Background: Following is excerpted from an article written by Bennette Misalucha Evangelista published in a Honolulu Filipino Newspaper about the significant sojourne to San Juan:

"About 26 people from Hawaii- from diverse age groups and backgrounds- participated in the mission wherein our oldest member was 81 while the youngest was 14. Their careers spanned from CEOs to contractors to military brass to retirees to students; and the ethnic mix consisted of Samoans, Mexicans, Filipinos, Japanese and Caucasians.

"From the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, the group traveled for two hours by air to Tacloban in the central part of the Philippines, followed by a four-hour ride by bus to San Juan through bumpy unpaved roads up the Leyte mountains and down to the valley. It was a roller coaster ride even as our bus competed for space on these small roads with other fast-moving buses loaded to the rafters with people, farm animals, livestock and baggage. Many of us aged a bit by the time we got to San Juan!

"As our bus arrived at the San Juan Elementary School, the school band greeted us with some heartfelt music. Our lodgings were at the school- with about 3-5 people to a classroom with the standard army canvas cots for our beds. No, there were neither showers nor flushing toilets, but to our surprise, we had electricity all day and running water."

As Steve reports in his email sent with the pictures: "The trip is on our hearts and minds quite frequently. The memories will live forever but I'm sure this was only the first such trip for us. A truly fulfilling and worthwhile endeavor. I highly recommend it!"

Complete information with many more pictures of this journey can be found at the Rotarian website for the Hanalei Bay group, http://www.hanaleirotary.org/pi1.html.

And, Oh Yes! It was quite a year for Steve - who steps down from his post as President of the Hanalei Bay Rotary Club at the end of June.

Here are some pictures (certainly not in the right order) with captions by Steve:

26 Rotarians, Friends and Family Members traveled to Southern Leyte on March 24th to build homes for 29 of the poorest families who were the victims of the massive mudslide in February 2006 that buried the village of Guinsaugon in St. Bernard.

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Children were everywhere. curious to learn about the foreigners that had suddenly appeared in their town. They gladly pitched right in and helped paint, clean, haul rubbish, and play games.

Behind the school in San Juan a series of villages are located on the hillside. One afternoon a group of participants walked through the area. A small group of children followed along. By the end of the walk, over 50 children had joined the hike.

The group stayed at the San Juan Central School where they also worked hard painting the buildings and making other improvements. The school serves grades one to six, has 40 teachers and more than 1,200 students. Group leader Don Anderson gave the graduation address.