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Philippines Resource Pack

The Philippines has been described as the best-kept secret of the Orient, however as well as being characterized by its beauty, it can also be characterized by its rampant poverty - 36.8 percent of the population live on less than $2 a day and inequality- the gap between rich and poor is ever widening and brings with it with many other poverty associated problems; rural deprivation and damage to traditional livelihoods; education only technically free; debt; crime; social unrest and separatist conflict; environmental degradation.

The privatization led, "trickle-down" policies of the World Bank and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have led to few improvements in the living standards of poor people. Improving those standards is on the government agenda, but it is delayed by the fact that the Philippines is possibly the most disaster prone country in the world, usually affected by 15 typhoons and struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; and tsunamis.

The Global Volunteer Network's partner organisation in the Philippines is a newly established NGO, composed of youthful national leaders, professionals, and volunteers. Their objective is to assist and develop local Filipino communities through environmentalism, education, integration, research and volunteerism. Their programs are nationwide, assisting local communities with their basic needs, focusing on children and the environment. Volunteers can therefore work in the areas of environment, teaching, health, and school building and maintenance or just go on a cultural exchange.

Easy Facts

For the Philippines Easy Fact Sheet, click here.

Articles

The Worth of A Book: Education in the Philippines: http://www.volunteer.org.nz/media/articles/trevana.php.

Further Reading

Philippines Must Tackle its Exploding Population: Economists, Manila, Jan. 11 Kyodo: Economists have urged the Philippine government and the Catholic Church to map out a common plan to curb the country's galloping population, saying the country's 2.36 percent annual birth rate continues to trap millions of Filipinos in poverty.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDP/is_2005_Jan_18/ai_n8704054

Philippines Suffers Poverty Divide, Mark Doyle, BBC News, Septmeber 14th, 2005: As the rubbish truck approached, dozens of people surged towards it, running through knee-high garbage to reach the fresh treasure. They scrambled onto the tailboard and roof of the truck even before it opened its rear gate to pour out its stinking cargo.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4245422.stm

Philippines Volcano Threatens Eruption, Mark Doyle, BBC News, September 14th, 2005: As the rubbish truck approached, dozens of people surged towards it, running through knee-high garbage to reach the fresh treasure. They scrambled onto the tailboard and roof of the truck even before it opened its rear gate to pour out its stinking cargo.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060807-volcano.html

Country Profile

For Philippines's country profile, click here.

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