses… Just to come haul “their” debris?Answering this question over and over was perhaps one of my proudest moments in Ofunato. I would agree with them and praise the volunteers, many who have never set foot in Japan before, who boldly make the journey for the cause. It made me happy to share that some of the volunteers love Japan and their past ties to Japan so dearly that it motivated to come. And I felt endearment to the locals, often elderly, whose humble nature prompted this question to begin with. “Of course we came!! How could we not?” I would say. As a Japanese citizen living in the US, I felt it as my duty to return to Japan in this time of crisis. All I did was go “home”. The true heroes are the hundreds of foreign volunteers who came out of a sense of GLOBAL duty! Through the work, not only have they contributed to rapid recovery of the town, but they showed the citizens of Ofunato and beyond that the WORLD cares about them and supports them. For the rest of my life, I will be proud to call these volunteers my friends. Ranko Fukuda

My first and most lasting real impression of the damage done on a personal level was the first day we went to Atsushi warehouse to work for Tooru-San, within a few minutes I asked him where he was when the tsunami hit. He told me through one our translators, Mami, that he was at the shop getting everything in order since they had bought the building and property the week prior. The generator for the tsunami alarm was knocked out so he was unaware of the danger he was in. A neighbor was running by the warehouse and told him what has happening, he immediately ran for high ground and before he could cross the road he was in water up to his waist from the wave. He was able to get to high ground but, he had lost all of his inventory, car, and was without his phone. He was not able to get a hold of his wife and kids for another day. He thought they were ok because of where they were supposed to be but, he wasn’t sure. I cannot imagine going that long after a disaster of this scale without knowing the condition of my loved ones.When we asked where he wanted us to start working, he showed us a room full of tires that were full of mud. He also showed us a room that he had de-mudded by himself and it had taken him two weeks to do alone. When we were finished with new wall boards, cleaning and removing floors, gutting dry wall and insulation, even cleaning outside and removing fences after two weeks of this work and he saw the condition we were returning his building to him he broke down and cried, he couldn’t find the words to thank us and I felt like he didn’t need to thank us. No one should have to go through such and ordeal, I am just glad we could ease his work load a bit. Hands down the best part of this experience were the people of Ofunato, I have never met such generous and kind people.Joe Mims

I volunteered for the Tsunami Relief Effort in Ofunato, Iwate, Japan in July and August of 2011. The focus everyone worked with for both the job at hand and recognizing the cultural differences and modifying our own culture to coincide with the Japanese was stunning. We were able to work at trying to bring hope to a hurting community and was allowed to participate in 2 wonderful Festivals in Japan, Tanabata and Obon, that showed what working together really meant That I was a part of the work raised me up to new level of pride and wonder at such a tremendous group as All Hands. I am 73 and was much older than the young people there volunteering, but they showed me what focus on an ideal without requiring reward really is.Andy Rudy

On March 11, 2011, I ran out of my apartment to take shelter in my car as the ground continued to rumble like never before. Wondering if the power would come back on, and coaxing my stupid cell phone to work just this once so I could call my parents to tell them I was all right. From my car in the small town in the middle of Fukushima, I was completely unaware of the waves charging towards the eastern coast of Tohoku from where I was.During the following days uncertainty overwhelmed me, but images of the undiscriminating black water roaring across land reminded me of how extremely lucky I was. With my family’s coaxing I decided to leave Fukushima the place I had grown to call home to move back to the United States. But once back in the States I became frustrated and restless, because I didn’t know what I could do to help make things better for my friends and family still there.It wasn’t until I came across All Hands’ Project Tohoku a few months later that I knew exactly where I had to be. I made my way to Ofunato, and found a group of optimists, each one with their own reasons for wanting to bring hope to a community facing a seemingly impossible task of cleaning and restoring what the waves ruthlessly left behind. Together, we dug, hauled, washed, comforted, laughed and cried. Some days I even thought that nothing could make me happier than digging mud out of a ditch alongside these volunteers. There’s a saying in Japanese, “Senri no michi mo ippou yori hajimaru,” which means, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” I like to think that the thousand-mile journey Ofunato will have to go through for recovery began with spades, wheelbarrows, and many dedicated hands. Katie Miura

