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Speech delivered by Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development during VSO 50th Anniversary last 14 March 2008Thank you Jonathan for that warm introduction. I must admit that as I sat watching those films I did start to wonder
what I could possibly say that would be as eloquent a tribute to VSO as
what we’ve just seen and heard. From Julie Wilson, Laura Marshall and Peter Reid sharing their expertise
to help the people of Nepal improve schooling, all the way from the
classroom to the top levels of government. From James and Faless, learning more about each other’s countries and
cultures. I was particularly struck by James’s comment that thanks to
VSO he sees that our interconnectedness is not just an idea – it’s
real. VSO changed Brendan Barber’s life. And as we saw, by training nurses in
Malawi, VSO is changing the life of
every Malawian treated by those nurses. Today, tomorrow, next week, next
year. The message from each person in those films was the same. Volunteering is
an experience that enriches the lives of everyone involved. 50 years of VSO – from a few volunteers to British institution Margaret Mead, the American anthropologist, once said: “Never doubt
that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the
world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” 50 years ago, Alec and Moira Dickson, with support from the Bishop of Portsmouth
and Inter Church Aid – now Christian Aid – organised for eight young
volunteers to leave the UK for a
year’s service in Ghana, Nigeria,
Zambia and Sarawak. Since that first small group of thoughtful, committed citizens set out to
change the world, almost 33,000 volunteers have worked in over 120
countries under the banner of Voluntary Service Overseas. VSO’s volunteers have changed. Their average age has risen from 18
years old in 1958 to over 40 today. Volunteers come from a range of
countries and from diverse professional, cultural, and social
backgrounds. VSO has changed too. In the last 50 years ago it has grown to become a
great British institution, and a source of national pride. Britain in the world As VSO has changed, so too has Britain’s relationship with the world. In the middle of the 20th century, Britain
was a nation rebuilding itself. Indeed our very venue this evening was
built just over 50 years ago for the Festival of Britain, described by
the man who made it possible, Herbert Morrison, as “a tonic for the
nation”. And the people of Britain needed that
tonic, recovering as they were from the darkest years of the war. Today’s Britain is more confident, more
dynamic, more open. Today’s London is
a city of 300 languages. More than 3 out of every 10 people working in
our capital was born outside the UK. Today, Britain is a nation of global
consumers – from films we watch to the clothes we wear, even the food
we eat. We are a nation of global travellers. And we are increasingly a
nation, and London ever more a city, of
global business. And in this generation, from the Live Aid concert of 1985 to the jubilee
debt campaign and the Make Poverty History movement of three years ago, Britain
has increasingly become a nation that not only cares about global
poverty, but wants to do something about it. VSO in the fight against poverty VSO volunteers have played an important role in turning Britain’s
concern for global poverty into practical action. The scale of the challenge can seem overwhelming: 980 million people
living on less than 50 pence a day; 72 million children out of school;
more than a million people dying from malaria each year. Yet we can each do something to make a difference, as VSO’s volunteers
prove through their actions. The only way to climb a mountain is to take
a first step. Volunteers can also be a great inspiration to others. Simply through
telling your stories, you are powerful advocates for the change we all
want to see in the world. And volunteers are living proof that development is not simply something
that governments do. This government is committed to tackling poverty,
and that is why we will provide more than £9 billion in aid by 2010 –
roughly three times more than in 1997. But governments cannot meet the development challenge alone – no matter
how committed. We need a true partnership for development that involves
governments, the private sector, NGOs and faith groups and individual
citizens. DFID proud to support VSO So this Government is proud to support VSO, and proud of our long
partnership together. The first government grant to VSO was not quite
made 50 years ago, but not far from it – VSO received £9,000 from the
UK government in 1959. As VSO has grown, so too has our support. And so too have our connections. My Ministerial colleague, Gillian Merron, joined the Department for
International Development in January this year. Three years ago she
spent a summer as a VSO volunteer in Guyana,
giving the benefit of her experience to the Guyana
Teachers’ Union. And now she brings the benefit of that experience to
her Ministerial work. VSO started the careers of many of our colleagues in the Department. Some
of them are here tonight, including Nigel Kirby, who helped to bring
clean water to villages in the Solomon Islands
and has been back many times since. And Richard Thomas, whose daughter has now followed in his footsteps and
is serving with VSO in the Gambia. My own experiences of volunteering in a developing country made a deep
impression on me. As a student I spent a short time building classrooms
in Kenya. What I saw there - not just
the poverty, but the immense potential alongside it - was something that
I’d never really experienced before. It was an early and profound lesson to me of our common humanity.
