He knows he can't afford to feed all the displaced victims of Tropical Storm Washi that hit the southern Philippines in December.
Nor can he match the strength of local construction workers whom he and his fellow volunteers from outside the Philippines have helped recently at relocation sites.
But 20-year-old Issey Tanaka, a second-year student at Keio University in Tokyo, believes he can motivate victims to help themselves, and encourage local residents to help them as well, by visiting the disaster area and engaging in various volunteer assistance jobs.