Meet RSM Pursue Your Passion Winner: Kyle McNamara

Kyle McNamara | Senior Associate | Las Vegas, NV

For a few days each year, my wife Charo and I wait anxiously for word from relatives on whether or not her family is safe. My wife’s family lives in a small fishing village on the coastline called Quinyangan Tonga, in the Masbate Province of the Philippines. It is a very poor village and only has electricity for five hours each night. The island lies on a popular path for Pacific typhoons.

Typhoon season can be deadly, as witnessed several years ago when Typhoon Haiyan rampaged through several regions of the Philippines, causing death and destruction. This village was right in the middle of the storm’s path and unfortunately, was not spared. Typhoons are a regular part of life in the Philippines and small villages on the coast typically do not have any protection from these brutal storms.

After the destruction from Typhoon Haiyan, the Philippine government distributed funds to these small villages; however, the majority of the funds were taken by corrupt public officials and never reached their intended destinations. The funds that were received by the village were used to construct an evacuation shelter in the hills, not far from the village, which would serve as protection against the flood waters and 100 mph winds.

My wife and I have recently learned that the shelter is unfinished. It has no floor, no wooden shutters for the windows, no bathroom, no running water, and most importantly, is too small to fit the entire village. Further governmental funds will not be allotted for the completion of this project. We asked ourselves, “What good is a shelter, if it does not provide the protection it is designed to give?” When I heard of the 90-90-9 program and all that it offers, I knew I had to apply.

My wife and I share a similar passion: to help those who are less fortunate. We regularly help feed and clothe the homeless in Henderson, Nevada as part of a church program and we are currently putting one of my wife’s siblings through college in the Philippines to help her obtain a better life. We are living with one income as my wife now watches our eight-month old daughter Scarlett on a full-time basis, which makes it even more challenging to help others.

My wife and I have discussed several projects with my father-in-law which would greatly assist the people of the village. We will use the funds received from the 90-90-9 program to fly to the Philippines, secure the required materials, and complete the construction of the shelter, while building an extension that will have a bathroom and will fit the remaining residents of the village. While there, we will use a portion of the funds to purchase sacks of rice, canned goods, and bottled water to be stored at the shelter to provide emergency provisions for the villagers during these terrible storms.

Fortunately, the dollar goes a long way in the Philippines, which will allow us to complete additional projects in the village. Fresh water is a scarce resource in the village. My father-in-law has to travel about a half-mile into the hills with a cart driven by oxen to get water a few times a week. It’s a difficult journey, made more complicated by the uneven ground and unpredictable weather. We will use some funds to dig a deep well on my wife’s land, which is within the village and will provide water to the villagers for drinking, cooking, and bathing. This well is located near the shelter, which will greatly aid the villagers in collecting water before the storms hit.

Any additional resources will be used to fix the village’s church, which was destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan. It currently has three walls, a rickety roof and not enough chairs for the villagers. The community is deeply religious, but they just do not have the income to fix their center of worship.

Another aspect of this trip is the fact that my daughter will meet her grandmother and grandfather, aunts, uncles, and cousins for the first time. Due to the costliness of a tourist visa and travel, my in-laws have not been able to come to America. This will not add any cost to the trip as she is under two years old and will fly for free.

It is not every day that people have the opportunity to potentially save lives. If selected to complete these projects, we can provide safety to people whose lives are put in danger with each passing storm. Furthermore, it allows the impact that RSM provides to enter the far-reaching areas of the world and provide the truest of community services, without the heavy budget, which will provide an everlasting impact on the people of the village and, more importantly, our family.