Where are we?... Tacloban, Philippines

(nice pic Seira!)

Christian & I currently reside in BLISS neighborhood, Tacloban City, the Philippines! We are volunteering with an NGO called Volunteer for the Visayans (VFV).

The BLISS baranguay (neighborhood), where VFV is located, was founded under the Marcos regime around 30 years ago as a housing project. People could rent their land for cheap, and build their houses as they chose.

The intent of VFV is to promote "intercultural exchange" between foreign volunteers and regular Filipinos in a somewhat poor neighborhood. The volunteers give back to the community by volunteering in different organizations around the city. Also the paid Filipino staff at VFV run programs of their own.

The program fees that the volunteers pay are enough to pay the (Filipino sized) salaries of the staff, and to keep some of the programs running. The other money comes from donations, and fundraising.

The three main programs at VFV are the foreign volunteer placements, the sponsored kids, and the community center.

For the first, the volunteers can get placed at different organizations in Tacloban, including orphanages, medical clinics, and government social welfare offices. The volunteers offer any skills, extra hands and initiative they can to these organizations. Volunteers can also be placed in either of VFV's other 2 programs, the community center or the sponsored kids.

Christian and I have been volunteering with these 2 VFV run programs, the community center and the sponsored kids.

The community center is just what its name implies. Smack in the middle of BLISS, it is a good location to run programs for the enrichment of the neighborhood constituents. For the kids there is educational "playtime" for nursery school kids, weekly feedings for malnutritioned toddlers, and a boys, girls, and juniors club - weekly activities for neighborhood adolescents and pre teens. There are even guitar lessons using some guitars that the center owns.

Also there is a mothers club, doing enrichment activities that focus on economic gains. I have been especially impressed with the mothers' group savings program. The cash strapped mothers did not save anything before they started in the mothers club. 2 years later, almost 25 of them deposit as little as 20 pesos (40 cents) every two weeks, and when an emergency arises (usually on the order of 400 or 500 pesos - $8-10) they have a way of taking out their savings plus a low interest loan using the other mother's money that they pay back. Before, they would be stuck with a medicine bill for example, and no way to gather the extra cash so quickly.

The last program is the sponsored kids. This is similar to the ads you see on TV - "pay x a month and sponsor a child in x", but it is a lot smaller with only about 100 kids served. Since I, Laura have been pretty involved with this program I will post a description of it on the sponsor kid excursion post.

Some of the activities that I, Laura, have assisted with are: tutoring the sponsored kids, helping the new sponsorship staff member to learn the donor-child database, leading girls club activities, organizing fund raising events. I am also the drummer in the boys club band - me and 4 teenage boys!

I, Christian, have also been volunteering in the Community Center helping out with anything and everything that needs me. It seems like everyday is a different day and there is always something to do. Primarily I have been the official photographer for most of the VFV placements, activities and excursions and also help facilitate the Boys Club. Other things I am involved with is the architectural work and some construction and demolition for renovations being done in the center, introductory guitar lessons, designing a logo and t-shirt and stage backdrop for the dance show. Also, every Tuesday, I assist in a feeding at a school that is in one of the poorest baranguays.

Currently Laura and I are coordinating an event called, "Rock the Community", which will be a concert with 10 local bands, a rock climbing wall, vendors and food to raise money for various VFV programs. I'm working to get a "Rock the Community" t-shirt designed by a boys club member made so we can raise some more funds for programs.

All in all, I (Laura again) think VFV does an excellent job on its limited Filipino sized budget. I think the financial structure of the organization is a great idea: Provide volunteers with a rich abroad experience and give them a chance to contribute. Use their program fees to run other programs that make a real difference in the city. Also the local staff is hard working, effective, and committed to helping out their neighbors.

GoGo takes a nap in a Tacloban - Bliss jeepney (bus)

Tacloban City is not what you would call a tourist spot.
Dirty and smelly, it is however the most developed place in Leyte.

"Cluster 2"
(the name of the street our house is on)

Our Second Family

Part of the VFV program is the "homestay". There are about 15 families within BLISS that have opened up their home to hosting the visiting volunteers. In return they get a stipend per month to provide us with 2 meals a day and a bed with a fan.

We really lucked out with the Gapate family. The room we have and the house itself is more simple than what we have been used to in the West, but very comfortable. But the real gem is the head of the family, Nanay Sole. Women who are older and have children command the "Nanay" title here, and her name is Soledad, but people call her Sole for short.

Nanay is 58 years old, and has had a pretty hard working life. She has bore 11 children, the majority of them in her house with only her husband as a midwife. 8 of them survived infancy.

She started her married life at 18, following her husband around to his different jobs - carpentry, farming. At this point in their life, they were poor tenants, and some of her children could not go to school at times.