That we are all in it together – no matter the distance or the
difference that sometimes seem to divide us. I want more people in Britain to
have that kind of experience. Some people may not have considered volunteering. Others may have thought
they don’t have the chance to do it. Last month I announced a new scheme to give more young people
the chance to volunteer in developing countries. By living and working
with people from very different backgrounds, facing very different
challenges, they will learn new skills and unlock their own potential. Tonight I’m pleased to announce that the Department for International
Development will also provide £3 million to support a VSO initiative to
encourage more people from diaspora communities in the UK
to volunteer in developing countries. I believe employers should support volunteering, and that’s why I can
also announce tonight that the government will provide a fund of £13
million to ensure that UK public
servants don’t lose out on their pension contributions when they
volunteer overseas. We know the sacrifices that teachers, nurses, fire fighters and police
men and women make every day to help our country. I want to remove one
of the sacrifices they have to make before they can help some of the
poorest countries in the world. Peroration When I was asked to speak here this evening, and I considered the
achievements and the values of VSO, I thought of something that Lester
B Pearson, who went on to become the Canadian Prime Minister,
said on accepting the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1957. He
asked: “How can there be peace without people understanding each
other, and how can this be if they don’t know each other?”. I
wonder if, even as Pearson was speaking on a cold December night in
Oslo, Alec and Moira Dickson were already meeting with their first
volunteers – who left the UK just six months later. I
know for certain that, as you have kindly listened to me tonight, there
are over 1600 VSO volunteers around the world - gaining a better
knowledge and understanding of the people who were once unknown, but are
now their colleagues, neighbours and friends. This
is VSO’s achievement. And it is truly something to celebrate. Thank
you. Conflict
resolution with the help of technology My
placement was organized within a partnership between VSO, the LGU of
Kolambugan and the NGO Ecoweb. One significant change that
occurred during my placement is the project staff being confident in GIS
(Geographical Information Systems). GIS is the software that is
used for mapping. In the Philippines a lot of people still use
paper maps because they are unfamiliar with the software. GIS can
be used not only for displaying maps, but also for storing and analyzing
data. Because of my training sessions, the project staff now has
enough skills to use GIS to continue their projects after I have left.
In order to highlight the significance of GIS for the communities, I
give the example of conflict resolution by making a 3-dimensional map of
barangay Lumbac in the municipality of Kolambugan. A
3-dimensional map is a model of the landscape where you can really see
the mountains and valleys. It is made by cutting out different
layers of styrofor and place them on top pf each other. After the
model is finished, it can be used with communities to discuss different
issues, for example landuse or boundary conflicts. Some of the
advantages of using a 3-dimensional map is that it is very accessible
and easy to interpret (in comparison to a flat paper map) and it can be
used for extensive and remote areas without the need to visit these
places. In order to make a 3-dimensionbal map, you need (apart
from the materials) an elevation map, some skills in GIS in order to
produce a large printed map of the area and some understanding on the
process.
I helped my colleagues with acquiring an elevation map, and with
training. Currently
one of the remote barangays of Kolambugan is evacuated because of a
conflict concerning land. On one hand there are the muslims in the
area who claim the land because of ancestral domain: they have been
using the land since centuries so they are entitled to keep on using
that. On the other hand there are the Christians who have been
tenants of that land since decades. They have titles for this.
The third party are the official land owners who have the papers of
ownership. There is also an armed group from neighbouring
barangays who say that they are protecting the area, but they might have
their own agenda. The conflict is about land and therefore about
the natural resources such as coconut. For the communities owning
or using the land means having a livelihood. The conflict is extra
sensitive by the muslims being opposed to the Christians. This may
reinforce prejudices and might increase the gap between people from
different religions. Recently there have been three people killed
in Lumbac because of the land conflict. In neighbouring
municipalities there are examples from the past that this kind of
conflict can escalate and result in a great number of people being
killed. In order to prevent this from happening, the Mayor of
Kolambugan takes immediate action to start discussions between the
different groups. At
this moment the technical descriptions from the papers of the official
land owners are being plotted in the GIS to visualize the areas.
