PORT BARTON FUNDRAISING PROJECT

Here at TruTravels we are strong believers in leaving a place better than you found it. If anyone has had the pleasure to do a tour in the Philippines or just met a Filipino in their travels; you know that Filipinos are some of the kindest and most welcoming people on Earth.

Since 2018, TruTravels has been island hopping in the small town of Port Barton, Palawan. These boatmen have been taking care of us during our travels. Early mornings for them to make sure our boats are safe to travel, getting food from the market for our lunch, and making sure everyone has smiles on their faces from start to finish.

On December 16, 2021 typhoon Odette set a path straight through the middle of the Philippines, leaving thousands of families with damaged or non-existing homes. This natural disaster arrived after a two year pandemic that brought the travel industry to a halt. Therefore this has left many Filipinos with no money to participate in some of the activities that they love.

In the Philippines basketball is the sport of choice for the locals to play and watch. This fundraising project consisted of giving the boatmen of Port Barton basketball jerseys therefore they can participate as a team in their favourite sport; this allows them to gain life skills like leadership, working as a team, and maintaining a healthy life.

TruTravels was able to donate new basketball uniforms to the boatmen’s basketball team, just in time for their annual Fiesta basketball tournament. Members of one of the tours were lucky enough to be there to cheer them on to Port Barton Fiesta Champions! Thank you Port Barton boatmen!

This is just the first of many fundraising projects we are looking at to help the Filipino communities that have not only felt the full weight of the pandemic but a category 5 typhoon right before Christmas in 2021. The next projects entail animal sanctuaries, beach clean-ups, and other community building activities. The smallest donation can go so far to helping these amazing people have some sense of normality after quite possibly the most difficult two years of their lives.

Together, we can make all the difference.

All our love.