She heard about the BLISS housing project, set up by the Marcos government to provide cheap land for people (like the projects in America). She decided to stop shifting around with her husband, and built a "nipa hut" on the land. Nipa huts are the cheaper, native form of Filipino housing whose roof thatch is made from the nipa palm tree, and whose sides are woven bamboo or sawed lumber.

About 20 years ago her husband became sick and could not work as much as he did before. She would get up very early, prepare her family food, and go work as a laundrywoman in other people's houses for many hours of the day. At night she would come back, prepare the family dinner and go to sleep. Cooking food here takes a long time, because at that time she only had a fire to cook over, and everything is raw and needs to be processed.

Then a step up in lifestyle came in the form of her daughter Nelia working overseas in Japan for 6 years. This is a very common practice in the Philippines. Many families have had at least one family member go abroad to anywhere from Japan, America to Saudi Arabia. There are agencies that connect Filipinos to foreign companies who need cheap labor. These companies process the paperwork that allows the Filipinos to go abroad for work. American hospitals are huge employers of Filipino nurses for example. Nelia worked in a Japanese noodle factory.

After 6 years, Nelia returned and replaced the nipa hut with a concrete tiled house on Nanay's plot. Concrete walls and tile flooring are both the signs of a richer house in the Philippines. Nelia subsequently got married and moved to Luzon, leaving Nanay with the house. In accordance with many cultures' practice of children providing for their parents when they get old, Nelia has told Nanay to retire, and sends her money from the business she runs in Luzon.

Nanay is still by no means a rich woman, and cannot afford many luxuries. She is completely dependent on Nelia's generosity to send her money for things like her remaining son's schooling. Last year, one of her sons was stuck in a typhoon with wounds in his leg from a rebar. She had no money to travel to where he was and try and get him. The little money she earns from the homestay helps supplement what she has.

She is one of the nicest women we know here, and is always so excited to see us. She makes sure we get the best of everything, yelling at her sons if they try to take it first. She always makes sure to sit with us and tells us all the neighborhood "chisme" (gossip). What makes it cute is that she giggles and covers her face when she says it. "Chisme!" hee hee hee. She calls us her daughter and son. Oh, and I love her food! "Marasa" as they say here.

In this picture, Nanay is teaching us how to cook Christian's favorite: Lumpia (fried springrolls)

Christian looks like he swallowed a marble or that he is really excited to eat lumpia!

Nanay's husband's real name is Ambrosio, or Busio for short, but the respectful thing to call him is Tatay. He is 65, but he looks a lot older due to the arthritis he has had for 20 years. Because he cannot move much, or see too well, he stays in the house, and takes many naps.

When there is a guitar around, Tatay will pick on it for hours. He plays old-time Filipino music, which sounds like lullaby Spanish classical songs. He is entirely self taught which is amazing to me! He used to be in a band when he was younger.

Tatay is shown here with his favorite cup. It is even more his favorite when there is "tuba" inside. Tuba is Leyte province's native coconut wine. Tatay loves his tuba so much that if Nanay or Nelia gives him money for something, he might sneak off and buy tuba instead.

This is Jener, Nanay's oldest son, 21 years old. With an easy going personality, Jener is a neighborhood favorite.

When the center opened its doors a few years ago, one of the staff members noticed Jener would go in when no one was looking and try to read the books in the library. If anyone noticed he was there, he would run out. It turns out he had problems with reading and school and never finished. He was too embarassed that he had problems reading and that is why he never told anyone and tried to hide it. The staff member set him up with a weekly tutor, and slowly he is working his way towards an equivalency exam that will allow him to take night classes.

On the left is Jaylito, Nanay's other son, 16. If you can't tell by his finger poses, he is a "Rocker". Last year he was a "Dancer" along with some of the other teenage boys, but he decided this year that this was uncool. Now he practices his guitar and loves punky pop rock songs.

I have been serving as drummer for the "boys club band", made up of some neighborhood teenagers who are in VFV's Boys Club. This includes Jaylito on rhythm guitar. The boys get provided with a practice space, instruments, and a teacher one time a week. He loves the electric and practices rock star poses in front of the mirror.


Kenneth! This is Nanay's grandchild, 7 years old. Her daughter, Kenneth's mother Lin Lin, has basically abandoned him at Nanay's house while she and her new husband live in Manila. Nanay is upset because Lin Lin never sends money for Kenneth, but buys things like cell phones for herself.

Kenneth is certainly a wild child. He told Nanay he doesn't like his mother and wants Nanay to be his mom, but still gets angry and petulant a lot and gives her a hard time.

But when Kenneth smiles, as you can see in this picture, it is completely the opposite. People call him "simud" which means "big mouth", and he uses it all with his big toothless smile. It is so great to see him happy, and Christian and I play with him when we can. He is also learning to read at school, so I try to get him to read with me. He likes reading, LOUDLY. "MO-THER WENT TO THE STORE."

