Thinking of the Philippines

This morning my mother is visiting and waiting patiently for word of her brother. This 7.2-magnitude earthquake had its epicenter near Tagbilaran, the city where my uncle's family live, on the island of Bohol in the Philippines

My cousin Elicia and I in Tagbilaran, summer 1996.

Personally, I've only been there once, in 1996.  While the Olympics were in Atlanta, I was on another continent.  My grandfather decided after his visit that my cousin and I should experience it for ourselves, so he paid our way to go visit my Uncle Dennis in the Philippines. I was 19 and my cousin, Elicia, was 17. It was an adventure that will be hard for either of us to forget.  Sometimes we get together and ask if some things really happened, because we were the only ones to witness a few of the bizarre events of the trip.  Later I found out from her, things that I didn't know at the time, and the story got stranger. We experienced in a short time, many things that people here would not believe, which were commonplace on the little island of Bohol, from swimming in a cave to being mistaken for Marimar.  The whole trip was a unique experience that I'm very glad I had.

Garden Cafe

My uncle, Dennis Drake, moved to the Philippines with the Peace Corp to help a third world country.  Later he moved beyond the Peace Corps to starting his own institution with a more targeted purpose, the International Deaf Education Association or IDEA.  Without proper medical treatment, deafness was an epidemic in the islands. He continually encountered children who were born deaf or had become deaf from ear infections or other ailments that rendered their lives a silent one.  They each had their own sign language with family members for basic needs, but often lead a life of mute isolation.  

Dennis Drake with monkey
near the Chocolate Hills 

Gathering these deaf children from their huts and hovels, my uncle brought them to a school where they could learn sign language and have a community.  He did not stop there, being an entrepreneur, and also developed businesses to employ the deaf. The Garden Cafe was a restaurant employing deaf cook and wait staff.  You would simply circle the items that you wanted and your hearing impaired waitress would bring it to you.  His keen business sense combined with the compassion for an often overlooked section of the population, changed the lives of many people, who would have lived lonely lives, to a normal functional life with a community, opportunities to prosper, and start families of their own. 

Many were more than happy to teach us sign language while we were there, and they enjoyed naming Elicia and myself with our own names in sign. Their smiles and laughter were infectious and it was hard not to adore them. 

Although the stories there are many and fantastic, and I might take time to tell them later, I ask that today you remember the tiny island of Bohol in your thoughts and prayers.  We've just heard that our family is intact, but that the area could use all the good will it can at the moment.  If you would like to learn more about my uncle's mission, please visit the IDEA website to learn how you can sponsor a child.