Swearing In Ceremony and Arrival in Cebu City

Goodbye Aningway

Our last week in Aningway was bitter sweet. Although we are relieved to finish training and finally begin our 27 months of service it was hard to say goodbye to our host families who have shown us such great hospitality, love and friendship.  I feel so grateful to have had this opportunity to live in such an incredibly beautiful place and be completely accepted into the community with open arms.

I was asked to write a summary of Pre-Service Training that would make everyone laugh and cry. The result was six pages of memories which I shared aloud at our last technical session. Here I would like to share the descriptions I wrote about my cluster mates so you can have an idea of my support system over the last 10 weeks.

There is Donna who never ceases to amaze me with her dedication in walking 10,000 steps every a day. Despite her struggling with the language she remains positive and isn’t afraid to laugh at herself. And even though her host family is not ideal she manages to stick with it, spending time with the kids and lending a compassionate ear to her host mother. I know it’s hard for her to be away from her husband but I have so much respect for her and the many years of experience and wisdom she brings to the table.

Melissa who is arguably the most selfless person in the world; volunteers for everything, regardless of how monotonous or time consuming the assignment. I envy her drive, her focus and her attention to detail. Not to mention her ability to integrate into the community. Every time we have an event I see here holding somebody’s kid or getting her chika chika on with the locals.

Thank god for Candice who without her generosity our cluster would have suffered many snack less meriendas. Candice also has common sense that grounds us and keeps us on task. I don’t know where we would be without her because her work ethic and facilitation skills are incredible. Not to mention she’s also getting her MSW… I hope I can be like her when I grow up.

Oh Christina. What I love about her most is probably her laugh because it’s more genuine that anyone one person I have ever met. I am also very impressed by her resiliency and her ability to take control of her own situation. Peace Corps said jump, and Christina said how high? What I also love about Christina is she has no problem singing show tunes with me at the top of her lungs. This is a rare quality to find in a person.

Ben has got to be one of the happiest people I have ever met. I kept waiting for him to get pissed off about something but nothing provokes this guy. I really admire Ben for the professional experience he brings to the table and the positivity that he shares because we all benefit from it.

What I admire about Justin is that he is not afraid to laugh at himself but when it comes down to it he takes this job seriously and always delivers a quality product. This is why some day when we are all mopping floors or making coffee at Starbucks Justin will be working at the State Department.

Ashley and I didn’t really talk much until we lived across the street from each other. This is when I realized that she is not only an independent woman who is not afraid to voice her opinions but simultaneously she is one of the most accepting people I have ever met. We also share a deep love for eating, anything and everything that crosses our path.

Sam’s not only the master of Tagalog. He’s also got really impressive dance moves. And once I got to know him I found out he can quote any movie or show with incredible accuracy. He also does great impressions. Thank god I have someone who can understand my obscure movie references.

Tam’s greatest gift is her ability to level with you. I found great camaraderie with Tam because not only does she tell it like it is. She will also tell you the most logistically sound way to get it done and makes it look easy. I love her ability to take control of a situation and the end result is always beautiful.

I think Jeff is some kind of Puerto Rican Buddha. He is a really reflective and insightful person. Sometimes he is so positive and optimistic about everything he makes me feel inferior because I wish I could be like him. When I work up enough courage I think I might ask him to be my guru. 

Supervisor’s Conference and Street Immersion

The first day of Supervisor’s Conference was filled with great anticipation as we waited for our site placements to be announced. They announced the volunteers by region. We were all at the edge of our seats listening to which volunteers would go where trying to guess how far away we would be from our friends. Each name was carefully announced by the sector managers. Volunteers walked up to the stage where they took their picture and placed it onto a map of the Philippines, then they were handed a binder filled with information about their site placement. When my turn came my sector manager said, ‘Working in Cebu City doing prostitution outreach and sex trafficking prevention will be Amelia Kent.” I was so excited I almost jumped out of my chair. As I walked across the stage my mind flooded with images of what my service experience might be like. 

That night I met my supervisor a Nun named Sister Tonet. She is very kind, friendly and really inspiring. She brought me a beautiful folder with photos of the agency as well as my future host family. It was filled with information on Cebu as well as a letter from my counterpart a 25 year old Social Worker. Sister Tonet also spoiled me with pasalubong (gifts) from Cebu, a necklace (shown below), some cookies and dried mangos. I felt so incredibly lucky to have her as a supervisor and I really feel like I will be well taken care of. We spent the next few days attending trainings together and getting to know each other a little bit I am really looking forward to working with her.

