Illac Diaz had just finished his studies in urban planning in the USA and had been back in the Philippines for just a few weeks when a supertyphoon hit with devastating impacts.

Like so many others, he began looking to see what he could do to help. Then he saw a huge pile of discarded plastic bottles – and there was mud – so volunteers began filling up the bottles with mud and topping them with a small patch of cement. Tied together with chicken wire, these bricks built a school.