Tag Archives: Philippines

When in doubt, keep going!

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Magandang Umaga, po (or, if your reading this at the exact time I post it, the proper greeting would be magandang gabi, po). It has been a while since I have updated this blog last. Things in Metro-Manila and elsewhere since I arrived back here from Pook, Laguna, has been very interesting. When I arrived in Fairview, I stayed for 1 week before traveling with Food for the Hungry staff and other interns to the province of Albay, in the region of Bicol, which is south of Manila (but still on the main, northernmost island). I stayed in Bicol for 1 week, and came back to Metro-Manila 1 week ago from yesterday (Sunday).

There is a very famous, beautiful volcano in Albay called the Mayan Volcano. It is an active volcano, and in 2006, it erupted. Most of the debris and ash stayed inside the crater or on the side of the mountain. But in 2007, a very powerful typhoon hit the area, and caused massive mudslides and scattered the debris from the volcano. Thousands of people were killed and/or are still missing, and many people lost their homes.

When this happened, Food for the Hungry responded with emergency relief aid, and introduced savings groups into many of the communities. For the 1 week that we were in Bicol, I spent much of my time listening to the other FHI interns interviewing recipients of this aid. I also got a chance to interview some members of the savings groups. On the last day we were there (Saturday) we visited two communities, and distributed de-worming medicine to the children in the community.

Here is a picture of the beautiful Mayan Volcano. A few weeks before we arrived, the volcano started smoking again, so part of what you see in this picture is smoke (although some is clouds too).

When I arrived in Metro-Manila last Sunday, the staff of FHI had a very busy week, and were unable to show me what I could do for my research in Fairview (which is where I am living for the rest of the summer).

The beginning of last week was very frustrating for me because I had absolutely nothing to do, and I am living with a family away from FHI staff members (so I was unable to speak to them regarding my research). And so, with nothing to do, and with the suggestion of my professor, I decided to contact my two classmates, Nick and Lauren, who are also in the Philippines for their own internship. They are working with a Christian NGO called CCT (Center for Community Transformation). CCT is a Microfinance Institution (MFI), so they provide loans, organize savings groups, etc…

On this past Wednesday, I met Nick and Lauren, and stayed with them until Saturday morning. We had a great time together, and I was able to learn a lot of very helpful and interesting information about CCT. I was also able to sit in and listen to 2 focus groups that Nick conducted, and I was able to observe two “Fellowship Groups” – weekly savings group meetings with bible study, where Lauren passed out a questionnaire.

This week, my research will resume, and tomorrow, I will be able to meet with beneficiaries of FHI, and people who used to be involved in FHI-sponsored savings groups. This will be good for me, because I will begin to be able to compare and contrast the experiences that people in Fairview had to those that residents had in Pook.

For this week and for the rest of my internship (which is only 4 weeks), please pray for two things:
1. Please pray that I would constantly and consistently humble myself, and have a humble spirit as I interact with my supervisor, FHI staff, the other interns who are here with FHI, the Filipino people, and with my work. Even though I am a “community development” major, I know absolutely nothing when it comes to actual experience. That is what this internship is for, and I am here to be a student and to learn.
2. Please pray that I would continue to have direction in my research, and that I would be able to accomplish what I need to by the end of the summer. Before I leave, I will be writing a massive paper and will be giving a presentation to the FHI staff. Please pray that this week I will be able to begin my interviews again, and that when plans do change, and when things don’t work out the way I want them to, that I will be flexible and be willing to adapt. Last week was great, and I am very thankful for the opportunity that I had to learn about CCT and what they do in the Philippines. Who knows? Maybe if I could go back there if it turns out I will not have much to do.

Ingat Po Kayo (Take care),
David

Please note that I retain all copyright privileges for all photos in this blog. No photo may be reproduced for commercial use, including the use of commercial websites, without my permission.

