Return to The Philippines

Arriving back in the Philippines was extremely surreal! I was very happy to be staying in the same village that I had on my previous visit. After travelling for 3 months, it was nice to be somewhere familiar with familiar faces! After several flight delays/problems, I arrived in the town of Bliss on December 14th late in the evening. Walking into the town I was greeted by MANY old friends with smiles and hugs. It was such a wonderful feeling!

 In the first couple days, I was involved in a Christmas gift giving program run by the volunteer organization I work with (Volunteer for the Visayans - VFV). We drove to all of the VFV sponsored sites in the area (orphanages, clinics, a woman's rescue home, a centre for abused girls, and under-privileged schools), and gave Christmas gifts to many people who are in need and otherwise would likely not receive anything. It was awesome to watch the faces of both the children and the adults as they unwrapped their gift!

I started my volunteer project, the Community Nutrition Program, the first Monday after I arrived. The Program has identified 30 children between the ages of 3 and 6 in the village of Tanaun that are extremely malnourished. The children (and generally their siblings) are invited to come to the community centre for one meal a day 5 days a week. My job was to facilitate the purchase, preparation, and service of the food to the children. It also gave me the opportunity to interact with the children and get to know them (which was my favourite part). I loved being a part of this program and I was really able to see the difference it made in the lives of the children and their families!

Since my volunteer project took place in the morning, I had plenty of free time to spend on other projects, such as the tutoring program and the sponsor kid's program. I also was able to visit my old friends at the Rural Health Unit in Jaro (where my volunteer placement was on my previous visit), and spend time with the friends and children from Bliss that I had gotten to know on my last visit. I have really enjoyed being able to maintain these relationships and watch the children grow!

The Philippines is still the same happy place I remember it to be. Many things have changed within the area where I live (mostly for the better), but the people and the culture are still as wonderful as I remember!