GLOW, WARDEN and SIQUIJOR- April 2014

The month of April is notorious for two things here in the Philippines: hot weather and camps.  School lets out during the hottest months of the year which are March and April, which means PCVs have ample time to plan and coordinate summer camps for the youth in their communities or schools.  And this year was no different, well actually there seemed to be more camps that I was involved with compared to last year.


In Camalig, Kathryn and Nancy coordinated a 3-day GLOW Camp for high school girls.  GLOW stands for "Girls Leading Our World" and this activity promotes women empowerment and gender equality.  The sessions focus on leadership, Self-Esteem and Body Image, Healthy Relationships, Reproductive Health, and Gender Stereotypes.  It is believed that girls will come away from these types of camps with new attitudes and perspectives in regards to achievement and changing the status of the girls' child in developing countries.  This GLOW camp had over 200 participants, 18 Peace Corps Volunteers as well as other help from the Philippine National Police, local teachers, Australian volunteers, and sociology girl students from Bicol University.


Most of the PCVs were partnered to facilitate the sessions. Other sessions included were physical fitness, oral hygiene, nutrition, parenting, bead making, and women's rights.  Chelsea and I paired up to deliver the Self-Esteem, and Body Image content.  Each group also had one translator, we had Jhob.  Here are a few highlights from the event.

Me and my buddy Justin being silly for the camera. Photo credit: Michelle. 

Break the chain, one billion rising, sociology students from Bicol University. 

Girls playing Pinoy Heno and trying to guess the word that is attached to her forehead. 

Sib, an Australian discussing violence against women. 

Kim prepping for her nutrition session. 

Beads! 

A little lady wearing her GLOW t-shirt. 

Diane discussing parenting. 

Handing out hygiene/grooming items to the ladies during our session on Self-Esteem and Body Image.  Note: these were donations that the organizers wanted to give to the girls. Lovely thought. 

Discussing our perfomance but it seemed to have been a fine intermission number. 

All in all, it was a great time, although it was super hot!!!! I"m sure the girls enjoyed camping and interacting with their peers and the cool foreigners.  :)

On the last day of the training, I had to head to Cebu for a Warden training to serve as a resource volunteer.  This training occurred mid-year due to the feedback that people needed to be trained and also as a result of Typhoon Yolanda.  Usually, we have our training in Manila but I was happy for the change of scenery and to see my buddy, Amelia.  I have to tell you, the meeting went incredibly well and I feel the new batch is prepared to handle natural disasters/emergency situations better than we have in the past.  Discretion was really emphasized and that we are the POC in emergencies.

My buddy Amelia, Zac and Charles. 

Roof-top hanging out testing out our new satellite phones. Warden training. 

A view of Cebu in the evening at Harolds hotel in Cebu City. 

In mid-April I made my way down to Dumaguete and then Siquijor for Holy Week 2014.  Can I just say it was a fantastic trip and probably one of my favorite group trips that I have taken while here in the Philippines!!!!! This year I decided to switch things up and travel with people who I have not seen in a while and people I usually don't vacation with for one reason or another but I am glad this trip came together.  In Siquijor we stayed at JJ's beach resort and camped out in tents.  JJ provided the tents with foam mattresses, pillows and we were a few feet away from the water!!! It was amazing to wake up on the beach and be able to take in the calm, quiet scenery that Siquijor has to offer.  The sand was white soft, clear blue water, no trash, just amazing!!!! During our stay, we took some trips around the island to sight-see and get a feel of what it had to offer.  Another day the group went diving so I had the opportunity to snorkel and practice my swimming.  One of my friends insisted that I put on a life jacket and come further out in the water.  I was a bit hesitant at first but then I was "towed" to the coral and was amazed at the view (the best I could see it without glasses).

The large blue tent on the left was my home for 4 days. 

Early morning raking the sand. 

Camp life isn't too bad under these conditions. :()

Our beach for the week!!! 

Historical Church on the Island. 

A look at local transportation on the island of Siquijor or Isla de Fuego. 

Here at the Siquijor Port, such great weather and views. 

Time to leave and head back to Manila.  

In the evenings when we returned to our hotel we would sit by the moonlight and talk and enjoy this amazing time because this would be our last time vacationing together like this.  There has been talk that PC will place a few volunteers on the island of Siquijor and that would be amazing for them!!!!

Me being towed back in to shallow waters by Rocky! He was a champ for helping me!!! 

Amazing! 

Waterfalls in Siquijor!!! Check out the kid in the background doing the flip into the water. 

Aren't we a great group of students?!!

A group shot of all PCVs and Australian Volunteers during GLOW April 2014.

After I returned from Siquijor, my second agency Reception and Study Center for Children (RSCC) conducted a 3-day skills enhancement training for Foster Parents and Caregivers, during which time I facilitated a session on attachment and bonding.  The purpose of the training was the re-orient the staff as well as licensed foster care parents about the needs of the child, the rights of the child, foster care and adoption laws,child's right to play, behavior management, preparations for adoption, transitions from foster care families to adoptive families, and the importance of socio-emotional development of the children.  It was a three-day training filled with lots of fun activities, laughs and some tearful moments.** Prior to beginning the lecture, I conducted a short activity in which I grouped the participants into teams and asked them to depict feelings of a child.  The feelings assigned to the participants were: happy, sad, angry, misbehaving, and loved. **

And we have the sad child. 

Bursting with happiness. 

And laughter. 

Here is another happy child. 

All of our attendees looking on and enjoying the presentations. :)

Here is our loving child group. When a child feels love, he/she can reciprocate that love. 

An angry child with group members full of frowns also.  :)

Foster parents and RSCC staff presenting their depiction of a misbehaved child. 

A depiction of a happy child with everything he/she needs to thrive in his or life and community! 

 My role in the training was to facilitate a session on the importance of attachment and bonding in children. This session content information was new to a lot of the parents and caregivers.  Most of the caregivers have been on staff for over 10 years at the agency and the foster parents have been active with children in their homes for at least 5 years.  I stressed the importance of attachment in that it influences adult interpersonal relationships, good or bad.  We also taught the participants to look for warning signs for insecure/unfavorable attachment behaviors that may be forming in the children from 6months to 15 months old.

 It was an eye opener for many and they begin to think about their own children and which category that fit into.  By the end of the session, many people were talking in the local language and engaged in the topic.  We problem solved on how to prevent mal-adaptive attachment and how to be more in-tuned with the children so that the institutional care is just as good as the foster families.  I was proud at the end and happy to have facilitated the session.  I know that my center head was impressed and happy to relay the information in the local language so that the participants fully understood the importance of this topic and how this information serves as the building blocks for the rest of the topics to be covered in the training.

My counterpart Marvie and I posing for a picture! 

Thanks for reading! Until next time! Peace!