00:00Kuya Kim, you can't forgive the times when you're with your friends on different trips.
00:05You know, Susan, I miss those times when it feels good to do it again.
00:10Yes, that's right. But here, it's amazing to have a friend to clean the mess.
00:15That's my story that you should know.
00:22Instead of resting, Russell, the factory worker, and Owen, the loader,
00:26have a twin day off where they hang out in the stairs.
00:29But it's not to relax.
00:31Instead, it's to remove the trash from the drainage of their friend's trip.
00:43In February of 2023, Owen started cleaning the stairs in their place in San Pedro, Laguna.
00:49When it rains, we can see where the trash is.
00:55In our place, it's just a little bit of rain and it's already flooded.
00:57He also included Russell in his new hobby.
01:00He contacted me if he needs help or something.
01:04I went to him and I rode my motorcycle.
01:06Friends in the city of San Pedro go around to look at the stairs full of trash.
01:12There are people passing by and it's really messy on the streets.
01:16My partner and I go there.
01:19Their clean-up project? They vlog it.
01:22It's also for our countrymen,
01:24to inspire them to put their trash aside.
01:28Don't put it everywhere.
01:30On their social media pages, they also get tips
01:33about the stairs and places where the trash is piled up.
01:36If there's no work or other walks,
01:38they aim the places to clean.
01:41We really do it voluntarily.
01:43We also go around.
01:45For example, here in San Pedro.
01:46If there's nothing here, where can we go?
01:49Where can we clean?
01:51When Owen and Russell started,
01:53they didn't have anything to clean.
01:55We don't have gloves.
01:56We also don't have a jumper.
01:58They also collect garbage.
02:01We get wet.
02:02Sometimes, we get bitten by dead animals.
02:08It looks like they're doing something dangerous
02:10by pouring garbage into the water.
02:12According to Dr. Ravia Roderos Galvan,
02:14a general physician.
02:16If there's a wound or an opening in our body,
02:19we are more at risk of diseases
02:21such as leptospirosis, hepatitis,
02:24or other parasitic diseases.
02:27Owen and Russell's target today
02:29is to clean a stairway in their neighborhood
02:32where there's garbage piled up in the barrier.
02:34This is from San Isidro River
02:37and it's going to Laguna Lake.
02:40It's possible that the garbage piled up here
02:43was collected by the typhoons.
02:46In the past, friends don't have any protection
02:48when they get lost.
02:50Now, they have waders or jumpsuits
02:52and gloves.
02:53Someone transferred a donation to us.
02:56That's what we bought today,
02:58our things like this jumper,
03:00shovels,
03:02and the crab clip
03:05for the drainage.
03:09Owen and Russell are separating the garbage.
03:12The ones that can be sold
03:14are being separated
03:16for the garbage haulers.
03:19They can benefit from it.
03:23After more than 2 hours of searching,
03:26collecting, and hauling,
03:27almost 20 garbage bags were filled.
03:36We will pass through the barangay
03:38so that we can say that we are cleaning here
03:40so that the garbage can pass through.
03:43After cleaning,
03:45they also drink medicine.
03:47They also clean their gear.
03:50What they do is a post-exposure prophylaxis.
03:54It means that they protect their body
03:58from leptospirosis.
03:59The medicine that we mentioned earlier
04:01is doxycycline.
04:02It's an antibiotic that we use
04:05to treat leptospirosis.
04:07But we also use it
04:09to avoid leptospirosis.
04:11We should not drink doxycycline
04:13without reason.
04:14It's always important
04:16to consult a doctor first
04:17especially if we have exposure
04:19to flood or storm.
04:21The advocacy of the friends
04:23also reached Albay.
04:25While on the trip,
04:26they also stopped the people
04:28who were watching Baradong Canal, Estero,
04:30and the garbage collected on the road.
04:32We traveled for a week
04:34from San Pedro to Bigol.
04:37It was so fun.
04:38It's heart-warming
04:39to read their comments.
04:41When it comes to cleaning,
04:43there's nothing small or big to do.
04:46Because every action
04:48is for the sake of everyone's safety.
04:50And that's the story you should know.
05:08For more information, visit www.fema.gov
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