Why Am I In Cebu?

Overview:

I'm travelling to Cebu (in the Philippines) to volunteer with the Voluntary Service Overseas in partnership with the Gaulandi Volunteer Service Programme. I will be part of a team of UK and national volunteers working on a project call 'Disability- Deaf Inclusion and Awarness'. The project officially starts on January 8th 2015 and will last for 3 months. During my stay I will work as part of a team improving the lives of Deaf persons. Our aims are to: 

• Improve the access to basic services
• Advocate for equal education and employment opportunities
• Advance Deaf persons participation in the development processes
• Reduce social stigma surrounding those with hearing impairments
• Create acceptance, integration and participation of Deaf persons within their communities and society as a whole

Why Cebu and The Philippines?

The VSO offer volunteer placements in over 30 countries in Africa and Asia. While I would have been happy giving my time and skills to any one of those countries I chose the Philippines for personal reasons. I was born in the UK but I am half Filipina on my mother’s side. I have grown up listening to my mother speak Tagalog (the main dialect in the Philippines), eaten its food (sometimes to the squeals of disgust of my British counterparts, because who eats noodles for breakfast right?), sat listening to my mother cry over family deaths; wholly preventable if there were access to basic free health care, visited my cousins in the shanty towns of Bacolod and researched Filipino history from its colonization of the Spanish to the transition from Marcos dictatorship to a democracy.The Philippines has thus always been part of my life growing up but I want to explore and experience my cultural heritage further.

While my visits to the Philippines total three in the last 22 years, on my trips I have seen the poverty faced by millions of Filipinos and recognise some of the contributing factors. Each time I have gone there have been feelings of guilt and helplessness when faced with the stark reality of poverty. Up until recently there hasn't really been much I could do to help. I donated my mini scooter and gameboy (probably a little too reluctantly) to my cousins when I was younger. Then when I started working I would contribute money to Box Aid during every humanitarian disaster.  It is only now with a degree, several years of volunteer work behind me and a whole free year that I know I have the skills and experience to help make a difference.