This is more typical of Kenneth - getting himself into trouble. Shown here trying to pull down the volleyball net.

Kenneth on his 7th birthday, June 21.

Nanay said she did not have enough money for a birthday party for Kenneth, so Christian and I got him a cake and a basketball. Kenneth was so excited to see the cake, he blew out the candle before the birthday song was finished. This hands up pose with the basketball is typical Kenneth.

Jayvia, Nanay's grandaughter, also 7, does not live with us. We got to know her because her family (Nanay's daughter Eva is her mom) did not have electricity for a while. Eva has a baby boy, so they would come over to cool him off in front of the fan. Now they have electricity and we never see them!

This is her cute typical toothless gum grin.

What a cute little girl

Our neighbors are a young family still building their house, slowly. They also do not have electricity, so their children Ariana, 4 and Aldridge, 8, will pop in and out the back door as they please and plop themselves in front of the TV to watch cartoons. Ariana always calls our name when we walk by.

The Gapates oot and aboot

Ariana and Jayvia playing in the Plaza.

Jener and John (neighbor) with some "Plaza kids".

The Center and Plaza

The Center.

The office and community center for VFV is adjacent to a basketball court or "Plaza" (as the locals call it) in the BLISS neighborhood. It's the place where the volunteers go to see what's happening. It's also where the locals, (mostly kids) go to participate in activities that the VFV facilitates or to simply hang out with each other and/or the volunteers.

It's truly a joy to have such an active community center and outdoor space within a 20 second walking distance of our home.

Here are some pictures from all the different activities that go on in just these two places.

The crowd watching a tense badminton game.

"I got some good games!" says Jeff
Jeff has made a decision that makes him happy, but maybe not the kids

Gwapo Micheal... always around!

Interestingly, Michael and his almost identical mini-me brother Louie, plus their sister Louise, are really the only "matambok" (fat) kids in the neighborhood! It is acceptable in the culture for people to talk about people's weight so it is a generally noted phenomenon that these kids are much bigger than the others. Their house is a homestay, and volunteers report that the kids are fed sugar all the time!

Sheila really does like badminton.

Francis chowing down.

At the Center there are daily feedings for the Sponsored Kids Program. Proof that international sponsors money is being put to good use!!! They usually get a good healthy meal... but sometimes they get rice with milo chocolate powder on top!...

Darwin!

Many things can happen in and around the plaza at any time of day...

...including cooking some "lechon baboy"

Lechon, or roasted pig, is very popular and is generally reserved for special occasions like birthdays and weddings. It is a fairly profitable business to raise "mga baboy" or pigs and then sell them as "lechon", so some of the people in BLISS have personal piggeries.

"Watchin' some b-ball (outside of the school)..."

"...when a couple of guys, who were up to no good...."

The Center at Night.

The kids here love getting their picture taken and love looking at their picture after even more. This shot shows lots of our friends... Shahine from Montreal, and guys from the boys club Le-an, Jaylito, Gener, Joval, Edward and many more... oh and Jerry our "kaharani" or neighbor is in the picture as well.

Mother's Day Surprise!

On Mother's day, VFV organized a surprise party for all of the homestay Nanays!!!... I kinda think some of the Nanays had an idea something was up, cause a few got a bit more dressed up than normal!

Despididas

Typically, on a volunteer's last night, a despidida, or goodbye party is held at the center. Laura and I have been here longer than most and have seen our fair share of despididas and for some reason they always end up with some enthusiastic videoke!

"cause i want it that way... tell me whyeee"

Edward and Marvin wishing the lyrics weren't in English.

Laura getting down with Venessa, Hazel, and Bonsai!

(as you can probably guess.. we are videoke addicts now!)

Hazel singing on Mother's Day.

Ethel, the staff volunteer coordinator, and her son Guione.

Bungaw!

Our friends ThuAn and Shahine... Missin you guys...

Music Class

For our first placement we spent a month at an orphanage called "The Children's Joy Foundation" teaching music to a class of anywhere from five to fifteen children whose ages ranged from four to sixteen years old.

Oh such angels...ROWEL!

Marabut, Samar Family Excursion

We went on a VFV sponsored family excursion to a beach called Marabut on the neighboring island of Samar. To get there we had to cross over the famed San Juanico Bridge, the longest (2km) bridge in the Philippines. This photo was taken just after crossing the center of the bridge on the way to Samar. They consciously made the bridge twist like an "L" for "Leyte" then "S" for "Samar".



Once we arrived on the tropical beach we jumped onto a "floating cottage", and we were pulled out about 50 yards out to the middle of the calm clear teal blue sea.

