After a whirlwind trip to the Philippines with the team from World Vision Canada, and a long journey home, it feels hard to believe I was even there now that I’ve been back in Halifax a few days. Since I’ve returned, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from friends and co-workers about my 10-day trip to the island country, but the most frequent question is, “What did you see that sticks with you the most?”

It’s a difficult question to answer succinctly.

It’s not easy to sum up what I saw and experienced in my time in the Philippines. I indeed saw a lot of poverty – people living in the kinds of conditions we would shudder at here in Canada. I saw families struggling to make ends meet against seemingly impossible odds – battling against circumstance, the weather, the economy, against forces larger than them that can appear overwhelming at times. I met children who had never seen anyone from North America before, who were fascinated by the presence of a television camera, who had very few (if any) toys to play with, and who were more used to being hungry than not.

But I also saw a lot of good work being done at the same time. I witnessed a group of volunteer dental assistants performing free teeth cleanings for children and adults alike as part of a community sustainable health program. I saw housing provided by World Vision to help families rebuild after Typhoon Haiyan. I met a little boy who, upon receiving a gift box full of school supplies, immediately shared its contents with his younger siblings – without a hint of any selfish hesitation.

It’s challenging to convey what it is like to see such hardship and hope in the same trip. The human experience is a complicated one, no matter where we may be on this planet. But I have noticed a common theme:  how helping one another can make a big difference – whether we live down the street or halfway around the world.

I look forward to sharing my experiences in a series of special reports which will be airing on CTV Atlantic in July. I hope you can watch and take the journey with me.