Building A Great Wall Against Climate Change!

Dear all,

Time for a long over-due update. Here is what's happened so far:

1) Greenpeace and Charity Challenge moved our trip and our fundraiser deadline to 2007 because not enough people joined the challenge. The trip is now scheduled for August 2007. While this gives us more time to raise the money, we are suddenly not so sure if we can go on the trip at all due to possible commitments (Ala will be back un uni by then). When we began the challenge, we both had our schedules free for November 2006, the original date of the trip. We were not prepared for this radical change in the itinerary.

This change was also one of the reasons for the lull in our fundraiser (aside from other things that needed attending to). We did not want to go on until we had gotten clearer details.

We still haven't come to a final decision as to whether we will push through with the trip at all. In the meantime, here's what we're going to do:

1) We will still work on your pledges, as promised. Your money will still go to Greenpeace, unless you want a refund. Please give us time to work on these pledges. Rest assured, they will be done.

2) We will not be accepting any new pledges in the meantime, until we've decided what to do.

Thank you for your support, and we apologize for this stressful delay.


-Ala and Lucy

Hi guys! Wow, it's been ages since we've last updated. Just want to let you all know that we are still alive, but have just taken a couple weeks off because we've had to be extremely busy with certain things.

Ala has been moving house and settling into a new job, and Lucy has just opened a new store.

We owe you all a very big update, which will come soon (we promise).

-Ala and Lucy

"We can only watch in horror how an oil spill can undo in a few days our initiatives which have taken decades to implement. We need all the support we can get."- Joaquin Nava, Governor of Guimaras

On August 11, the Petron-chartered single hull vessel carrying 2.1 million litres of fuel oil which sank in Guimaras Strait, causing a huge slick, which Greenpeace characterized as an ecological time bomb that can cause long-term and possible irreversible damage to the environment and livelihoods of people. Full story here.

Please take the time to view pictures the oil slick here. It is the biggest oil-spill in Philippine history, so much that the government has called for international aid in cleaning up this disaster.

If you are in the Philippines and would like to give a donation to help the clean up in Guimaras, please call Greenpeace supporter services (02)4260368 local 110.

*** Note: excerpts taken from the Greenpeace SEA website.


People, you can also CONTRIBUTE YOUR HAIR to help clean the oil, as human hair has been proven effective in cleaning up oils slicks! Just go to any Reyes Haircutter branch or the main branch in Anonas, Quezon City, or to call +63 2 9136252. The Philippine International Hairdressers Association have all pledged to help as well.

I'm telling you, NOW is the time to get that hair-cut you've been wanting! Hippies, lose the long hair ang go kalbo! Shampoo models, make a stand! Parloristas, convince your customers to lose just another inch of hair, just one more. It's up to you now!

Haha, but seriously, the full story can be read here.

Hi everyone!

We owe you all some major updates, but sadly, this site won't be very busy for the next week or two because of some matters that need our attention (Ala, for example is moving to a new house and is knee deep in packing!). So for all of you who have pledged good deeds, don't worry we haven't forgotten and we will get to them soon!

We also owe you a progress report on the fundraising! Well, we have some big news that we didn't want to share with all of you until we got all the details straight. But as it seems we won't be getting the details for a little while, and as our loyal supporters, you all deserve to know that...

Our fundraising deadline, as well as our trip to the Great Wall, has been postponed, the reason being that not enough people registered for the fundraising challenge. We now have alot more time to earn the money. This made us breathe both a sigh of frustration and a sigh of relief. While we're happy that we now have more time to meet our deadline, we don't want to be too lax and lose the urgency of this fundraising project.

But you know what that means! Now YOU can join the fundraising challenge, too! So if you wish you had joined but missed out on the registration deadline, here is your chance!

We will post a more detailed report in the days to come, and when Ala is nicely settled in her new house :-)

Cheers everyone!

Hello everyone!