The 3-dimensional map of Lumbac is just finished, so it can be
used to facilitate the discussions and may be crucial in the immediate
resolution of the conflict. My
Social Work Profession in Relation to my Client Based
on my experience, I can say that social work is an exciting, demanding
and immensely rewarding profession. It requires uncommon dedication to
strive for social reform. The world needs people who are committed to
the needs of others. Social workers attend to those in distress and
identify and remedy the social ills that rob people of their dignity and
prevent them from achieving their full potential. Social work is a
profession for those with a strong desire to improve people’s lives;
help people function the best way they can in their environment; relate
with them to help them solve personal and family problem. Social workers
have a multi-faceted jobs that concern various issues and problems of
society such as unemployment, disease and illness,
inadequate housing, illiteracy, poverty, disability, drug abuse,
unwanted pregnancy, or anti-social behavior. Social workers also assist
families that have serious domestic conflicts, including those suffering
child abuse or wife
battering. Almost 70
percent of the family is disunited merely because of an abusive husband
due to habitual alcoholism, drug addiction and poor spirituality. During psychosocial therapy I conducted during my home visitation, such as group counseling, play therapy and art therapy among children, I found out that the effect of child abuse causes trauma and mild depression. The school performances of these traumatized children suffers significantly in school related activity. It breeds juvenile delinquency. It’s really a great concern for parents because this problem permanently damages the child’s development. The child needs continuous supervision, patience, commitment and dedication to reform a trauma victim. Both parents, on the other hand, should exert effort to understand the child. It is a challenge then to some of the multi- disciplinary team dealing with such problem to seek further effective intervention. By:
Cora Jarales, Social Worker 26
September 2007 UNVs
‘Going Global’: ‘tis possible–Carmen Baugbog, Gender Advisor In January 2007 I received announcements from
DPKO Best Practices about trainings and conferences for
2007. I wrote to four institutions inquiring whether a United Nations
Volunteer can attend these trainings. One did not respond, two responded
by informing me to fill up application forms and go through the due
process for acceptance. The third one responded that I was not selected.
Gratefully, I received full support from the
management in my unit who facilitated my trip by writing a memo to the
DOA’s office requesting Travel Support for my Training. I received
approval from the DOA’s Office after just one day. I also informed the
UNV Programme Manager about my acceptance in both trainings and
requested his support for my travel. He informed me that support for my
travel to Germany would be discussed once I came back from my trip to
Sweden. The “Multi Functional
Cooperation in Peacekeeping” training in Sweden was
focused on the peacekeeping framework, strategies and important skills
necessary for peacekeepers in a multifunctional situation.
We studied vision/value based peacekeeping towards coherence and
complementation of the pillars of peacekeeping where uniformed and
civilians work hand in hand. Principles, contradictions, value systems,
dimensions and strategies were discussed prior to exercises in planning,
reporting, monitoring, crisis management and conflict resolution,
mediation processes, handling media, safety and security and handling
stress. Gender mainstreaming was continuously addressed because as a
Gender Advisor here in UNMIS, I tried to bring attention to this
dimension by asking the resources persons how they mainstreamed gender in their respective areas of
responsibility. The resource persons included policy advisors and senior
managers from UN HQ. The training academy was like a paradise resort
so I did not even mind working hard everyday because the scenery was
breathtaking and the venue was very restful. I even went to the spas
regularly. It was a treat.
The conference in Germany was a high level event
with mostly government and diplomatic heads as participants; including
senior level representatives from civil society and bilateral
organizations. I was humbled and thankful to be in attendance. The
opening ceremony was attended by Frank Walter Steimer – German Foreign
Minister; Sonia Picado – Executive Director from the Inter-American
Institute of Human Rights and Sahrif-Al Zubi – Minister of Justice of
the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The venue was the famous Nuremburg Court where
the Nazi war crimes were tried 60 years ago; this was symbolic as the
conference’s theme was peace and justice.
The 3 days were spent deliberating on
international and indigenous mechanisms to ensure that justice and peace
occur. Preselected best
practices from different institutions were shared in plenary and small
discussion groups. The conference affirmed that peace and justice cannot
be separated and justice is always an element of sustainable peace.
Soon, a Nuremburg Declaration on the Future for Peace and Justice will
be released. I continue to take stock of the lessons learned knowing it
will enrich my work as peace advocate here at UNMIS. For details, go to http://www.peacejustice-conference.info.
In Germany I also visited other provinces,
renewed friendships and visited UNV HQ.
There I met Kevin, Enid, Laurent and many others who all welcomed
me and made me feel a part of the
bigger UNV family. Our time was short (one day) but to me they seemed
very professional and collegial – it was a refreshing environment.