On September 30th we drove to Manila for our CYF Street Immersion. We stayed at an amazing organization called Bahay Tulan where all of the staff are youth enrolled in a job training program that gives them the skills necessary navigate a highly competitive job market . The organization also trains youth leaders to do outreach with street children and does advocacy for children’s rights. 

For lunch we went to the mall and observed mall prostitution which is commonplace here. Although our sector manager gave them the option of how to respond, many of the male volunteers were approached by women and played along as though they were interested customers. Only afterward was the morality of this act questioned, but once the point was made I felt more or less ashamed for not taking this point into consideration beforehand. As usual our training was rushed and we didn’t have enough time to ask the important questions that should have been brought to the table before, during and after our exposures.

Afterward we went out for a two hour outreach session with street children. Our sector manager broke us into groups and sent us to different neighborhoods. He challenged us to use the training we had thus far to engage the children without having time for a planning session beforehand. We played games, sang songs and acted out some skits. It was completely improvised and the result was beautiful, the kids had a great time and asked when we would be back. 

We spent the next morning visiting Smokey Mountain, a garbage dump that people have been living on for three generations. The people live in extreme poverty, scavenging the trash for things they can sell and burning it to make charcoal, as result many of the people are very sick. The reality of the situation was unbelievable and the smell along with the flies made me feel sick. Some agencies had gotten involved. There was a health clinic providing prenatal care. A Christian organization built a basketball court and there was some basic infrastructure in place. All of the children seemed oblivious to the fact that anything was wrong with this picture, many of them walking around barefoot in a black muck that clung to our shoes. As I walked around with this huge group of Americans I thought about what our impact or lack of impact was on this community. I felt ashamed to have visited them in the same way people visit a zoo. I felt an overwhelming concern for the moral capacity of humanity.

Once again there was no time to process as we went directly back into the streets for our second day of outreach. I went into it feeling exhausted but was surprised by how much energy I got from working with the kids. I was so impressed  by their resiliency and dreams for a better future. I asked many of them what they want to be when they grow up and heard SEAMAN! ENGINEER! DOCTOR! PILOT! When it comes down to the things that matter… kids are all the same they all want to be loved and encouraged to follow their dreams.

After dinner we met up with some outreach workers and got an opportunity to go serve coffee to some people working on the street. We walked to a bridge that was a well known spot for prostitution and I was able to have a conversation in Tagalog with a female pimp. She told me that the girls make 400 pesos an hour and she complained that lately the police have been more of a problem for them; keeping customers away. She had a family to support as well as two siblings who lived close by. I didn’t catch how many girls she had working for her but I was surprised at how openly she shared her life with me. I also was surprised at myself. Instead of feeling anger or disgust at this woman’s chosen profession, I only felt sorry for her wishing that she had more options in life than to resort to this.

Next I was introduced to a woman who had been living on the street for many years in front of restaurant, and had recently obtained a job there. She had her first child when she was only 13 years old. Her first two children she put up for adoption, the next two were currently living in a shelter and her fifth child was nine year old Casey. Casey was a shy but friendly little girl who clung to her mother’s side. In the gleam of the street lights Casey and her mother were both doing homework. I asked Casey in Tagalog what she wanted to be when she grew up and she told me she wanted to be a nurse so that she could help people.

It felt really great for me to get this exposure because it gave me a real taste of the work I have ahead of me as well as the importance of language in facilitating a conversation. I was reminded of all the people I worked with on the streets of Seattle and I felt relieved to be reentering that world. There are few people who want to work with this population but everyone should.  Throughout the night I kept thinking about how growing up, there were always people in my life to remind me of what I deserved as a woman. How I deserved to be educated, treated well, treated fairly. I hope I can remind some of these women that they deserve the same. 

Permanent Placement: Human Trafficking Prevention Advocacy Volunteer in Cebu City

Good Sheperd Welcome House

Drop -In Center

Cebu City

Volunteer Role/Activities: Peer Education Program for women who are still active in sex trade,  basic facilitation skills in psycho-social activities, advocacy in schools and the community. 

Tomorrow I will meet my supervisor: Sister Tonet (a nun who has been working at this site since 2007). I am so happy with this placement and cannot wait to get started. I will move to Cebu City in September after I complete three more weeks of Pre-Service Training. 

