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Frida, 24 Norway
“A month isn't enough for this kind of work. But I actually managed to combine my backpacking with some volunteer work, and that's something every backpacker should start doing to get a deeper impression of the culture and the people in the country they go to. The Filipinos are the happiest and most open-minded people I have ever met. They treasure life for what it truly is.”
“My biggest challenge was all the people telling me how dangerous the country I was about to enter as a single 20-year old girlie backpacker. I was so tired of people warning me about something or somewhere they have never been to, or experienced. Go there yourselves! As long as you listen to your heart and uses your common sense as a foreigner the worst thing that could possibly happen is that you loose your first jeepney back from the city and have to wait for maybe 2 minutes more for the next one.”
Helen, 25 England
“My time in the orphanage was extremely rewarding. The children were incredibly friendly and most of my time was spent entertaining them and trying to provide emotional support - although they were physically well cared of, they had very little in the way of social stimulation, therefore a lot of effort was to make their times as varied and interesting as possible with a variety of lessons and activities.”
“The staff at Volunteer for the Visayans were extremely friendly and welcoming from the outset. I had no trouble settling in to the way of life and found I had made good friends within a week of my stay, mostly due to the inclusiveness and general friendliness of the Filipino culture. The locals were always smiling and knew me by name right away, adding to the feeling of a strong community.”
“My experience with the Pintados Festival was very unique an entertaining to watch the whole city in such a variety of costumes and colours. The dance displays and parade were great fun and it was definiely a privilege to be part of it.”
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Rich, Spain
“I was lucky that I was able to participate in many projects (assisted in the BLISS Medical Mission, Job Fair, Street Children Assistance Program, Build-A-House Project, volunteered at the orphanage and organized a 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament) and experienced a broad overview of what is possible to accomplish here. All of my experiences, albeit short ones, were very rewarding because I got to meet so many great people and help out the kids.”
Karim, 24 United States
“The Filipino culture is really remarkable. The people I worked with and encountered during my stay would almost manifest itself into one huge smile face. The people of the VFV community are like welcoming family and new members of the family are always treated with this enthusiastic embrace, I loved it.”
“My first project of two weeks was to work with a construction crew and build a home for a widow and her children. I had a lovely home stay in Santa Fe where I was positioned during this project, once I finished came back to Tacloban and started phase two of my volunteer expereince. During this phase I worked in the Missionaries of Charity Orphanage where I attempted to teach English and also played with the children. This was a two week volunteering venture.”
“I was immersed in this beautiful culture and asked to work and lived with the people that inhabit this beautiful culture, the whole thing was…well…beautiful. The construction experience was flawless, the orphanage was unbelievably satisfying though it lacked structure and was short lived. To volunteers, if you do it, do it with an open heart.
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