Volunteer in the Philippines

A marriage of Eastern and Western cultures in a paradise-like setting, the Philippines has been described as the best-kept secret of the Orient.

Azure seas cradle its seven thousand islands; a hundred cultures spawn its hundred tongues.

The country is full of contrasts- a study of western style democracy and iron-fisted regimes; peopled by men and women of deep piety in the midst of liberalism; land-marked by skyscrapers beside old stone churches and walled cities; an environment where both the earth's biggest raptor - the Philippine (monkey-eating) eagle - and the smallest primate - the tarsier - live.

Every visitor gets to taste and experience the world in a day in the Philippines.

Contents
The Program
Teaching Program
   Day Car Center
   Elementary and High School
Health Program
School Building and Maintenance Program
Environment Program
   Marine Sanctuary Program
Program Location
Program Cost

The Program

Our objective is to assist and develop local Filipino communities through education, integration, research and volunteerism.

Our programs are nationwide, assisting local communities with their basic needs, focusing on children.

The volunteer opportunities are in the following areas:

• Teaching programs
  
  
• Health program
  
  
• School building and maintenance program
  
  
• Environment program
  

Teaching Programs

Day Care Centres

Volunteers teach children ages 3 to 5 in a day care centre for 2 to 4 hours a day.

They will teach children the alphabet and basic concepts like colours, shapes, sizes, days of the week, and the like through songs, stories and play. This program is not available during April and May.

Elementary and High School:

Volunteers on the program teach elementary and high school students in public schools for two to four hours a day.

Subjects taught include English, maths, science, health, and basic computer skills (only in schools where computers are available). Volunteers may teach on their own but there will be a local teacher available to assist. This program is not available during April and May.

Health Program

Philippine laws provide for a community health centre in each of its 41,000 barangays (communities).

Sadly, not all communities have their own health centres and those that have one are woefully under-equipped and understaffed. Medically-trained volunteers may help in community health centres and hospitals, and may perform medical tasks depending on their skills and qualifications.

For volunteers to practice as licensed doctors and nurses in the Philippines, however, they must submit their applications at least three months before their scheduled program in order for their accreditation to be processed by the Philippine Professional Regulatory Commission. They may also conduct trainings and workshops to train the people on hygiene, health care, reproductive health care, first-aid, and other health concerns.

Volunteers may also help set up clinics in public schools and train teachers and students to become effective health officers and clinic custodians. Only volunteers who are in their final year of study or who are professional doctors or nurses can participate in the Health Program.

Health volunteers will be asked to live and immerse themselves in the communities where they will conduct medical missions, especially in the rural placements. This is done to give the volunteers a more holistic appreciation of the people they wish to help, their economic activities, culture, values, issues and struggles. At some point in their programs, they will also be taken to both public and private hospitals for them to see the problems of the health sector in the Philippines.

School Building and Maintenance Program

Volunteers on the program will be doing manual tasks of building.

Your time will be spent repairing school buildings, painting roofs, walls, chalkboards, desks, teaching aids and other equipment. Volunteers may help in the installation of water pumps. Volunteers may also help in setting up of libraries. Volunteers can start by asking for donations of old books from families, friends, towns, parishes and former schools. You can encourage the use of books by the students through class visitations and regular story-telling sessions. The objective is to introduce to public school students the joys of using a library, which most do not experience until college, if at all.

Volunteers can spend up to one month on the School Building and Maintenance Program. If volunteers want to stay on the program longer, they can elect to combine their time with two or three programs.

Environment Program

The Philippines is one of the world's biodiversity hot-spots. Volunteers have the chance to help out with two placements to promote environmental conservation.

Marine Sanctuary Project

 This project has been set up by CERV-Philippines in San Agustin (Romblon). The town's main economic activity is fishing but its traditional fishing grounds already show signs of fish stock depletion due to destructive fishing practices, such as the use of fine nets and dynamite fishing. This is now being countered by the establishment of a marine sanctuary between the villages of Carmen and Long Beach. CERV-Philippines volunteers help in several ways. First, they operate a nursery for the propagation of mangrove seedlings. Second, they help reforest mangrove sites by planting. Third, they also help in implementing the marine sanctuary project with regular patrols, beach clean-ups and education on the needs and benefits of the project.  

Program Location

Volunteers may be placed in various locations in the Luzon group of islands.

Short term volunteers will be placed in and around the capital city of Metro Manila. Others will be placed to the laid back archipelagic province of Romblon-one of the poorest provinces in an already economically poor country.

Volunteers to Romblon must be ready to tackle challenging travel experiences to Romblon via ferry and outrigger boats as well as basic accommodations and limited internet access therein. GSM cellular phone connections are available, however, and are recommended to all volunteers. (Local sim cards are preferable because of their cheap services.) But they will be rewarded with beautiful sceneries that only few places can equal or surpass. The peoples' hospitality is also hard to equal.

Program Start Dates

Our programs start on the following dates:

• February 15
  
  
• March 1
  
  
• April 1
  
  
• June 1
  
  
• July 1
  
  
• August 1
  
  
• September 1
  
  
• October 1
  
  
• November 4
  
  
• December 1

Program Cost

A non-refundable $US200 application fee will secure your place in the program, with your payment of the following program fees due eight weeks prior to your placement.

You can download an application form here.  It is Microsoft Word format.  You can either open in up in Microsoft Word, fill it out and email to us, or fax it through to us.  Contact information can be found here.

Wanna take that first step to having a meaningful impact on the lives of my Filipinos?  Then contact us and get started!