I was invited to a farewell dinner for two interns in Cologne;
discussed the conferences plus my work in Sudan and
even got tips for my Rhine River cruise “Take upstream not
downstream!” The team
asked me to send my best regards and wishes to all the UNVs in Sudan and
tell that they are doing their best to support UNVs in the field. The
4VD section also asked me to encourage UNVs here to share any
interesting stories about their work. I feel very privileged to have met
all of them in person. Now, I’m back in Kahrtoum full of hope and
inspiration from the results of my leap of faith. Now I use these
experiences to remind myself that “I shall overcome”.
by Carmen A. Baugbog 14
September 2007 African
Experience
My
placement in Pakistan entailed a lot of fundraising to support the
pressing demands of the community. Being a community development
adviser, I never expected that I would do a lot of fundraising
activities. I was not used to networking with donors and writing
proposals, but Filipinos are gifted with convincing power, cleverness,
and charisma, and I was able to acquire funding to support the
villagers. Here
in Malawi, a similar thing is happening. Being a Management Adviser does
not only mean that I manage and set up systems in the office, but also
take part in HIV & AIDS-related activities. I am trying to be a
medical staff - checking on malnourished children, providing them
supplements if there are any, and giving referrals when needed.
Although
I am short of money, I am still happy because things are starting to
shape up. Monthly meetings are now being held regularly and everybody is
challenged to preside on a rotation basis. Now, the people know what
activities are to be conducted in the following month without waiting to
be told. With
small victories, also come difficulties. I conducted a Trainer's
Training for the staff, but management has not looked favorably upon my
initiative. Even more difficult is convincing them to release funds for
my activities. But I'm hoping they will see the positive results of what
I have done. Amidst
these challenges, I realized that things have to go on. Would you think
of leaving your volunteering work just because of a few people, when
there are more who appreciate what you are doing and who badly need your
help? It is the determination and hopes of the persons living with AIDS
(PLWA) that keep me here more than anything else. There were only 18 of
them when I organized their support group last November 2006. Now, I
have 44 members who have come into the open to help fight against the
pandemic. At
the end of the day, all the hard work, tears, struggle and frustrations
pay off when you know you have done something good for others. More than
that, it feels overwhelming to meet kids on my way home, chanting my
Malawian name "anambewe" in chorus and adoring me like I am a
god. They would run towards me for a handshake, caressing the azungo's
(white person) hands, smiling and giggling. 7
September 2007 BUD
BUD SUSTANSYA PROCESSING This is a simple project activity we have adopted at LAFCCOD
for our partner community members. The objective is to change for better, the lives of the
target communities, focusing on Children, Adolescents and Women through
improved nutrition, health and income generation and create sustainable
livelihood independence among the partner POs as we share skills through
Peace Building initiatives, Gender Mainstreaming, Community Based
Natural Resources and Sustainable Livelihood. The PO members have acquired diversified knowledge and
understanding of the Bud Bud Sustansya production, skills and more
practical knowledge on value addition of locally available resources.
It has also facilitated wider exchange and sharing between our
partner POs and the larger Mindanao Island through study tours, paved
way for launching of cottage level Bud Bud Sustansya production among
our PO partners and opened up skill share market for LAFCCOD and her
partner PO communities for future expansion. The project has among other things resulted in taking a lead
in replication of the Bud Bud Sustansya production in Lanao del Norte,
enhanced the market identification skills of our partner POs especially
in cottage industry barter trade, build greater knowledge base and
documentation within LAFCCOD and her partner PO communities and to open
up networking and collaboration avenues for LAFCCOD as well as her
partner POs. Ingredients and Preparation: Vegetables 2 cups malunggay leaves Other ¼ cup sesame seeds Procedure:
USES Budbod
Sustansya can be used as toppings for rice, rice porridge (lugaw),
“suman” and other bland or cereal preparations, boiled root crops,
or as an ingredient in a variety of cooking. It can also enrich
the taste of noodle and soup preparations. TECHNOLOGY The
preparations of Budbud Sustansya is simple and easy. Budbud
Sustansya or Nutritious Toppings Is
a powder made from a mixture of green leafy vegetables such as malunggay,
kangkong, alugbati, saluyot, sesame seeds, iodized salt, sugar,
vegetable oil, skim milk, and flour. Is
100% natural source of Beta-Carotene and other major nutrients:
HEALTH In
the Philippines, Vitamin A deficiency remains an important public health
concern, along with iron deficiency anemia, iodine deficiency disorder
and protein-energy malnutrition. In
response to these health problems Budbod Sustansya is a good source of
Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron, calories, and other minerals,
and helps particularly in areas where the malnutrition occurs. 13
August 2007 My
volunteering experience has been enriching to the community I worked
with, to my fellow staff, friendships within the province and outside
the province, fellowship with the Filipino culture and my personal
development. Before
I thought of volunteering I was briefed by VSO Jitolee of the benefits
and risks associated with volunteering, the objectives of volunteering
is to help in the fight of poverty and disadvantage through skills and
knowledge sharing, changing peoples lives, helping people use the
abilities/potential they have to become better, improve themselves, and
increase in income, job generation, development and living standards.
