Jacksonville University Group - A Visit to the Philippines

by Christine Tyler
International Volunteer

It was not until I was 46 years old that I first traveled outside of my home country, the United States of America. As Director of the Community Service-Learning Center at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida, I went with a group of university students to Costa Rica, for a spring break service trip in 2003. That trip gave me a glimpse of the world outside of the United States. Three years later, I had an even more incredible trip outside of the USA. A trip that would change my outlook on life and on the world forever — another service trip, but this time to the Philippines. My experience there confirmed what I had always assumed — that we humans (all over the world) have the same challenges, desires, and values, and that we have the capacity to solve our problems. I would like to share with you a few reflections about my experience in the Philippines and why you should go if you ever have the opportunity.

First, let me say that the most incredible aspect of the Philippines is the people. The topography and flowers and beaches are beautiful, but they were secondary to the people whom we met and with whom we interacted. The people are attractive, funny, warm and so sincere. We worked with the staff and volunteers at Volunteers for the Visayans (VFV), a non-governmental organization (NGO) located in Tacloban City on the Island of Leyte. The VFV staff and volunteers were amazing! They worked with us from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. each day for eight days straight. While each of them have families and personal responsibilities of their own, they devoted their time to us. They informed us, accompanied us, taught us, nurtured us, laughed with us, and oh, yes, fed us!

In addition to the VFV staff, we met lovely people through our home stays. Our home stay family welcomed us with warmth, laughter and the best beds in the house. I felt almost ashamed at times because the family members slept downstairs on the hard tile floor while we Westerners had privacy in our individual bedrooms with comfortable beds on the upper floor of the home. The family gave us their freshest food on their best dishes. They treated us like royalty! I realized afterwards, that this is not unlike how I treat my guests in my home. I want to show my guests (especially those from another country) that they are important, welcomed, and comfortable. We all want to show visitors a good time because we are proud and we love our respective countries, regardless of our countries’ status in the world. We make our countries; our countries don’t make us.

The second aspect that I reflect upon is the sense of community that we experienced during our short stay in Tacloban City. This was especially evident in the barangay (community) of Bliss project, the neighborhood where we stayed. At 4:00 a.m. each morning, the roosters would crow and announce the beginning of another day. As I would groan in my bed and turn over to return to sleep, the Filipinos would be getting up to begin a new day. By 6:00 a.m. people were going to market, cooking, washing and working. I could hear people talking, children playing and laughing and dogs barking. Never once during my stay did I see a child misbehave, an adult raise his/her voice, or any type of violence. Children run here and there all day long while adults visit and talk with one another. People are outside from sunrise to sunset. To an American this is unusual because in our neighborhoods people are inside as America has seen a decline in socializing with each other over the past few decades. I could not help thinking of the old African adage, “It takes a village to raise a child” to describe what I was observing in Bliss village.

Living each day with integrity no matter one’s conditions would describe my third reflection point. I will be honest and say that I saw poverty like I had never seen before but it was material poverty. I did not see despair in people’s eyes; rather I saw eyes of coping and determination to have the best life possible. Of course, with additional resources such as jobs, human services, education and health care, all the world’s people, not just Filipinos, can address their problems and improve their lives.

In closing I want to say, “Salamat!” to the staff and volunteers at VFV and all of the families in Bliss project for their friendship and genuine concern shown to us when we visited. I also want to encourage others around the globe, no matter how old you are, to visit the Philippines in an effort to share culture and to spread peace.