Involvement Volunteers International My amazing journey in the Philippines.
Highlights of the trip:
I think the actual work placement is the highlights of the whole trip and there’s no part that I don’t enjoy. We worked on a nutrition project that involves doing feeding in a small village called Cangumbang. Everyday we would have to collect up our shopping list and travel on jeepney, multicap and tricycle (long ride!) to get to the local market. But once we are got the site, everything is worth it because of the children there. We love cooking for them, interacting with them and chating with them. It allows me to deeply immerse into the Philippines culture and the work is really hands on that we can actually see the outcomes. Moreover, there are different nutrition issues in the Philippines to be dealt with which aren’t something we get to see here back home. We have learnt a lot from this placement and I recommend anyone who is doing nutrition and health-related degree to come over. The experience is unforgettable.
NB: I enjoyed meeting my homestay and the people working in the organisation – They are warmth, lovely and made me feel like home all the time. Thank you so much for taking a good care of us during our stay.
Comments on the team, food and accommodation:
The team was excellent and very helpful throughout the trip. The orientation is really informative that it allows me to know almost everything we need to know to get around the town (including transportation, expectation, learning local language etc.) I would also say the communication between the VFV staff, homestay and volunteers are very good here as it was quite a small community. I felt very welcomed and safe in the area.
The food is fabulous because I really love Filipino dishes and tropical fruits. The minor issue would be the water there so really we have to bring our own water bottles or buy filter water there (luckily the homestay and VFV provides filtered water in their place).
The accommodation is good and homestay treated me very well. Though the hygiene and house pests were expected as it was mentioned before. it was still a bit hard for most people to adjust and would hope to see if anything the organisation and fee from the volunteers could help to improve the house conditions in the future. I would definitely love to come back and meet everyone I met there again.
Any improvements to help us be better:
Not really – may be just the living condition but that’s a very minor thing. We would love to see more volunteers from IVI going to this beautiful country!
Thank you Lauren once again for all your help. The application process went really smoothly and the welcome pack basically provides all the information we have to know before the trip. (Will send you photos in a separate email soon as they are in my phone!)
Best Wishes,
Jeffrey
Find out more: Nutrition and Public Health Philippines Project