I was also told that though VSO aims to help the poor it does not aim to
work with poorest of poor but to work with organizations, systems that
aim at reaching out to the poor. Coming
to the Philippines was very clear in the sense that I come from Uganda
another equally troubled country, which I strongly considered as a
strength in sharing approaches, understandings, experiences, skills and
Knowledge in fighting a common faced problem, the nature of existing
poverty and disadvantage in both countries. My
commitment to volunteering in Mindanao, has enhanced my understanding of
the world as a global village, with significant issues beyond
boundaries, that demand a process of learning, information sharing,
technology support, exposure for human development and welfare. In
sharing skills in the VSO contest, I have gained a lot from the Filipino
culture, economy, politics and technology; while I shared lots of
understanding on improving livelihood programs of the province that
resulted in enabling target communities develop products, markets,
production facilities and production technologies enabling increased
productivity. I now will offer better service to the development
of Uganda and other developing countries. My
3 years in Agusan started with learning off the culture, language and
eating rice and plenty of fish. This was my first time to eat rice
many times through the day in different forms, I was so perplexed by the
observation of rice eating in Mindanao, a fertile land that literal
supports any type of food crops, with lots of root crops, bananas and
vegetables. I soon later learnt from my livelihood assisted
communities that eating rice is considered as sign of wealth and eating
root crops is for the poor. I struggled with this perception; I
desired to eat other starch foods other than rice all the time and many
times I demand inclusion of sweet potatoes, cassava, Irish potatoes,
corn and banana as food choices. In
the Filipino culture news spreads so first because of the family
network, and more so in the rural communities, soon the entire Agusan
del Sur knew it that I like sweet potatoes “kamote”, cassava, banana
“saging” so it was made inclusive as choice of foods prepared,
whenever there was opportunity to share a meal with me. I
was later freely taken into convincing community that root crops should
be well taken as alternative, viable source of starch foods and should
be marketed as foods and not snack choices. The perception on root
crops has gradually changed in the three years of my service while I
stayed in Agusan del Sur, increasingly influencing more people to change
in their eating habits to include root crops as food rather than snacks,
and provide income to root crop growers. Root crops are becoming
increasingly available in markets, hence providing income to root crops
growers, as a result of cultural interaction. I
made it one of my objectives in assisting rural community development,
to enable them become more sufficient with food and have food security,
even with no money. The complex of rice is that you produce Bogus
but in order to consume it you have to spend money to have it processed
into Palay “ready to cook rice”. The poor farmers find it
difficult to do so, and end up exchanging their Bogus for Palay
“rice” at very low exchange prices, keeping them in the poverty
trap. In terms of food security, with no additional costs, root
crops can be consumed straight from the garden, cooked and served at
table, by growers without extra spending, on the food source. Sweet
potatoes, banana, cassava and corn are now become popular choices of
alternative food choices with the communities I have worked with, their
perception on root crops has changed, and farmers growing root crops are
gradually finding market for their root crops with in the province. Respecting
culture is a primary factor for one to make good success within a new
cultural environment and hence sharing and learning on cultural
differences developing a bonding, expansion in culture and cements
friendships and calls for patience, it took time to have the change in
the eating habits tailored on rice and pork and now there is
understanding of benefits associated with having opportunity to a
variety of foods. I
worked with communities, in helping them identify alternative
livelihoods, handicraft making was one of them, making baskets and
selling them, it is indeed a challenge for the community, first to
obtain the skills, then become professional with the skill and finally
find market for their products, that goes with ever changing demand in
terms of designs and quality each year. My target communities were
assisted to understand market trends and link with markets, be exposed
to technologies and product development, and understand nee for change
in product designs synchronized with changing market demands. The
groups accessed funding for technology missions, market studies and
trade fairs through my assistance to enable them access markets, market
information and understandings on products variations, markets and
technologies. The
community leadership with whom I worked closely, where so diligent and
committed, very responsive ad did appreciated every effort the
government provided them for their livelihood improvement, committing
their time to learn new ideas and mobilize their limited resources for
their own development. The LUBIDA handicraft group now does have a
production center and is developing capacity to fulfill supply of its
obtained product orders. The
provincial employees with whom, I have worked very closely have obtained
sufficient exposure on livelihood tools to apply in livelihood
assistance and have developed a mindset to enable them do research and
work out solutions to bring about impact in communities assisted for
development. The ASERBAC staff have developed understanding on how
to make and network government support towards development of
achievable, visible, sustainable, and rewarding programs that are
beneficial to majority of the community members, have the capacity to on
good practices shared during my volunteering experience. The
volunteering experience has been a partnership in learning and exchange
of skills: The provincial staff I closely worked with where quick to
adopt to new proposed actions and are highly knowledgeable allowing for
exchange of skills and knowledge. While they gained from my
