Racers Who Care

 

RYAN’S NEWS FROM THE PHILIPPINES

RWC’s spokesracer, Ryan Regalado, a motorcycle road racer, has taken a 10-month hiatus from racing to work on anti-poverty and mission projects in the Philippines . Ryan reported to RWC that he felt compelled to reach out to the unfortunate.

Here is Ryan’s first news from the Philippines :

Hello all,

I hope all of you are well and I wanted to share with you all that I'm in the Philippines safely and I've been going around everyday finding out more about the culture and the surrounding areas I will be concentrating on. To my surprise, just researching more about the culture and the areas, the poverty is all around the city, and is the majority of the population. Take a look at a few pics here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanregalado/sets/72157607109483371/show/

Since the majority of the population are poor, to my discretion I will be distributing hygiene kits to elders that you see from the photos who walk around in just boxers without any shoes or sandals, and to babies ranging from walking age to 6 years old that roam the streets, extremely dirty, without any shoes or sandals as well. It's appalling to see and the majority of the people here are desensitized from the state of these groups of people because it's part of the landscape.

Some of the items in the kits are a bit different than the kits from the Do Something Saturday event we did on August 15, 2008 since pollution is a big issue from vehicle exhausts, the tropical heat plays another factor and the unpredictable rainfall that comes and goes. http://www.dosomethingsaturday.org . I will be finding a local 99 cent store here if they are available soon to purchase these items and more.

* Face towel or handkerchief for wiping sweat
* Face mask for exhaust
* Toothbrush / toothpaste
* Hand sanitizer
* Liquid Soap
* Shampoo/conditioner
* Deoderant
* Tsinelas (slippers)

The key thing is for me to learn the language so I can begin talking to the poor here and find out what's needed or where the commonality is in the break down of the local governments. I will be going to the rural areas by next month. I will be in touch soon with pictures of an event I do here. Take care and thank you again for your donations and support.

Thank you,

Ryan