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Feedback from Philippines Volunteers

Here are some of the emails we have received from volunteers about their experiences in the Philippines

Don't panic, the people love the fact you spend time with them. Your skills will help projects you would never have thought of. When you are working with small children it's important you are creative. Sometimes local people are shy, so take control in a kind manner, you can make that difference.

Nooshin

My placement project was at Quirino High School in Quezon City. In the two weeks there, I repaired many leaky holes in the roof of one of the buildings, repaired four ceiling boards, and painted the ceilings of two classrooms. As well, I was able to volunteer at a local daycare helping children learn basic things.

Alex

I worked at a Daycare placement in the mornings and elementary in the afternoons. However, due to my fundraising, I was in a position to run "community projects" as well including installation of 7 water pumps, roof repairs at local school, CR installation and the clean up of a play ground area.

Emma

The program was everything, plus a lot more, than I expected. I was particularly impressed that all my questions were promptly answered no matter how small my queries were.

Mandeep

I have finished my two week volunteer work with the CERV program in the Philippines. I want to thank Raymund, Vincent, Pom and Eden for being so helpful during my two weeks with them. It was a good learning experience for me, I have learned so much about the Philippines and the people who live there. I worked with Vincent installing exhaust fans in some very small and hot classrooms. We also were able to construct two TV and DVD cabinets so it would be more visible to the children. With the help of everyone at the CERV office I was able to learn and see many interesting places in the Philippines as well. I plan to continue my support to the CERV program in the Philippines with financial support and hopefully return to the Philippines again. I am happy to have been able to help out and very appreciative of the helpfulness and kindness shown to me by everyone I came in contact with. If anyone reading this is considering becoming a volunteer, don't hesitate, become a volunteer, you will never regret it!!

Richard Kastenschmidt

Day 1 of Project: Today was spent viewing the condition of the high school I will working on. For being one of the most well-funded high schools in Manila, I was surprised at how archaic the school seemed relative to a so-called "not-so-well-funded" public high school in the U.S. Needless to say, the atmosphere was buzzing and the students full of life. Just from walking through about a quarter of the school though, I saw simple, leaky roofs made of plywood and rusted gutters among other flaws. Hopefully, I will be able to aid CERV Philippines in creating an initiative that can be carried on long after I leave and give the students and teachers something to be proud of and look forward to going to everyday!

Alex Harbison

I have been having the time of my life since I have been here! So far in the health program I have been going with the midwife that I am staying with to the health centre most days, as well as going to the local hospital to get an idea about what they do and help all that I can, though sometimes that is hard as they do not have the facilities here that we have back in England. The doctor from the hospital has been teaching me how they get around these problems the best they can, so I have been learning a great deal too.

With the midwife I have assisted with 2 home deliveries which were fantastic, and learning from her about the same issues as mentioned above. I have also assisted with minor surgery and tomorrow I will be giving vaccinations to the children. I am also teaching the local people about natural family planning with some equipment I have brought with me, as 'normal' contraceptives here are hard to come by.

I have just come back from a weekend with some of the other volunteers in a neighboring island which was beautiful. I have been getting so much from my stay here.

The people here are brilliant and have been so welcoming especially my host family and the people from CERV.

Hellene Giret

"Everyone went out of their way to make sure our entire family was safe and well cared for. They were wonderful."

Karen Barnes

"Realize that you aren't going to know how most things work and you'll have to ask people for help, A LOT. People are friendly and helpful, so don't be embarrassed. Everyone will stare at you and ask you what your name is. At first it will freak you out a bit, but eventually you don't even notice. If you need something, just ask the staff, plenty of people have asked them before. You'll have to buy yourself toilet paper but it's widely available."

Molly Hahn