PACA

August 7^th

I was almost evacuated due to monsoon rains that caused landslides and flash floods. They sent us home to pack a bag for evacuation but in the end only three volunteers were evacuated because of their proximity to the river. My house was fine but we lost power for over 24 hours so I busted out my head lamp. Meanwhile in Manila the city was in crisis. They had mass flooding, so bad that people were forced to climb up onto their roofs to escape the water. Many of our volunteers were evacuated from flooded areas and some lost many of their belongings because they didn’t have time to go back and get their things. We immediately got some donations together. I gave some clothes and an extra headlamp.

August 9^th

 I had my site placement interview with the CYF sector manager. They put two site options on the table. The first option I would be working in an urban city doing outreach with women working in prostitution. The second option I would be working at a Catholic orphanage for boys coaching their soccer team while simultaneously working with children in conflict with the law doing tutorials and group work.

August 10^th

We conducted a PACA (Participatory Analysis for Community Action) in our barangay. The PACA activities are designed to help community members to explore ways to analyze their own situation, participants from different groups will complete a 24 hour calendar, a monthly calendar and a community map. This helps us understand the best time for community organizing as well as how the community views itself. It also develops local capacity-building; the community identifies its own resources and strengths that it possesses so that it can draw upon them in order to reach its goal. Our barangay identified unemployment as its greatest concern and decided they would like to have a livelihood skills training on meat processing. A community member volunteered to facilitate the training so we will write a proposal to the mayor to help cover the costs of materials and food for lunch.

August 15th

A few days ago I had a really hard day. I was frustrated with the logistics of training and the quality of our projects. I could feel my attitude turning really negative. I took that afternoon to practice some self care and became determined to change my attitude. From now on, instead of allowing myself to get frustrated I decided that I will only allow myself to laugh at the challenges. As a result, the past few days have been wonderful. Yesterday I taught an old camp song at our technical training which everyone loved, so much that we are now singing it in parts. I invested in a new high tech umbrella that brings a smile to my face every time I pop that baby open and today I got to enjoy two chocolate covered espresso beans from Traders Joe’s via another trainee’s care package…what a saint.

Lately I feel more resilient when negative thoughts try to take over. I am more outgoing with the language and notice that I am making jokes all the time. I have made a conclusion that music drastically improves my mood, so now I listen to it every morning before I leave the house. Others have noticed the difference as well, during my weekly assessment my technical trainer said she noticed a big difference in my attitude telling me, “You’re blooming Amelia, as if you’re in love.” I want to be better still. I want to make people laugh and help them feel lighter. I hope to spend the next two years figuring out the best way to do that.

August 17th

For our language class we were required to cook a Filipino dish so my partner and I made Shanghai Isda shown below. Masarap. It only took our group 4 hours to cook everything!

August 18

Today we implemented our PACA community project. We attended the livelihood skills training on meat processing that we helped coordinate. There were many women who came to the barangay hall and learned valuable skills that they can hopefully transfer into income.

Later that night I was asked to accompany my technical trainer for an exposure to bar hopping. We went to the red light district and met up with some social workers, then spent the next three hours sitting in different strip clubs observing the girls. The social workers knew many of the girls from doing outreach but they explained to me that it takes a very long time to gain their trust. During the week they will conduct group sessions or meet with them individually. Many of the girls working in the bars have never completed formal education and they all looked really young.

At one point we watched some Korean guys come in. They were socializing with the girls when one of them jumped out of his chair and started screaming and jumping around. Finally we watched a huge cockroach fall out of his pants. KARMA! Almost all of the clientele I saw were white guys and they always seemed surprised and confused to see me in the bar. I would stare them down with an unforgiving look and watch them drop their heads in shame. If I end up working with this population it sounds like it will likely be in Cebu, which means I will have to learn yet another language. One more week and I will find out my permanent placement.

Still Raining

The weeks go by really fast. Monday-Friday we have language from 8am-12pm then technical training from 1-5pm sometimes later. We are exhausted by the time we get home but we have homework every night. My family has been very encouraging in helping me learn Tagalog and the neighborhood children like to come by and help me study as well. Here the typhoons are striking hard. School gets cancelled often which in turn cancels our daily tutoring sessions but I have been assigned to the first grade. I am hoping this will force me to use a lot of Tagalog since the first graders don’t know any English yet.


