VOLUNTEER IN Philippines

Children are the most vulnerable group in Philippines. AIDS, destitution, war and poverty threats the life of many Filipino children and as the result the number of orphan is continually increasing. It is estimated that there are 2 million orphans in Philippines. They lack the basic right, education, health and security. Many community organizations have established orphanage centers in the rural and urban areas of Philippines to provide shelter and education to the growing number of orphans. Children in orphanages are feeling safe and getting homey environment because orphans are trying hard to provide care and education to the most destitute, abandoned and discarded street orphans who are suffering from malnutrition and they are vulnerable to many other problems till their life.

Asia Horizon cooperates with various orphanages in Philippines to improve the lives of some of the most neglected children. These disadvantaged children need attention, love, care, and the opportunity to advance their education. Tour mission of this project is to improve the quality of life for all orphan children, to give them the life free from poverty and exploitation. Being an orphanage volunteer in Philippines, you can make a great difference in the life of these deprived and destitute children

Volunteer’s Activities
You will be working 25-35 hours per week with 45 to 100 orphan children in an orphanage. As a volunteer, you will play major role as a big brother or sister to the children.  You will take care of the children, help them to play, assist them in feeding and conduct educational exercises. You will also help to develop creative programs such as art, music, dance, sports, health and hygiene and cooking. Furthermore, you will assist the local staffs in administration work where possible. Working in an orphanage gives you a wonderful opportunity to share your love and skills with poor children.

Project Skills Required
There are no specific requirements for working in orphanage. However, you must be at least 18 years old and should have knowledge of spoken English for volunteering. In addition, you should have genuine interest, love and passion for serving poor kids. You should also be flexible, committed to work, open minded and self-motivated to learn and serve to the people of new culture and religion.

Arrangement of Room/Food/Supervision
Asia Horizon makes an appropriate provision for food, room and supervision for its volunteers from the very beginning of their arrival to the country to the end of their project. You will get a brief orientation about the premise and the schedule of the program, living with the Filipino host family is a great opportunity to understand the Filipino life, language (especially Filipino), culture, tradition and people. In your volunteering programs, volunteers’ accommodation and food management is provided by a host family and in the placement, cooks prepare a variety of Filipino food agahan or almusal (breakfast), tanghalian( lunch) and hapunan (dinner). A typical Philippine meal consists at least three meals a day served with boiled or fried rice, corn or other popular dishes such as adobo (a meat stew made from either pork or chicken), lumpia( meat or vegetable rolls), pancit(noodle dish) and lechon( roasted pig). You can also get the food from outside if you wish; there are numbers of affordable restaurants and hotels in Philippines. You can’t expect a luxurious bedroom while staying with the host family. However, volunteers joining Asia Horizon-Philippines’s orphanage program stay with the children in a hostel. Asia Horizon arranges a separate room along with a communal bath with cold water and fan for volunteers in both the host families and hostel accommodations but sometimes they may share the room if the number is large. Volunteers are expected to share same life style while staying with the host family; they may join the daily activities such as cooking, cleaning, washing and so on. Though the local fare will be provided twice a day, you will really enjoy the way of Filipino hospitality and generosity to the guest.  

Project Location
Placements of our Philippines program are located in nearby places of Tacloban City. Tacloban is the provincial capital of Leyte, and is the regional economic, cultural and tourist center of Eastern Visayas. The city has many interesting cultural and historical sites such as Leyte Capitol Building, DZR Airport, Tacloban City Hall, San Pedro Bay, Tacloban Seaport and Madonna of Japan. You will have the access to internet café, malls and shopping centers.

Visa Information
Volunteers are allowed to enter in Philippines without a visa if the duration is less than 21 days. If you intend to stay longer, you must contact to the Filipino embassy to procure a visa: if you decide to lengthen your stay, you can easily extend the visa up to 59 days for P3500. The amount will be decreased if you like to extent the visa more than 59 days.

Project Information
Program Date:  Asia Horizon volunteer Program begins with your arrival at the airport in Manila on Sunday, the day before of your project. A one-day orientation about the program including project sites, types of work, local food, climate, safety issues, health issues, culture people  etc. will be provided in Manila office before you start the project.

Program Fees: Our program fee is 80-100% less than most international volunteer organizations.

Living, Working and Safety Issue
Living and working in a poor and developing country is really challenging. It demands courage, some experiences and the ability to adapt. It can be overwhelming to adjust in a completely new environment. The climate, food, and atmosphere – everything is different than your hometown. You will be faced with a harsh social reality every day of your volunteer work and experience things a tourist never sees.