Dropping Anchor in Siargao

Dropping Anchor in Siargao

It was a Friday night at the Chabad House - tables loaded with fresh challah and salads, one melody flowing into the next. Hundreds of travelers gathered around the table like one big family, the words of Kiddush still hanging in the air.

Then the door burst open, and dozens of armed police stormed in.

Travelers were arrested. Some of our own staff were taken and shuttled back and forth between holding facilities on the island and in Manila for nearly a month - all under the pretext of a visa check that followed antisemitic complaints from a few local residents. It took a massive legal and public effort just to get them released.

This wasn't a one-off. It was the result of three years of Chabad Siargao bouncing from place to place, with no ground of our own to stand on - exposed to every complaint, every whim.

We already knew something had to change. We'd found a plot - a spacious 18,300 square feet in a prime spot on the island - cleared every bureaucratic hurdle, and already paid most of the cost of the land.

That night just confirmed what we already knew: a permanent home on this island isn't about comfort anymore. It's about survival.

Around that same time, the local council actually reached out and asked us to go ahead and complete the purchase — to make our presence here official, legal, and permanent.

So after three years on the move, after already covering most of the cost, after a night none of us will ever forget - we've reached the final stretch: closing on the land and breaking ground.

Chabad Siargao isn't backed by any organization. It exists purely because good people choose to be part of it.

A gift like this doesn't just support day-to-day activity. It's what decides whether Chabad Siargao finally stands here for good - secure and established - instead of staying exposed to whatever complaint comes next.

⚓ Join us. Let's drop anchor, once and for all.

To donate via Zelle: chabadsiargao@gmail.com

For more information, or to get involved in the campaign:
+1-334-3770-358
Rabbi Mendel Shpindler