we hold in our own hands EARTH and OCEAN do we hold them as carefully as our wallets? This stunning painting by Ilonggo artist Marrz Capanang was created during Artivism 2.0 (Iloilo City, Philippines) earlier this month. Artivism is a…
Category: Activism
projects and causes that i am passionate about.
ARTIVISIM: public art with a social impact
there’s art on the streets over every broken wall we see ourselves in paint there’s art on the streets in every broken leaf (or the dirty sea) we see ourselves we paint there’s art on the streets in every broken…
We’ve Moved
oh let me introduce you to our new place -- we call it home and like a little prince (with mother Queen) we each of us have a throne it has a lovely concrete driveway so we're out of all…
No, She Isn’t
Whoever Victoria is ... she's a daughter, a human, a woman, a friend, a neighbour, a person, a citizen, beautiful, loved, a creative being of infinite potentential, AND she definitely is NOT ... #saysomethingnice #sendlovetovictoria #endbullying
No Fixers Allowed
This year for World Literacy Day, Jerry and I went back and visited Estancia. We spent Friday night making reading packs for 18 of our friends and put them in shiny bags. It was exciting, though Jerry was feeling a…
Talking About Tuberculosis (TB)
Jerry has officially been on his TB meds now for two weeks so his incubation period is over. We've spent the last fortnight adjusting and falling into a ritual of measuring out pill quantities, cutting and swallowing. Followed by milk…
Everyday Ironies
For the uninitiated, after a flood your deep well needs to be cleaned. We don't drink the water from our well, we buy that. But the deep well feeds our [cold] shower, toilet tap (for filling buckets of water to…
Jerry’s Mango Drink
Since moving to Iloilo City, every day Jerry likes to buy a little mango drink for about 25c. He trots down the road with his wallet and 10 pesos and returns with a disposable plastic cup filled with condensed milk,…
Living in Typhoon Season
There is a hard reality to living in a developing country during Typhoon Season. Spare a thought for the families living in bamboo houses, tarpaulin huts and fishing boats who'll lose their Christmas livelihood tonight.
Yes, it’s happened to #metoo
As General Manager of an RSL in western NSW, every Saturday morning I'd come into the venue to run the weekly chook raffle. Using the club microphone and PA system I'd have a usually have a laugh and joke with…
Can You Live Without Plastic Bags?
My aim is to live completely without disposable plastic bags, but it's a thorny issue and lot harder than I realised. If you read my post from a new weeks ago you'll know that I'm committed to sharing my progress as…
Educating Disadvantaged Kids With ‘Chasing Coral’
Yesterday I screened the new environmental film Chasing Coral at the Tanza Elementary School in the Philippines. Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate and this important film follows a team of divers, photographers and scientists on…
Rehearsals Started for Literacy Day Celebrations
Rehearsals for our World Literacy Day celebrations started today and as promised here are the details to watching live on Friday. Today we went back over some materials we learned last year and I also began teaching the kids a little…
Living Without Plastic and Getting Everyone Involved
On Sunday I posted Facebook that I was completely free of plastic bags. Naturally I felt all empowered, got a few likes and felt very proud of myself. But three days in, after a few little 'accidents' in the market…
Don’t Take Your Freedoms For Granted
When I first came to the Philippines three years ago I thought it would be a great idea to blog about the issues I was witnessing here. Typhoon Yolanda had just happened and there was a lot of talk about…
The First Boy in His Family to Finish School
A very excited Jerry started grade 3 last week, an opportunity denied to most of his brother's and sisters. This is particularly poignant today on World Day Against Child Labour. Like the other 2.1 million+ Filipino kids already working, Jerry's…
Praying for a New Moon
This moon has a scent black and pungent a small crack surrounded in smoke. It slashes at your door when the lights are gone, and demands a daughter. She bargained herself for her small sister’s stead (did the little girl see…
I am Awakened
unfollow my lies unfriend my indifference unfilter my eyes © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Filter
Running With Scissors
I’m running with scissors for writing this down I’m running with scissors just walking around if you lived in a place where people get killed for the people they know or the lists they could fill would you get out…
viva la altrusitic revolution
Matthieu Ricard talks about how to foster an altruistic motivation rather than a selfish one and then apply that to global issues including economics and the environment.
reaching for Altruism
A wonderful TED Talk by Abigail Marsh who confirms that around our globe people are becoming less and less accepting of suffering, that compassion and genuine concern for other people is expanding and that genuine altruism is something that is within reach for almost everyone.
How to keep kids safe from harm?
Encouraging the local kids to stay away from online gaming dens or roam around the pier is the main reason I invite a small group to the house in the afternoons after school. I see these kids (little kids as…
how narrow ideas gain wide attention
The media in the past hours is quoting an Australian senator who claims that Australian Muslims are rorting the welfare system. Did this really need to be a head story on the websites of our leading news providers? Actually did…
#earthday promise
my #earthday promise! (in a state of love and joy) i envision our earth a natural perfection and beauty. i concentrate only on the actions that i, myself can take. i find everyday, new and creative ways to substitute plastic…
I am a WOMAN … BABAE ako
Presenting my written works at a gathering for International Women’s Day (IWD) yesterday was an incredibly moving experience. Allocated a space near the entrance to the event, I created a walk-through visual presentation using white tarpaulin, purple paint and lavender…
Pledge for Parity
I pledge to help women and girls achieve their goals. More specifically the women and girls of Botongon, Estancia. I pledge to bring creative arts, poetry, literature and music to the women and children of Botongon in English and their…
Who is helping these people?
eighteen months after a CAT 5 SuperTyphoon largest on record? © 2015 Melinda Irvine