We have got some great ideas that we will be beginning some time in 2012, some are a bit crazy, some will work, some will fail or need serious adjustments to make them work, but here are some summaries…

LIGHTS FOR LIFE – crime happens in the slum mostly at night, in areas where there is no or little light. So next year we are going to start “LIGHTS FOR LIFE”. We plan to light the whole slum with Solar Lighting. We will start with a small section, trial a few different products, see which one works the best and hopefully by the end of the year start putting them up at strategic places through out the slum.

  • a family/churches/a children’s church will be able to sponsor a “LIGHT FOR LIFE”.
  • this Project will improve quality of life and give us increased opportunities to preach the gospel and brighten up some ones life.

FAMILY FISH FARMS – Aquaponics is a combination of Aqua Culture and Hydroponics. There is a system of growing fish and vegetables in systems as small as two barrels. The vegetables are fed by the waste of the fish, the vegetables keep the fish water clean for the fish, both grow. To complex to explain right here, but we can set up “FAMILY FISH FARMS”, that also grow small quantities of Vegetables for that family. Once it is set up right, it is nearly maintenance free. Small, effective, easy to do.

I will start playing with this idea in February of 2012…hopefully.

  • people/churches/groups will be able to fund a “FAMILY FISH FARM”

FIRE TRIKES – Fire is a major issue in Urban Slums. Density of population, types of materials used for building homes, lack of access to running water, open fires for cooking, can sometimes lead to a disaster. Once a fire gets away, it is nearly impossible to stop. People are pretty good with fire, but stuff sometimes happens and one gets going.

The big issue is ACCESS to the fire, bad roads, tight spaces. Baseco has a Fire Truck, but is is limited by it’s size and speed. So take the Fire Truck idea, any make some “FIRE TRIKES”. Mess with a motorbike or a quad bike (not sure which one yet), stick a small tank on something, a small generator, small pump, get a garden hose and nozzle, put some form of fire retardant in the tank, park them securely in set places around the slum…and in theory we are ready to go.

As well as designing a “Fire Ready System” that can be set up near people who have running water at their homes.

Some Project thoughts -

John 14:12 World Wide Ministries Inc’

The aim of this program is to produce a working Fire Prevention and Fire Management Strategy for an impoverished urban community, situated in the port area of Metro Manila, Baseco.

Some Project Thoughts and Aims

Stage One – Education and Awareness Campaign -

  • Using an existing network of “Block Leaders” that is throughout Baseco (if this is workable), we aim to conduct ongoing community based meetings regarding the Fire Preparedness Plan.
  • The aim of these meetings is to gather information regarding the major fire risks with in the community, and then with community discussions develop strategies to counter those risk areas.
  • Another aim of these meetings is to identify potential community leaders who will be able to assist in the future development of the Fire Preparedness Plan within this community.
  • These meetings would be a place to distribute Fire Awareness Material throughout the community.
  • This would include some basic Fire Fighting Techniques applicable to the community we are in and the risks that the community identifies.
  • Also including some basic burns treatment information.
  • We would also be building a Network of Personal who will be invaluable for other future community based projects.
  • The initial plan would be to hold a weekly meeting in various locations throughout the community for the next 6 months, to saturate the community with Fire Awareness ideas and to gather information from community members to assist in the overall project.
  • The need for any continued weekly meetings will be assessed again at the end of the 6 month period.

Stage Two – Concepts and Ideas Implementation

The Fire Plan aims at equipping both the individual and the community to be more Fire Aware and more Fire Prepared.

  • On an individual Level – the project would like to see numbers of houses within the community equipped (where possible and practical) with the basic Fire Fighting Equipment, as deemed necessary by the community based discussions.
  • This might be made up of a basic hose, reel and nozzle system, and/or a fire blanket.
  • On a Community Level – other than increased overall Fire Awareness, the project would like to see numbers of small mobile fire fighting units developed and stationed at key places within the slum.
  • Initially we would aim to develop a proto-type fire fighting unit, with a view to having up to 6 units stationed around the slum.

Some good ideas, all of them still need working on, but everything starts with a thought.

We don’t have any accurate figures on any of these Projects at the moment, but we will post some details early in the year.