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Olongapo. Say it out loud. I like Olongapo and the way it rolls off my tongue. It’s about 3 hours north of Metro Manila by bus, near the ocean. And unlike Metro Manila, which is noisy, polluted, and congested, it’s very pretty in Olongapo. But I didn’t go to Olongapo because it’s pretty. I went to Olongapo to scout out Abaca paper for another of Samaritana’s livelihood projects. And I found it here:

YWAM Olongapo’s Livelihood Project, the Tamar Foundation, makes gorgeous handmade paper in a variety of colors out of Abaca, a native Filipino fiber that is eco-friendly and sustainable. Because we all know that sustainability is hot right now. (Like Hansel…only hotter).

This is the paper. Unfortunately, not a very good picture of it. It’s really very nice, and they have a really great selection of colors.

And here are some of the people behind the paper:

And then there was this guy:

This paper project is really exciting, because I’ve enlisted the help of my family and friends to make it a reality. In addition to Dean and Pauline, I’ve asked for help from Sarah Lam, who makes the world’s most amazing scrapbooks, and Vicky Nguyen and Olivia Lau, who are leading a small group that focuses on Creative Arts. I thought of them when I was at Olongapo, because YWAM’s murals all have the Psalms on them and their small group is reading through the Psalms.

Psalm 1:2-3

² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Olivia and Vicky, soon we will see each other. And it will be wonderful. Until November 11th =)

I’m so lucky to have a brother who is as generous as he is brilliant (which is saying a lot, because my brother is probably a certified genius). Recently, i coerced convinced him and his lovely wife to finance 3 high-speed sewing machines for Samaritana’s livelihood project. And here they are:

These ladies are working on a shoulder bag that uses native Filipino fabric. The bags are for an order from a giftshop in Wisconsin that specializes in ethnic handicrafts from around the world.

Soon, we’ll be getting an order from Work of Your Hand Foundation, a fair trade project based in Canada.

So, thank you, Dean Hu and Pauline Huang, for doing your part in ending the global economic recession through helping us provide jobs to urban poor women in Metro Manila. (And also for financially and emotionally supporting your brokeface and sometimes broken-hearted little sister). You really are awesome =).