The City2Surf Fun Run was a blast! We were able to give out all pinwheels from our sponsors (you should have seen the way people's faces lit up when they were handed a pinwheel!)



Thank you to Ron and Trish who both ran with us, and handed out pinwheels!

You can view Ala's photo album here!

The funrun is in one day, and today was spent making PAPER PINWHEELS for our pledgers!




Our friend Trish came over to help us (she is also a sponsor, and is going to run and carry pinwheels for our cause on Sunday. Thanks, Trish!)





Ok, this is what the finished product looks like:



Thank you to all our sponsors! See you all at the finish line at City2surf on Sunday!!!

Hi guys!

Just though we'd update you on our progress so far.

Last week, some friends, Tito Lorie and Tita Terry, we're suddenly stuck with a bunch of appliances they had to get rid of ASAP, either by selling them, or by donating them. Instead, they decided to give us a hand with our fundraiser by giving us the opportunity to sell these items, and keep 50% of the profits for our cause!



In case anyone is interested, we now have the following items in our possession:

- a MAGNAVOX 68CM TELEVISION (MPTV68A)

- a HELLER 40CM OSCILLATING PEDESTAL FAN WITH REMOTE (HPF40R) (with the remote missing)

- a KAMBROOK RICE EXPRESS rice cooker (KRC5)

- a KAMBROOK ESSENTIALS non-stick iron (K1945)

- a NEC VIDEO CASSETTE RECORDER (VN-211)

- a SHARP VIDEO RECORDER (VC-A37)

- a DSE STEREO MICRO HIFI SYSTEM (A2938)

- DIGITOR MINI HOME THEATRE SPEAKER SYSTEM 5.1 Surround Sound (A3111)

- a DSE SPEAKER SYSTEM STANDS (A3100)

All items are in good condition, and some are only a few days old. All of them will be sold below market price, depending on how old they are.

Thank you Tito Lorie and Tita Terry for helping us out in our cause!

***

In the meantime, we need more sponsors for the <a>City2surf Fun Run</a> this Sunday where Lucy and I will run with Greenpeace to raise money for clean energy!

Aside from the few sponsors we've gotten, two other people have volunteered to run with us!

We need more sponsors though. For every 12 dollars we get, Lucy and I will make a little paper pinwheel with your name on it. You can learn more here.

Thanks, guys! :-) And please continue to support our cause.

Cheers!

Lucy and Ala

Good news for overseas readers who want to pledge for our cause! If your country supports Paypal, then you can now send in your pledges through the internet, at our e-mail address: buildthiswall@gmail.com. No matter what currency you send your pledge in, Paypal will automatically convert them into AUD. But in case you need a currecny conversion aide, you can go to this website!. We would love to do good deed for you, and for you to help us be part of our cause! Please leave a comment or e-mail us if you have any questions. Peace, love, and rainbows, Lucy and Ala

A few weeks ago, Irma Modesto from Melbourne requested a 10-minute interview on mini- disc with Ala's dad, Jim Paredes, who is a member of the Apo Hiking Society. Irma is a radio broadcaster for a Filipino station in Melbourne. I didn't bother taking photographs while conducting the interview, because I thought that letting people hear the interview itself would be better proof. Here is an e-mail from Irma, and a link to her program which aired the interview last night at 11:00.

Hey there Ala, We aired your interview last night at 11:00-midnight broadcast but nearly didn’t cuz the mini-disc kept ejecting from the player. We peeled all the labels and as it turns out you covered the important bit which prevented it from playing properly. But it was good…thanks once again. Log on to www.3ZZZ.com.au to access the program. Cheers, Tita Irma

Thanks for your pledge, Irma! And to the others, please keep the good deeds coming! :-)

Hello everyone!

If you want to help us, Ala and Lucy, raise money for the Greenpeace Great Wall of China Challenge 2006, well here's your chance to not only help us reach our goal, but to personally take part in the campaign for clean energy as well!