As a UK-based former resident of Japan I was desperate to volunteer in Tohoku, and thanks to All Hands’ focused, no-nonsense approach I was able to do this, and in the process experience something truly inspiring. Of the several organizations I contacted in summer 2011, only All Hands’ had the flexibility, efficiency and pro-active attitude to ensure that my enthusiasm and willpower materialized into effective manpower. Put simply, if I had the motivation to get to our volunteer base, All Hands’ would ensure that my services would be put effectively to use in the community. Prior to my departure for Japan, All Hands provided clear, concise information about what was required of its volunteers. Once on the ground, All Hands were not only organized in terms of coordinating activities to the extent that our work made a positive impact on the local area, but very supportive of its volunteers, and focused on ensuring that volunteers understood and were sensitive to the cultural implications of our prolonged stay in Japan. Perhaps one of All Hands’ greatest strengths is the way in which, through believing in people’s ability to develop, volunteers with little or no experience in a particular area can learn from more experienced volunteers, and in the process become skilled and reliable leaders who are able to ensure the continuity of the organization’s good work. All Hands is a fantastic organization, and I would recommend them to any willing volunteers.Phil MacDonald

Honor. Respect. Appreciation. All prevalent components of the Japanese culture. A particular day’s work here at Project Tohoku here in Ofunato, Japan had four of us combing the contents of a building one block from the port. In this absolutely decimated area, the tsunami had washed right over the 3rd story of this building. Remnants of a printing business remained. The owner died in the tsunami.Imagine a room filling with water, windows broken, perhaps admitting other debris, and then receding leaving nothing in its original place. No clear floor space anywhere. Two months after the earthquake, many things on the top layer have dried. But underneath…wet. Mold. The apartment reeks. The town reeks. The stench grows as we dig deeper in the debris. Honoring the wishes of the deceased’s friend, we painstakingly go through the business to salvage items we think the family might want. Slowly we dig to the floor. Photos are unearthed, letters too, and hand-written journal dated 1957.When we complete the job, the owner’s friend is so grateful and appreciative of the work we’ve done that he wants to take us to dinner on our day off. The conversation ranges from how old we are to what everyone does for a living to American politics. Fascination and appreciation over the fact that volunteers have come from around the world to help. In my sleeping bag that night I reflect. We were brought together by honoring the dead and the volunteers’ commitment to a foreign land. Respecting each other, the culture of another land and the possessions of the deceased. Showing appreciation for a job well done. Feels like Japan to me. Kari Gang

It was intense, for lack of a better word. It’s a strange occurrence when you go somewhere for one reason and come away with waaaaaaay more than you expected. I feel incredibly lucky to have found All Hands and been given the opportunity to volunteer with their Ofunato project. I can’t think of any way to use words to do my experience there justice except to say that it was life changing. And while I believe it is human nature to be more easily affected by what is sad and depressing than what is happy and uplifting, the thing that had the biggest influence on me wasn’t the tragedy itself, but how the people of Ofunato were dealing with it.The Japanese people were incredibly warm and nice and so thankful for us just being there. Sometimes the job was about 60% work and 40% of hanging around, but that is what the locals wanted, because the sense of community was so strong that they even wanted to include us into every aspect of it from restoring their homes, teaching us local dances, inviting us to participate in local festivals, to shedding tears in remembrance in what was lost. I was happy for a million reasons during my time on project.I went to help out and do my part for completely selfless reasons. A sentiment of goodwill and the reasoning that social responsibility must be confronted… that’s it. Just goes to show that when you do something with no reward in mind, the reward becomes bigger than you imagined. Bigger than yourself. Bigger than you can describe. Big than a tsunami. Monica Phillips

Since the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2012, I count myself privileged to have been involved in part of the recovery efforts based in the cities of Ofunato and Rikuzentakata. To say my two trips there were life-changing is to understate the powerful effect this journey had on my life.Japan will be recovering for years to come. Nothing I can tell you, show you, explain to you can truly communicate the devastation. And yet, to say that its recovery will be so long is to do a disservice to the heart and spirit of the Japanese people, and those compassionate souls helping them. I was in awe of the way people worked selflessly, tirelessly, happily, and with unimaginable determination. To have seen the communities and volunteers working side by side, and to have seen the shocking amount of work they accomplished is to have been inspired… and humbled.Erica Hill