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… And, I’m Back

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Magandang umaga, po! (Good morning). I can not believe that I have been in the Philippines now for over a month. I have truly enjoyed my time here. For the last three weeks (until last Saturday), I lived in Pook and worked to research how FHI’s programs impacted the community. FHI worked in Pook for about 12 years. However, they pulled out of the community 2 years ago. In addition to assisting communities, FHI strives to partner with local churches. The ultimate goal is to prevent the community from coming into a state of dependency on FHI, and instead, empower the church to eventually take over the work. This is why FHI left Pook 2 years ago.
Before leaving, FHI assisted the local church (Pook CRC) in creating a “comprehensive plan” to continue to help the community. With this plan, Pook now has a feeding ministry and educational assistance program to help some of the children eat and go to school. These children meet at the church every week. In addition to getting a good meal, the children are taught lessons from the Bible. Here are a couple pictures of the times I was at the gathering! In the 1st picture, the guy standing on the left and the two girls on the right are friends that I made (around my age) who are involved in helping with the ministry.

Because I was only in the community of Pook for 3 weeks, there are MANY experiences that I had which must not be taken for granted. What I experienced was a result of the local Filipinos’ very warm hospitality. I felt very welcomed, indeed. And I truly enjoyed my experience. I do not have pictures from the interpretive dance, but I hope to obtain some before I leave the country. šŸ™‚ (Some were taken, which I don’t have).

As you may know/remember, the primary reason I came to the Philippines was to evaluate the Microenterprise Development (MED) / Livelihood projects that FHI conducts here. Obviously, in Pook, my research was strictly post-impact based. It is commonly known among researchers that it is very hard to only do effective post-impact research, simply because one of the only things we have to go on is what people tell you (which may or may not be true, and which must always be taken with a grain of salt).

Thus, with the many things that I learned in Pook, I must be careful to not generalize the data. I must critically analyze it, and if possible, I need to obtain the same data from as many sources and using as many different techniques as possible.

In addition to my work, there were a lot of people in the community that I became friends with. Of course, it is in the Filipino culture to be very warm, open and hospitable with foreigners. So this, of course, is one of the reasons why I had such a good experience in Pook.

However, it almost seems like 1/2 of the people of Pook are related to each other. This immediate family is related through Ate Nilda (the wife) to a bigger family. These two families (and Pastor Jerry) are the people that I spent the majority of my time with.

Well, I am now in Fairview. I arrived on Saturday (Sorry, don’t have any pictures yet!) This week, I feel like I am doing almost a grand total of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! Yay (just kidding). The FHI staff is still trying to get things sorted out. While we all know that I’m here to “evaluate their livelihood programs” it doesn’t appear that the local FHI staff has this as their #1 agenda – which is understandable.

Right now, this is actually fine with me. I got very behind in analyzing the data I had collected in Pook, so I am spending time catching up on that. I am also catching up on communicating with the outside world. Until yesterday (Monday), I haven’t had access to internet in over 1 & 1/2 weeks. Lots of people were asking about me, and I at least wanted to get off a belated Happy Father’s Day message to my dad.

Thank you, friends for your continued prayers. I do have a few specific requests.
1) That I would be patient, and wise with, and think through my research VERY critically. This is extremely important, and I’ll admit that I have not done this very well over the past month. The experience of simply being here is quite a lot of think about. Through the assignments that I have turned in, however, I have been forced to think through my research, and I have been reminded of this importance.
2) That I would make the adjustment into city life well. For the past 3 weeks, I lived in Pook, which is rural. But now I am in the (rather polluted) city. This is an adjustment in and of itself. However, I am also building completely new relationships. Please pray for me as I build these new relationships, I would not start comparing my experience in Fairview to that in Pook. Please pray that I would be able to start doing useful research in Fairview, and that while I wait to get started, I would have patience.
(I am actually traveling with FHI staff this Saturday away from Fairview, and will be gone for over a week in the province of Bicel. Maybe when I return, I’ll have things to do!)

What has the Lord taught me, you may be wondering?
In short, I have learned great reliance and peace on him. I have definitely grown in my walk with him, and have learned better what it means to find my satisfaction in him. I have also grown and learned more the importance of loving the people where they are at, for who they are, with all of my heart. I have been reminded that as an American, I do not want to go into a community with a big head on my shoulders. Instead, I want to be humble as I work to partner with the community. I want to avoid having a “superior” attitude.
This means that I MUST learn the culture. What is “humble” or “superior” in America is NOT the same thing in the Philippines. So please pray that I would also be open to the Lord’s leading in this area for the rest of my time here.

Ingat po kayo (take care), and God Bless!

– David

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