On the second Sunday of August, Lucy and I plan to take part in Australia's largest fun run, the Sun Herald City2Surf marathon 2006, where thousands of runners make the journey from the Eastern Suburbs, to Bondi! We will be running for- what else?- clean energy! Not only will the fun run be a great chance to promote our cause, but it will also be good training for the Great Wall of China :-p

Want to help? Here's how!

1) Sponsor us with twelve dollars (12 AUD).

2) With every twelve dollars we receive, we will make a paper pinwheel somewhat like this:



3) On the day itself, we will run wearing clean energy shirts, and handing out these windmills to passersby. So in essence, what you're really paying for are your own "campaign materials" in the clean energy revolution! (But we will be carrying them for you!)

All proceeds go to our fundraiser (if you haven't read what it's about, please click on "About Ala and Lucy" on our side bar).

How will you give us the twelve dollars?
Either in person, or through direct deposit. Email us, and we'll fill you in on the details.

So how about it? :-) Let us carry a clean energy pinwheel for you!

Much Love,
Ala and Lucy

My first good deed was requested by Ate Ellen who along with Kuya Bong own Chillout Karaoke restaurant in St Mary's. The good deed was to make a Birthday Slideshow for her friends daughter, who she was throwing a surprise 18th birthday party for.

So basically this deed included scanning about 50 pictures, putting them together with the help of Adobe Premiere, adding some funky music and then burning it to CD.

Since I completely underestimated the time it would take me to scan the pics, I split the deed to be done into two days. All I can say is kudos to my scanner for not giving up on me :)



My cousin Nicole took this pic of me trying to look as 'awake' as possible with mountains of pics that were scanned.

  
So the next day I set up a mini editing workstation in my room and off I went.


Still in the same jacket - synchronising the pics to the beat of "Ain't no other man"...

  
My vision blurs so the glasses go on and I get the crazies from tiredness...


If you can get past the messy room - I'm watching the final version of the slideshow

I found it kind of hard to make a slideshow for someone I had never met. All I knew is that she was turning 18, what her name was and that she is into R&B music. So it was hard to try and put gags in there for silly entertainment value - plus, no one usually finds me funny except my dad and myself. So it was a 'safe' slideshow.

All that was left to do was burn it as a VCD and deliver it to Ate Ellen.


Ron played paparazzi today...


With Chillout Karaoke planeteers...

Seriously though guys, if you are ever in the area you must visit Chillout for a bite to eat. I just celebrated my birthday there with my cousin and the food is just divine. *yum*yum* Ooh and they have a huge selection of karaoke songs to feed your inner diva (or divo..?!?)

Pledge received $50!

I finally found time to work on my first good deed! Our gracious pledger was Nic Dy, a friend of mine from Brisbane who requested that we "pick out 25 free postcards from your favourite cafe(s), 25 free postcards with either pretty pictures or positive messages, and for you to write a positive quote or aphorism on the back of each one, say 5 positive sayings (or if you really want to go hard, 25 different ones! I leave the choice of quotes to you) and leave them in books (perhaps at a Uni or council library and/or bookshop) for unsuspecting readers to find."

( Here goes! )

( First stop, Glebe! )

( Next... Glebe Books )

 

( Borders )

( And lastly... )

Overall, it was alot tougher than I thought it would be. I really wish I could have documented it more. Nevertheless, that was one good deed done. And you know what? I really enjoyed thinking of positive things to write on those postcards and planting all over. I think I may even make it a regular habit of mine (it puts those free postcards to such good use).

One good deed done, dozens more to go.

( Because I said I'd write about it... )

Hi, guys! Ala, here! Lucy and I have begun our second fundraiser which is... tadaa! A chocolate drive!


Knowing that there is a mountain of Snickers, Mars, Milky Way, Maltesers, M&Ms, and Starburst in your garage, and not being able to eat any of it is tantamount to TORTURE! I must resist, I... must... resist (groan).

