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May2016
CebuPacific flies to64
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cebupacificair.com
Q&AwithJonRose
What’sbeenyour key learn from this
wholeW4W journey so far?
Thebiggest lessonhas reallybeen
learninghowmuchoneperson cando.
It changedmy life forever. Since that
day inSumatrawehave implemented
filtrationdistributionprograms
throughout thePhilippines,Myanmar,
ThailandandMalaysia, andwe’ll keep
doing that.
How important is the roleof the local
community inW4W’sprograms?
I’vealways believed in themodel of
empowering locals tohelp their own
people rather thanhavingus, abunch
of foreigners, decidingwhogetswhat,
when, whereandhow.Wearen’t from
here [thePhilippines], wedon’t know
the intricacies andnuances of the
culture, sowhy shouldwe showupand
start dictating things? I believe that
mygreatest role is tobea facilitator
byprovidingnew tools, alongwith
theproper educationand training,
toaddress at least oneof themany
needs—access to cleanwater. In
order for thismodel tobe realized, we
have to spend real quality timeon the
ground, day inanddayout, developing
relationships and seekingout the
biggest pockets of need.
Whatwouldbe thegreatestmeasure
of success forW4W?
Our goal is toget cleanwater toevery
singlepersonwhoneeds it. It’shard to
saywhenwe’ll beable toachieve this.
The idea isn’t toget oneperson todrop
off 100 clean-water filters and call it
aday. Let’s instead try toget 100,000
travelers toeachpack10 small filters,
or teamupwithgroups to implement
projectswith larger filters for anentire
village. But thebiggest thing I like to
highlight and remember is toalways
thinkabout addressing this challenge
inadecentralizedway, a “viral”way. As
agroup, amovement, we can solve this
problem, and inour lifetime.
Firstperson
“I’vebeenaW4W
courier forabout two
yearsnow, andoneof
mymostunforgettable
donation tripswas to
Siargao island. Someof
thekids therewhodon't
haveparents to look
after theirhealthdrink
water from the
poso
ordeep-well pump. I
broughta filter, and
showed themhow to
use itandstartdrinking
clean filteredwater.
Thekidswere thrilled
about that, aswere the
grownups.W4W’scredo
—dowhat you loveand
helpalong theway—
mademe realize I can
dowhat I loveandmake
adifference, nomatter
howsmall, in theplaces
wheresurfing takesme.
Not everyonehas the
privilegeofdrinking
cleanwater, and there
area lotofpeoplewho
want tohelp.Being
able tobridge thatgap
orneed isawesome,
because itmakesyou
realize thatwecanall
helpeachother inour
own littleway.”
—
ElaineAbonal, surfer,
entrepreneur, brandambassador
forHurleyPhilippines
Givingback
PHOTOBY
DJSTRUNTZ