We spent the day like good Filipinos, eating and eating and eating some more... oh yeah and drinking tuba and...

...snorkeling and swimming

here is Kenneth getting used to this whole swimming thing...

Laura helping out.

Nanay Pipai brought her guitar and songbook

....and of course jumping!

Sponsor Kid Program and Excursion

The main focus of the VFV Sponsor a Kid program is to break the cycle of poverty by ensuring sponsored kids get an education. Without sponsorship, many of their families could not afford to send the child to school. It is also to ensure the children get proper nutrition so they stay healthy.

A foreign donor sends $15/month to sponsor a child. This is enough to provide him or her a nutritious meal every day (cooked at the Center), vitamins, school supplies, uniforms and registration fees, and medical checkups. They also get special programs like tutoring and excursions (As you will see below).

I like this program a lot because most of the money goes directly to the children and you can really see the difference it makes for some of them. The satisfied look they get after a good meal, for example.

Some of you have asked how you could sponsor a kid. Basically, go to this website, read about the kids up for sponsorship, and download the sponsor form to send in your check. http://www.visayans.org/sponsor-a-child.cfm You can of course email me for more info.

Francis!

Part of the VFV program is to pair an international volunteer with one of the sponsored kids. The volunteer is not just the child's sponsor, they are supposed to be their friend. This can include making time to hang out with the child, taking them out to a meal, just paying special attention to them.

There is also a group excursion in which the staff organizes a sightseeing trip for the volunteers and their sponsored kids. Ours took us to the tourist spots in Tacloban City, including Hill 120 (WW II monument), Calverly Hill (18 foot Jesus statue), Santo Nino Shrine, and the MacArthur Landing Memorial.

My sponsored kid friend is Jhonalin, 13 years old, and Christian's is Francis, 11 years old.

The Marcoses on their wedding day. It looks just like them but smaller!

Santo Nino Shrine is a heritage museum built by the infamous Imelda Marcos, who grew up in Tacloban City. It houses the Marcos' international collections of homeware (Czech chandeliers, Chinese jars etc.) and is built in honor of Tacloban's patron saint, Santo Nino.

The weird thing is that it is built not like a regular museum but as a big mansion with many never used guestrooms and master suites paying homage to a First Family that never slept there.

And the weirdest things are the dioramas depicting scenes from Imelda's life in EVERY ROOM! (see above)

Queens for a moment: Jhonalin and Laura

I have known Jhonalin for 2 and a half months now. She is one of the smartest sponsored kids, and always is in the "first section" of her class. Her house is dark and small, and there are always so many people there - 5 out of 14 of her adult brothers and sisters still live there, as well as all their kids. She likes to go over to her neighbors less crowded house to watch TV.

MacArthur continues to land forever

The Philippines was occupied during WWII by the Japanese for three years. According to one man, the Japanese occupation was a low period - no schools, no jobs, and many Filipinos hiding in the hills.

US Forces helped liberate the country, starting with a famous landing from the water by General Douglas MacArthur in Palo, right down the road from Tacloban. People from Leyte are proud MacArthur chose their province to liberate first.

Filipinos are still proud of the way they fought side by side with Americans.

There is a nice monument and park surrounding it on the beach, and we spent the afternoon swimming and eating picnics with our sponsored kids. I felt like my dad teaching me when I taught some of the kids how to jump waves.

Dance Show!

Two visiting dance major volunteers, Chelsea and Stephanie, created the Bliss Dance school over the summer break from classes. They taught four classes of kids every day hip-hop, modern, and ballet.

The result? A dancing neighborhood! We were inspired by the enthusiasm the kids would put into practicing their dances on their off time (especially the hip-hop). With a long summer vacation and nothing to do, it was the perfect thing to do. The kids would haul out the center's karaoke speakers and practice right on the basketball court.

These pictures were taken on the night of the culminating event of dance classes - the final dance show.

Pre-show, the kids were electricity excited. Boys posing cool despite the fact they are wearing bright red lipstick.

Marvin, Baby Boy, and Ivan are the three hip hop prodigies, always dancing no matter what. Even while waiting for the show to begin.

Our host niece Jayvia, bottom left, flashes us her toothless smile through the backstage curtain.

It was a full night for the BLISS gymnasium!

The visiting dance troupe Kalipayan Performing Arts Group (KPAG). These kids could dance! Some of them have even toured America.

Christian created the backdrop for the show, the orange dancing people (back). Mea (center) and her classmates illustrate his inspiration.

The little boy class were personally my favorite dancers - so much energy! Here they are performing N.L.T.'s "It's On".

Marvin, one of the older dancers, choreographed this and the other hip hop songs. These dances, including Fya's "Must be Love", not only the little boys know but most of the kids in the neighborhood do too. Months after the dance show, the kids still practice these dances and dance them even when they are just standing around.