The next challenge is getting friends to help us sell them in their offices, schools, and other public places. Would anyone like to volunteer to help us sell our chocolate? (You can even buy them yourself ;-))

So far, I've gotten my cousin Chini, and my friend Trish, to each take a box to work. Tomorrow, I will be dragging a HUGE luggage of chocolate, and delivering them to the offices of willing friends. I will be commuting, too, and trekking the city on foot. Oh boy, it better not rain!

I just spent an hour sticking our URL on each little box of chocs to lead buyers to this site.



And here is the "chocolate altar" I erected in my living room. We always get a couple of guests every day, whether they're my dad's guitar students or just friends passing by.


All ye who pass by this altar must pay homage to it (by buying a box)

Because we promised we'd document this fundraiser extensively, I'll be sure to post an entry and some pictures on how my day goes tomorrow. Good luck to me, my feet, and my luggage. I'll also be doing one of the promised good deeds tomorrow so... here goes!

***

Thank you very much to those who continue to pledge for a good deed! Keep 'em coming!

Hi guys! Ala here! Just thought I owed you all the latest news on our fundraiser! As our supporters, we owe it to you to let you know about the progress we've been making.

Well... so far, so good! We've managed to raise roughly 1,000 AUD worth of pledges within our first week, thanks to a dozen people who believed in our cause and decided to take a chance on us. We still have a long way to go, but it's definitely a good start! We couldn't have done it without all of you who supported us whether through pledging, spreading the word about our cause, or giving us words of encouragement. We give you our deepest thanks!

(Note: You're probably wondering how it all amounted to 1,000 when a dozen times 25 only amounts to 300. This is because some very, very generous people decided to pledge more than the amount we asked for)

We only started a week ago, and soon we are going to seriously kick this thing off. It's been very busy but I'll be starting on some of the requested good deeds this week, particularly that of my cousin who asked me to "compliment 50 different people in one day, and mean it". Woah, that girl drives a hard bargain I tell you! And I'm still worrying about how to document it. I don't think it would do any good at all if Lucy stood behind me with a video camera and filmed every compliment I gave! People might look at us suspiciously. But more on that later this week. :-)

A couple of people have also requested for a poi workshop, meaning a bunch of friends get together in one place and I teach them basic poi moves in exchange for their pledge! I thought that was a wonderful idea, and so I'd like to remind you all about my previous offer to teach basic poi! It's good to learn with a group of friends because that means you can practice together. It's a load of fun!

Aside from doing good deeds, Lucy and I are going to begin a new fundraising activity: a chocolate fundraising drive! That means that we will be going around with mountains of chocolate, going from door to door and/or stationing ourselves in populated places selling these chocs. (Don't worry, as promised, we will document it!)

- For overseas pledgers-

As of now, we are in the process of devising a way you can send in your pledges in the quickest and cheapest way. For people in the Philippines, you will soon have the option of direct deposit aside from sending your pledge to the aforementioned address (see our entry below). If you are paying in check, please don't forget to address it to Angela Paredes.

For people in the US, and other countries, we will get back to all of you very, very soon! Please bear with us! Thank you all for caring and believing! :-)

And that ends my update for now. Hope you like the shirts! Lucy designed them.

Our t-shirt designs are now available for sale on cafepress!

VOTE FOR SOLAR



Price: 20.00 USD
PURCHASE NOW!


SOLAR POWERED



Price: 20.00 USD
PURCHASE NOW!


SOLAR POWER IS HOT



Price: 20.00 USD
Design: Ron @ www.mayabang.net

PURCHASE NOW!


KARATE KID SAYS GO SOLAR!



Price: 20.00 USD
Design: Ron @ www.mayabang.net

PURCHASE NOW!





Ala will also be selling her digital artworks through cafepress so stay tuned for that!