Savaged items in piles, a water line a meter down from the ceiling, a floor with no floor boards, was what remained of this family home built generations ago. All that was left was now stored in the second floor where the woman stayed.When we asked her what we could do help her to do that day. She paused for a few seconds, lost in her thoughts. “Why, I’m not sure. So much has happened. It’s just so overwhelming.” She struggled hard to hold back a flood of tears.At that moment the devastation of the tsunami truly hit me and I fought to hold back tears of my own. I had seen the waves on TV, the miles of land that I was told use to hold homes, boats strewn like play things, even talked to locals, and I had taken it all in and became simply numb. But in that moment seeing this woman’s home and hearing her words, the destruction became more personal than ever, it was given a face. She collected herself, said a few words I didn’t understand, but then bowed and said a few words I did understand “Arigato Gozaimasu”, thank you. She showed me that even though your house is broken it doesn’t mean your spirit is. Terri Wetterberg

Here in the third month of Project Cagayan de Oro, we’re still going strong!

To date, 90 volunteers from 18 different countries have contributed more than 11,000 hours of sweaty, dirty labour in support of Typhoon Sendong flood victims. We’ve constructed tents and transitional shelters. We’ve dug drainage, cleared fields, and we continue to demolish unsafe structures and clear mud from flooded homes – we’re now up to 84 homes, and counting.

And, most importantly, we’re well on the way towards our goal of building 216 permanent homes for displaced families in Cagayan de Oro. By the end of the week we’ll have the first 12 new homes finished and move-in ready, with the next 24 completing a week later. It’s a blistering pace, but with thousands of families living in tents and crowded evacuation shelters, it needs to be.

Ways That You Can Continue Pushing This Project On!

When the flash floods came, Troy Hernandez was at home with his parents. They were trapped inside their home but were able to break down the back door and swim through the neighborhood to find safety.

“The floodwater was so high it reached the top of that telephone pole.” The pole stretched way above many of the houses in the community. To the left is a massive pile of debris that was removed from Troy’s home and to the right is a glass doorway covered with mud. After the floodwater resided it left not only debris but also several feet of mud.

Troy lost his aunt in the flood, “There wasn’t enough time to save her. We saved only ourselves. My parents told me we had nowhere else to go. So I slowly started to clean the house but I couldn’t do it alone.”

There was a soundless moment as his eyes glisten reflecting a little more light than before. “My father worked for 14 years saving to build this home. So when this tragedy happened it really hurt him and it really hurt me also.”

Troy recalls how he helped build their home. How he felt a sense of accomplishment and made his parents happy. The flash flood destroyed years of work and the task of cleaning their home was insurmountable.

Troy’s eyes reflect an unfathomable tragedy, hope, and gratitude. “Thank you isn’t enough. I couldn’t do this alone.”

Troy’s home is now one of 93 that have been cleaned as part of All Hands mud removal program.

——————

Keely Kernan is an award winning freelance photojournalist. She has worked for an extended period of time with All Hands Volunteers. Her photography work is driven by a desire to connect the viewer, inspire understanding, and instill a sense of responsibility to become involved.

Keely Kernan’s Website

Over the past 25 months, the Transitional Schools Program has built disaster-resistant school buildings allowing more than, 3000 students to return to school and providing a safe and dignified work environment for 219 teachers and staff.

This was only possible because of our amazing donors and the 1,300 plus volunteers that put approximately 50,450 man hours in to aid in the completion of this program.  In total $265,226 was poured back into the local economy through materials, tools and local staff wages.

Throughout the course of this program:

• 13 Haitian construction staff were hired and completed 1,834 days of work.
• 14 apprentices successfully completed an 8-week training program totalling 652 work days.
• Dozens of local volunteers were provided with an enriching experience.

The program benefited fourteen communities in the greater Leogane area that were affected by the earthquake. In exchange, community members provided support through volunteer work hours in our construction program and cooked food for the entire construction team every day.

To build 20 schools approximately 5,027 bags of cement were used, amounting to 502,700 pounds and some very muscular staff and volunteers.

Around 112,200 buckets were thrown during foundation pours.

The word ‘bucket!’ was yelled at least 7,480 times.

In the last 5 foundation pours alone, 6 people were hit in the head with a flying bucket, 5 people got cement in their eyes, and 2 suffered from heat exhaustion. Not bad for 1,300 volunteers.

All of these statistics are part of All Hands Volunteers’ longest running, most resource and time intensive program to date.  An amazing story!

Thanks to Jessica Petz, Transitional Schools Assistant Project Coordinator, for compiling all these numbers and sharing them in such a compelling way.