experience, skills, knowledge and creativity, I also equally gained from
their understanding, experience and knowledge. The biggest
challenge was to deal with community organizing, it is time consuming
but yet it is the immediate necessity before introducing skills and new
ideas. I desired to work with a community that has clearly defined its
needs, understands its priority needs and then demands government
intervention/livelihood assistance, with a clear expectation. The
process of assisting development of community groups has to be taken
through stages and is continuous until they graduate with products
selling in given markets, obtaining fair income and improved living
standards. My
volunteering experience has been worth the time with seeing the joy of
hopeful communities, increased understanding, shared knowledge,
introduced new technologies, best practices in micro scale enterprise
management and enterprise development assistance, enabling increased
productivity and increased income of targeted beneficiaries. GOD
BLESS AGUSAN DEL SUR – GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES Geoffrey
Philip Mwesigwa 5
July 2007 After having survived the one week in Manila, which was also my first week in the Philippines, with all its hectic and noise, I was happy to sit in the airplane once again and looked forward to the new city I would call home for the next one year: Tagbilaran City, capital of Bohol. Here, I was going to work with the research team of the local NGO and assist them mainly in a study on heavy metal pollution in a nearby river. Having just graduated, it was a great challenge to be involved in the planning and conduct of a research project that would contribute directly to the local community. But besides my responsibilities and tasks within the NGO, I got the wonderful and unique opportunity to get involved in the rapid assessment of Guimaras oil-spill affected waters, which the government instructed. Under the coordination of the Bureau of fisheries and Agricultural Resources (BFAR), SCUBA divers from SEAFDEC and from the Coastal Resource Management team of my volunteer sending organization, the DED, investigated the nature and extent of damage on subtidal coral reefs in one municipality in September 2006. After 4 days of diving and working for 12-16 hours a day, we presented the findings, which served as a basis for the formulation of rehabilitation and contingency plan, at a meeting held in Guimaras. Experts from different fields showed the results from their studies on socio-economic and health impacts as well as impacts on mangrove and seagrass habitats. In November 2006, another assessment on coral reefs was carried out, this time in the municipality Sibunag. The participation in these activities offered me not only a good training in the methodology of coral reef surveys, but also impressions and experiences on disaster management in the Philippines. During
my one one-year assignment I could increase my scientific knowledge,
improve my soft skills, and learn about the countries history, culture,
its political structure and the problems the Philippines as a developing
country has to cope with. But most important, I got to know
wonderful people that I will miss when I’m going back to Germany. By:
Saskia Otto, Junior Consultant of the DED (German Development
Service) 26
April 2007 A volunteer reaches out to change lives An
article written by Filipino VSO volunteer Gina Dizon about another
Filipino VSO volunteer, Ric Ontal
"He
is very good. He gives me food, allowance and my tuition fee for my
studies", Rabiul said, referring to Ric, his smile radiating in his
face. Rabiul
stayed with Ric for two years now as a house help, cleaning the flat and
cooking food. While he stayed with Ric, he went to school and was able
to finish a vocational computer course at Tala, Satkhira. Ric
came to know of Rabiul from his grandfather who works as a service staff
for Uttaran for 18 years now. He is the only child of a farm worker and
a house help for other homes. He lost his father who died of sickness
when he was one year old. His
mother raised him along with his uncle who works as a janitor in one
department with the government. Ric
said his intention of helping Rabiul get an education is to "break
the cycle of "peon" (male househelp) and "bua"
(female househelp) in the family. In Rabiul's family, he is the only one
who finished Higher School Certificate (HSC) and a post- HSC course.
After graduation, he applied for a job at Bangladesh Rural Academy
Committee (BRAC) and was able to land 2nd among 2000 applicants in the
screening process. Rabiul
now works as a Field Officer for BRAC after he graduated at Protassha
Computer School in 2005. He gives trainings for poor women and their
families at Nayarangonj before small loans are given out for the women
trainees as starting capital to engage in animal-rearing such as cows,
goats, and chickens. Asked
if he is enjoying his job, Rabiul said he is, yet he misses to practice
the computer course which he finished. Yet he feels proud of having
finished the technical course. "The computer course has helped me
find a job", he said. "My mother also does not work as a house
help anymore and she takes care of my grandfather in the house", he
added. His
job as a field officer reaching out to poor women folks must have
encouraged him to take up a four - year course in Sociology. Rabiul
hopes to enroll in a university and earn a four- year degree course. Ric,
from Philippines, worked as program coordinator for a church- based
social action work before he became a VSO volunteer in Bangladesh. He
had been in Bangladesh now for three years where he provides support to
Uttaran in setting up management and monitoring and evaluation systems. "I
consider this support I extended to Rabiul as a very significant part of
my stay here in Bangladesh and I feel proud of it", Ric said during
a sharing session among volunteers of VSO. With
Bangladesh considered as one of the poorest countries of the world where
almost half of its 140 million population live below the poverty line,
making a difference to the life of one person is already a meaningful
contribution. Indeed, reaching out to Rabiul is helping increase the 58%
literacy rate of Bangladesh while making a direct impact to the life of
a person. VSO
is all about "sharing skills and changing lives" Ric said.