MORE PLEDGES

1) An extremely generous pledger has asked for a mini lecture in FILM 101.
2) Another has requested we create a birthday slideshow for her special friend - much like this one Lucy made for her cousin.
3) Lastly, a pledger has requested one of us to simply repair her favourite beaded necklace.

xoxo

Hi guys! Just thought it was time for an update!

The good news is that about 8 people have formally made a pledge for us. Some of them never even asked for a good deed in return. Many haven't thought of a good deed to pledge yet.

But in the meantime, here are some of the good deed requests we've gotten:

1) Here is one pledger's request as written: " I'd like you to pick out 25 free postcards from your favourite cafe(s),
25 free postcards with either pretty pictures or positive messages and
for you to write a positive quote or aphorism on the back of each one,
say 5 positive sayings (or if you really want to go hard, 25 different
ones! I leave the choice of quotes to you) and leave them in books
(perhaps at a Uni or council library and/or bookshop) for unsuspecting
readers to find."

2) A recorded interview with Ala's dad, Jim (who is well-loved a singer/songwriter in the Philippines) on mini-disc. This request was made by a radio broadcaster in Melbourne.

3) Another pledger is going to make us wash his car, mow his lawn, and clean his yard in exchange for "whatever we think it's worth".

4) And yet another pledger wants a hand-drawn caricature of himself (but he hasn't gotten back to us yet. If you're reading this, please do!)

Haven't thought of a good deed yet? Here is a suggestion!

Poi

For 25 $, Ala can give you an hour and a half of basic poi lessons. Never heard of it? It's a beautiful, graceful dance/ exercise using a ball on a cord, originating from the Maori culture.

Not only are they bright, colorful, and loved by children and adults alike, but you get to learn alot of cool tricks to impress your friends with! It's a great arm workout, improves your coordination, and has a meditative after-effect (well, for Ala at least!). I must warn you that it is highly addictive. Once you learn a bit, you'll want to learn more and more!



It might be the start of something for you! Some day, you might be good enough to do it like this:


With fire!

So, that's just one of our suggestions for your pledge :-)

***

In the meantime, we are going to be selling pro-clean energy t-shirts as soon as they're ready. Here are some designs that Lucy has thought of so far!





Pretty nifty, eh? :-)

***

But let's not forget about WHY we're doing this. Here are some interesting links you can check out ways you can promote renewable energy:

The Greenpeace Asia Pacific website where you can download ways to use clean energy at home

For Australians, how the government helps us to switch to Greenpower (I just discovered this today! Pretty neat!): http://www.greenpower.gov.au/pages/

Do you believe in the value of things you can't hold in your hand?

Hi guys! Ala, here :-) So, as you may have read in our profile, Lucy and I have teamed up to take on the challenge of raising 5,500 AUD each (half of which is due mid-August) for the Greenpeace Great Wall of China Challenge, 2006 (click on the link to find out more about it). Our goal? To do our part in fighting the most immediate threat to our planet, climate change, to spread a cause we believe in, and if all goes well, to trek the Great Wall of China!

Here is one of our first fundraising activities (among many more to come), and it will probably be the most long-running one. We got this idea from a friend, Pia Faustino, who succesfully managed to raise a large sum of money to attain her great dream of attending the World Youth Summit in this same way. By reincarnating her method (with her permission of course), we give her credit for inspiring us and so many other people.

Lucy and I want to make a difference, but we also know that noone ever makes a difference on his own. Changes are made by a community of individuals who believe in possibility.

"Why would anyone help me?", we often ask ourselves. We don't know why people help others, but one thing is for sure: if you don't ask for help, then it is certain that no one will help you. When you turn to the people around you for help, you do more than ask for support; you also foster a spirit of optimism and belief in fellow human beings. You rekindle faith in humanity, remind yourself and others of that there is goodness in people. This is one big reason why I am excited about this challenge. I hope to inspire and be inspired by the goodwill in other people.

