Videos from the Big Bangs Philippines Tour 2009.  All participants have given their permission to have their interviews broadcast.  Many thanks to Damien Geary for providing the footage.
 
 
 

After flat out week that was all too suddenly finished, we were up at 6 on Saturday morning and into the minivan driving back to Cagayan De Oro airport, right around the same time that we later learned Manila was feeling the full force of mother nature.
In the week we had been in Bayug we had all grown very close to Brian’s family and Big Bangs Philippines and we had to keep our goodbyes short to avoid “accidently” extending our trip. Turns out it almost happened anyway.
It wasn’t until past …

Day 3 of the school camps was at the Tambo school.  This was an opportunity to throw the rookies from Big Bangs Philippines and Australia into the deep end, and let them lead the groups at several points throughout the day.
I never get tired of running basketball camps… seeing every single kid smile, watching their eyes light up, seeing them finish up their sessions yet continue to play the games and run the drills we had taught them only a couple hours before…
At Tambo we managed to take care of …

The 2nd school we visited on the program was Bayug Elementary which was just a short walk from “Aunty’s” house where we were staying, in the village where Brian grew up.  Just in case anyone wasn’t awake and focused for the day our first challenge began before we arrived at the school which was to cross a 100m wide river on a narrow swaying wooden bridge. Everyone was concentrating so hard on keeping their own balance that Damian was left at the end of the line to carry all the …

Amazing. To be back in my home country, as a member of The Big Bang Ballers, was truly a life- changing experience. What’s more, it opened my eyes to the challenges and rewards of international development. The feeling I got from the moment we touched down in Manila till the moment we arrived back in Australia can only be described as a roller coaster of emotions. It was to be the first time that the Big Bangs had the privilege of playing basketball and running programs for school kids in …

On 19 September 2009, five members from the Australian contingent of Big Bangs departed on a whirlwind tour of the Philippines.
We are now reflecting on the successes of our journey, from visits to various schools and orphanages in Illigan City, to distributing food and uniforms to local children.
We would like to offer sincere thanks to our sponsors and donors whose supplies and time have brought immense joy to over 3,500 children.  Without the key support of such donors as Tongue & Groove, Canberra Players League, Uni Basketball League and Basketball ACT, …