"You can do things outside of your volunteer placement by reaching
out to practical instances", he said. 23
February 2007 Working Hand in HandCreating
a culture of peace is a priority for all of VSO’s partners on
Mindanao. Entrenched conflict over resources and land has led to whole
communities being displaced. Volunteers share skills in trauma
counselling, peace-building and community planning. While there can be
no development without peace, there can also be no peace without
development. REBUILDING COMMUNITIESPositioned high on a wooded hill, the cool climate of Marawi provides welcome relief from the humid heat of the rest of Mindanao. This is not the only contrast: Marawi is the first place where all women wear Islamic dress; the first place where, as foreigners, VSO volunteers need local escorts. The small colourful tricycles are similar to those seen throughout the rest of the country, except their names read ‘Amhamdilah’ and ‘Gift of Allah’ instead of the Catholic names found elsewhere. Bernadette
Kyanya and Edwin van Helmond, VSO volunteers featured in the following
articles, regularly make the 45-minute journey from coastal Iligan,
where they stay, to the Islamic city of Marawi, where their partner
organisations Kalimudan and Maradeca have offices. There are several
military checkpoints with armed officers on this road. Accompanying me
on the journey, Bernadette says she still finds it unnerving to see guns
every day after nine months on the island. “You get used to it after a
while,” replies Edwin, who adds, “Now I start noticing the different
types of guns.” Conflict
is embedded in the island’s history. For 40 years there have been
clashes here between Catholics and Muslims. In 2000, the Mindanao
Islamic Liberation Front occupied a town called Kauswagan and took over
the municipal hall. Coming in a series of clashes, the fighting
lasted two days, and spread throughout the region for In
one instance, two families had laid claim to 24 hectares of land since
the 1970s. Fighting resulted in a death at each coconut harvest, four
times a year. Since 2003, there has been a formal ceasefire, and another
NGO is hoping to buy the land to prevent further conflict. There
is also a long history of clan feuds between and among different Muslim
groups, which stretches back for hundreds, even thousands, of years.
Known as ‘rido’, these mafia-style feuds over honour can escalate
over almost anything; everyone on Mindanao can tell a different example.
In one recent case, a woman was raped; – and rather than report the
crime to court, her relatives killed the suspect. In another case,
a driver killed a child accidentally. Although the driver agreed to pay
for the burial after a negotiation, the child’s family ended up
kidnapping and killing the negotiator, who was a relative of the driver. NGO
Maradeca has initiated a simple and effective new scheme to tackle One
of the consequences of the conflict on Mindanao has been people losing
their homes and livelihoods. An estimated 78,000 people were displaced
in 2000 alone. Given the combination of the recent conflict and a
cultural tendency towards revenge crimes, one of VSO’s main priorities
on Mindanao has been to build a culture of peace. NGO
Kalimudan runs a settlement for people displaced by the conflict near
the village of Pantar. VSO helped build 36 of the 64 shelters and
provided livestock. Kalimudan
enabled Bolawen and Urac Macaraya to come to the settlement with their
three daughters and two sons. In many ways, their story is typical: they
left their home in Kauswagan on 10 May, 2000 with the outbreak of war,
and haven’t been back since. Although they have titles to 12 hectares
of land, another family is now living in their home. They don’t feel
it’s safe to go back. For now, the family lives in a small plywood hut
with two rooms. The flimsy shelter has a bamboo floor and corrugated
iron roof. Decorated with sequinned cloths, there is a piece of matting
for a bed, and a few shelves and a packing case is the only furniture.
