Volunteer in an Orphanage
The Philippines is one of the Third World developing nations of Asia, and as such, has a major problem with overpopulation. Thousands of Filipino children have been orphaned or abandoned by their families, and are growing up today in both government- and privately-established orphanages around the country.
Volunteer for the Visayans coordinates with a number of local orphanages to place international volunteers in caregiver positions. Each of these institutions houses between 45 to more than 100 children. All the kids come from poor families, and most have suffered from malnutrition, illness, and/or neglect. The children thrive on the attention and love our volunteers give to them.
Living with just the basic necessities, and few to no toys, orphanage children greatly outnumber the staff members hired to care for them. Most of the kids, particularly babies and toddlers, are developmentally delayed due to a chronic lack of stimulation and interaction with adults. Orphanage caregivers are very appreciative of the extra help our volunteers can offer. Typical volunteer duties involve basic chores such as feeding, bathing and diapering the children, cleaning, and helping with laundry - and, of course, providing love and nurturing. Other activities can include tutoring the children, organizing activities and games, teaching them songs and dances, and other pastimes that give them the attention and stimulation that these children want and need.
Volunteers don't necessarily need child-care experience. All we ask is that they come with energy, enthusiasm, an open mind, and an open heart. Volunteers who are willing to organize recreational activities are especially appreciated, as are the resources that volunteers can bring from their home countries - such as arts and crafts supplies, books, games, toys, tapes/CDs with children's songs, and more.
The orphanage placements range in duration from 2 weeks to 6 months.
Volunteer to Teach English
Children in the Philippines begin learning English in grade one, so it's no surprise that most of the population know some degree of English. However, the opportunity to learn English from a native speaker is a major advantage, especially for underprivileged children from "the provinces." The benefits of being taught the language by a native English speaker include correct pronunciation, vocabulary building, and easier understanding of spoken English. It also gives the children a chance to interact with foreign visitors, an extremely rare privilege in rural areas.
We place volunteers in rural elementary schools an hour outside of Tacloban City to assist the local teachers with English classes and other subjects. These volunteers experience life in rural villages and observe the true meaning of "community."
Another alternative to teaching in the rural setting is to teach non-formal education classes in Tacloban. These classes work with young school dropouts and unemployed adults who want to revisit the basic subjects taught in school, plus skills training. Our international volunteers are role models for these struggling teenagers and adults. The non-formal education sector lacks the teachers it needs to conduct regular classes for adults and teens who have quit school, but wish to pick up their education again. Our volunteers organize and schedule classes daily, and really have a profound effect on these students' lives. Teaching English experience or TEFL certification is preferred, but not required.
The Teaching English placements range in duration from 2 weeks to 6 months.
Volunteer with the City Nutrition Office
One chronic problem affecting many populations in the Philippines is malnutrition. The mission of the Tacloban City Nutrition Office is to help reduce the number of malnourished children in the city and surrounding provinces. Outreach programs organized and conducted by the Nutrition Office aim to educate and monitor families who are at risk of raising malnourished kids. The government office oversees the food intake of families in nearly 138 local barangays (neighborhoods) and monitors the established cases of malnourished children throughout Tacloban City.
Volunteers work with the Barangay Nutrition Committee directly, organizing education classes for parents and communities; giving lessons on how to plant and maintain barangay and school vegetable gardens, and conducting weight surveys of monitored children. Knowledge of nutrition is preferred for this placement.
The Nutrition Office placements range in duration from 2 weeks to 6 months.
volunteer in an orphanage | volunteer with the social department volunteer to teach english | volunteer with the street children volunteer with the city nutrition office | medical placement
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Volunteer with the Department of Social Welfare
Volunteers can help the Tacloban Department of Social Welfare and interact directly with impoverished, at-risk and special-needs populations in the area. The DSW's programs are ongoing and vary according to community need, resources, and budgeting, among other factors. Some of our endeavors have included teaching computer classes, teaching the disabled, and working with street children (tutoring them, and organizing projects and activities for them).
While this placement gladly accepts volunteers from all backgrounds, there is a particular need for:
English-speaking deaf educators to teach computer classes to hearing-impaired adults and children. A volunteer with this knowledge and experience has the potential to make a tremendous impact on the local hearing-impaired community.
Volunteers with experience working with autistic children.
Volunteers with experience organizing a data bank. The DSW is in great need of someone who can help set up a comprehensive profile and statistical presentation of its data.
Any volunteer with special skills and background in working with underserved, disabled, and special-needs populations.
Any volunteers with an interest and motivation in helping and working with the people of the community can help out with the ongoing projects in the Department of Social Welfare. If you have specific skills and experience that you would like to share, we can possibly arrange a special placement for you.
The Social Welfare placements range in duration from 2 weeks to 6 months.
Volunteering at a Street Children's Shelter
The Department of Social Welfare has established a safe haven to house, feed, and teach children who either live on the streets, or who spend a significant amount of time there. Most street kids have either been abandoned or rejected by their families, or have such inadequate supervision and care at home that they turn to the streets in search of food and companionship. Even worse, the majority of them regularly use, or are addicted to, sniffing industrial glue. Known as "rugby" in Tacloban, this drug is prevalent among street kids who started sniffing it in order to suppress hunger pains or simply to alter their grim reality. Part of the challenge of working with street children is to help them turn away from glue sniffing and to make positive choices for their future. Volunteers help the Department of Social Welfare in helping to provide the simple things these children lack in life: trust, compassion, nurturing, shelter, education, positive mentoring, and regular meals. Anyone is invited to work in the street kids' center: ideal volunteers love children and are compassionate, sociable, flexible, and patient.
The Street Children's Shelter placements range in duration from 2 weeks to 6 months.
Volunteer in a Community Health Clinic
VFV places volunteers in community medical facilities in Tacloban and surrounding towns, to assist Filipino doctors and nurses and observe medical practices in the Philippines. Medical school and pre-med students, nursing students, doctors, nurses, or anyone else with experience working in the health care field are needed in local community health centers. These facilities are greatly understaffed: for instance, the only free clinic for the indigent people in nearby Tanauan has just one doctor to serve 54 barangays. For this reason, help from medical volunteers is greatly appreciated. Volunteers get hands-on practice working and interacting with patients. In addition, they learn about health-care conditions here in the Philippines, which are likely to be quite different than the conditions in their home countries. Some days are spent in the health clinic while in others, the volunteer will treat patients in the surrounding barangays. Volunteers for this placement must currently be studying or have finished studying in the health industry.
The Community Health Clinic placements range in duration from 1 week to 6 months.