We need to raise money, and though we'd greatly appreciate donations, and we understand that people often expect to get something in return for money. Usually, they hope to get something consumable, or at least tangible, because these are things whose value they can "trust" in. But what about the value of non-tangible things?

We'd like to ask you to take a leap of faith on us as we offer you something a little different in exchange for your money. Here is what we're willing to do for you:

In exchange for your money, we'd like to offer our talents, our time, our efforts, and our ideas in the form of a deed- a good deed.

We are willing to do any good deed of YOUR CHOICE, for $25 AUD. Any good deed that you yourself feel is worth $25.

These are the rules:

1) It is within our physical capabilities and boundaries (i.e. we cannot cross deserts, lift boulders, or anything like that)
2) Does not involve too much money (at least not more than transportation costs).
3) Is not illegal, immoral, and does not violate anyone's rights or privacy. It must not endanger us or anyone else.
4) It is done for the good of all- of an individual, the community, the environment, etc.
5) It can be done in at most a day.
6) It can be done by one person, either me or Lucy (deeds that require two people will have to cost double the amount)


Not convinced? Wait, stay with me please. I will answer your questions.

What is a good deed?

Well, here are some examples (but hey, it doesn't end here, what do YOU want us to do?)

- We could volunteer at any charity of your choice (think of this as hitting two birds with one stone. You'll be sending a volunteer to one charity, while giving money to another. 3 birds if you count the extra exposure your charity will get when we document our experience in our site).

- Plant a tree.

- Do your groceries.

- Teach you a skill for an hour (ex. Ala can teach you basic poi, which is a lovely exercise and dance :-D)

- Give your blog interface a funky make-over with our tried, tested, and much adored graphic design and html skills.

- Edit an essay.

- Pick up garbage on the beach/ park.

- Sing for you (If you want! Like I said, use your imagination.)

*** If you can't think of a good deed but want to contribute, then you can give us your pledge, and get back to us on the good deed in the future. Think of it as an IOU from us :-)

How will you know that we are actually doing the good deeds, and not just running off with your $25?

We will document each and every single good deed on this site in detail. We will post pictures, scan vouchers, and provide any proof we can.

What happens if we do not reach our quota of 11,000 on time?

As with all our donors, you can choose whether you still want the money to go to Greenpeace, or you can have it refunded. But should this happen, we will still do your good deed anyway! (Yes, we will still do it for you. Now how about that?)

Ok, so you're willing to take a chance on us. How do we do this?

Email us at buildthiswall@gmail.com with your identity, your pledge, and your requested good deed, or leave a message in our comment box.

How can you get the money over to us?

For Australian residents, your options are:
- Money order
- direct deposit
- cash (if we can arrange a meeting with you)

*** Our details will be supplied to you once you e-mail us with your pledge.

For people in the Philippines, your options are:

-direct deposit (details will be supplied to you when you e-mail us)
- or we can collect any pledges or donations you want to make

Circus Studios
113 B. Gonzales St.
Loyola Heights, QC

Just make sure it is in an envelope and labelled neatly with "Ala and Lucy c/o Nino Avenido", and of course your name and contact details.

For people overseas:

- you can pay us through Alertpay.com but we are still figuring out a better way! Email us and we will discuss!

So, do you believe in the value of things you can't hold in your hand? Do you believe that the world would be a better place if people did at least one good deed everyday? Will you help us build this great wall against climate change?

Much love,

Ala and Lucy

P.S. Check back on this site from time to time to read about our future fundraising activities. If you want to find out more about who we are, click on "About Ala and Lucy"" on the sidebar on the right.

Disclaimer: Lucy and Ala are not affiliated with Greenpeace in any way except through the Greenpeace Great Wall of China Challenge. All views expressed in this website do not necessarily reflect the views of Greenpeace or Charity Challenge.

We will be updating very soon, so please come back! In the meantime, learn more about us and our cause by clicking on "About Ala and Lucy!" on the right!

Cheers!