As with the rest of the settlement, one of their biggest difficulties is
the lack of access to water. Bolawen
and Urac have a small income from planting vegetables and corn, but not
enough to send their children to school. Despite this, Bolawen, the only
university graduate in the settlement, is helping Kalimudan run adult
literacy classes for the members of the community. The couple are
grateful to Kalimudan, who provided them with clothes, kitchen utensils
and one goat for every five families. Another
NGO and VSO partner, Birthdev, also carries out work with the survivors
of armed conflict. Birthdev’s initial focus was on trauma counselling,
and has now widened to include community planning. Cristina Lomoljo,
Birthdev’s director, talks about the village of Napo, which saw
conflict as recently as 2003. She
says, “In this period, people were having difficulty sleeping and
reacting strongly to noise. I remember there was one time when they had
their children dressed ready for evacuation all the time – even at
night.” VSO
volunteer social worker Jim Stanton, 62, came out to work with Birthdev
for a year, but soon extended his placement to two. Jim has highly
specialised trauma debriefing skills from his experience setting up a
disaster emergency response team in North Yorkshire in England. On
Mindanao, he has helped Birthdev train six new counsellors in trauma
debriefing. Jim says, “The team will train NGO workers and members of
the community how to help those affected by trauma. People really want
these skills.” Jim has already volunteered twice before, in Lithuania
and in Namibia. He says, “I think the challenge of VSO is brilliant.
Here I use my skills everyday, and am respected for them.” Asked about
what trauma counselling involves, Jim replies, “With trauma, time is
not a healer. The way to deal with it is to ask some very straight
questions and acknowledge you can’t change some things: the war did
happen, people did see some very distressing things, but you can change
the way it affects you now.” With this emphasis on looking
forward, Birthdev carried out a community planning exercise in 2000. At
least 15 per cent of the community in Napo took part, recording their
visions of how they would like their life to be. They identified a need
for new houses. Birthdev helped build 23 affordable houses on higher
ground, as the area is vulnerable to flash flooding. Sibibi Martiniana,
whose house was built in October, says, “I was part of the planning
process, and feel happy now.” PEACE-KEEPING
IN PRACTICE The
222 square miles of Lake Lanao, in the north-west corner of Mindanao,
have always influenced the identity and lives of the Maranao people. The
word Maranao means ‘people of the lake’, and for as long as the lake
has existed – an estimated 10,000 years – people have come to the
water for ritual washing, to swim and to drink. The freshwater lake, the
second largest in the Philippines, has irrigated the soil for farming
and provided fish for the Maranao to eat and sell. Their houses are
built on bamboo stilts to prevent flooding, and a rich culture of
weaving and music takes its inspiration from the pattern of the lake’s
tributaries and waves. We
met VSO volunteer marine biologist Edwin van Helmond in the town of
Iligan, – a 45 minute drive from the lake. Edwin is coming to the end
of a two-year stay in Mindanao, and also to the end of a one-year survey
measuring fish stocks in Lake Lanao and the fishermen’s income in high
and low seasons. Having already conducted a similar survey in Vietnam,
he says, “It’s the type of work you can do if you only have a small
budget. The key is to involve local fishermen by demonstrating that
documenting the situation will help them to sustain their livelihood and
earn more in the future.” Carrying
out the survey has provided stark evidence that, while there were
originally 18 different native species of a carp-like fish, now just one
fish – tilapia – makes up 95 per cent of stocks. We know for a
fact that fish stocks are being
depleted,” says Edwin, who works closely with his counterpart Salicop
Disamburun – ‘Saldi’ for short – at local NGO Kalimudan, which means
‘meeting’, ‘festival’ and ‘blessing’. The
campaigning group, headed by prominent Maranao activist Ding Cali,
claims that the provision of basic services here is poor because of the
absence of government institutions. Kalimudan’s
peace, health and livelihood projects all aim to ‘promote empowered
communities that care for their environment’. Although
the 4,537 fishermen are currently catching enough fish to live on, the
unbalanced ecosystem causes Edwin serious concern. “Humans
have destroyed the evolution of 10,000 years
in just 60 years,” he says. “Now only two endemic species remain.”
Having a virtual monoculture of tilapia – a relatively recently
introduced breed – leaves the fish vulnerable to disease and so
threatens the fishermen’s livelihoods. The day after meeting Edwin, we plan to visit fisherman Dili Logun, who has been leading the collection of data for the survey. We stay in the forested campus of Mindanao State University just outside Marawi, in order to be up at | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Before,
you hardly see the office open and no staff or volunteer is around to
attend to office duties, but things have changed since I arrived.
However, my allowance is being exhausted from taking care of everybody's
lunch! They are all local volunteers, which means they are not getting
paid. It would be hard to ask them to bring their own lunch because they
come from far villages and can hardly even provide food for their
families.
Twenty
year old Muhammad Rabiul Islam smiled when asked how Ric is treating
him. Ric Ontal, a Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) volunteer works as
Programme Management and Monitoring and Evaluation adviser to Uttaran, a
social development organization based at Satkhira, Bangladesh.