On Saturday July 28th we conducted a Literacy Fair. We had four stations music, art, sports and story telling. Our primary goal was to show the children that learning can be fun and creative. My group ran the music station so we wrote a song to the melody of “Call Me Maybe” and performed it with a silly dance for the kids.


We joined the Peace Corps to help
But we’re learning as well
We’re coming our of our shell
But you’re in my way


We just can’t wait to meet
All the people and see
All of the Philippines
But you’re in my way


We got off the plane
And all the Jeepney’s came
Peace Corps a lot of training
And it just keeps on raining


Hey I just met you
And this is crazy
But we’re learning
Tagalog Baby


Ano sa Tagalog?
What did you say?
Cause we’re still learning
Tagalog baby


After we performed the song we split the kids into groups where they made up a song and dance about various subjects in school: Math, Science, Music, Reading, English, and Filipino. Everyone here loves to sing and dance so our station was really popular and everyone seemed to have a great time. By the end we were all exhausted but received great compliments from our sector manager and many community members. We served over 200 kids!


Last Sunday was my day of rest. The weather was horrible so I spent the entire day in bed reading Wild. It was a great novel about Cheryl Strayed a woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail by herself back in 1995. Her journey was accompanied by a memoir detailing her difficulty in facing her mother’s early death, her failed marriage and the self destructive behaviors that followed. It was a great female empowerment story and very inspiring so read it!


I am building great relationships with a lot of my fellow cluster mates. We are getting more comfortable in this community and it’s beginning to feel like home. My lack of internet access has been good for me but I do miss talking with my friends and family. Although I’m sure you are all getting on fine without me, I think about you a lot and wonder how you are doing, and what’s happening in your lives.


After another jam packed week of language, training and community organizing on Saturday August 4th we conducted an all day Life Skills Camp focusing on Leadership, Self Awareness, Communication and Decision Making. I was assigned to Self Awareness so we led some fun activities that helped kids realize their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the impact of their actions on others. During one of our snack breaks I was pulled away by one of the host mom’s who wanted to introduce me to my ‘many suitors’, who think I am very beautiful. Not even kidding. I literally had to shake the hand of like five different men who all introduced their selves to me. It was mortifying.


I spent Sunday with my host family. We hiked out to this amazing waterfall which required wading through a knee deep flooded river with huge rocks. I slipped at one point and banged up my shin but my adrenaline kicked in and I got right back up and kept climbing. Afterward we walked down to my host grandma’s house (who lives at the family rice farm), and joined a bunch of extended family for a huge delicious lunch. There was a hammock and it was heavenly.

Things I’ve Gotten Used To:


-Ants crawling all over the dinner table.
-Bathing from a bucket of cold water.
-Having at least 10 mosquito bites at any given time.
-People speaking with their eyebrows.
-Lizards scaling the walls of my room.


Ongoing Adjustments:


-Riding in the Jeepney is still pretty terrifying.
-Lack of personal space and privacy.
-Being constantly stared at.
-Carrying an umbrella everywhere.

Host Family in Subic

I have moved in with my first host family where I will stay until September. They are really wonderful people. I have  12 yr old brother named Ryan and a 14 yr old sister named Eunice. My host mom doesn't work but her husband works in Saudi Arabia doing something with oil. My host mom wants me to call her Ate Belen. 


The area we live is really beautiful because it is in the foothills of the mountains but it rains almost constantly here so there is a lot of flooding. Luckily the Peace Corps bought us all some rain boots. When we walk around the barungay it feels like we are on parade, everyone peeks out of their houses to see the Americans. My blue eyes are especially of interest.


Myhost house has two rooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom with a toilet that flushes! I am getting used to the bucket shower but we do have two faucets that have running water so that's nice. I put a mosquito net up every night before I go to bed because there are a lot here I am also taking malaria pills every Monday. 


The food has been good lots of rice, fish and chicken and my host mom has been giving me peanut butter ever since I told her that's my favorite food.


The hardest thing to get used to has been the rain. It is so loud on the tin roof that we can hardly hear anything when it rains and it sounds like tidal waves are crashing on the roof. This happens every few hours and I often jump awake at night because the sound scares me. There are roosters making noise at all hours, they especially love 5am-6am.


I am writing from an internet cafe just around the corner from my house. There are many other volunteers living close by and some are living with the sisters or brothers of my host mother. It seems like everyone is related one way or another, which is good because I already know lots of people in the community.