Community Work with Orphans in the Philippines

  Philippines

• Visayas: 
Tacloban City

Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks and 9-12 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: 2 - 12 week placements throughout the year

Description: Feel like putting the community first?

Working with underprivileged children south east of Manila, your efforts on this project will go a long way to reassuring these children that they have a future to look forward to, and we think that's a pretty nice way of spending a holiday. All the projects have an element of English teaching but, knowing kids, a range of arts, crafts, games and songs will no doubt be on the agenda too! With our TEFL training included with the trip we'll give you enough ideas to use up all their energy, and on an island as fascinating as this you'll have plenty to spend yours on, with a variety of stunning scenery, excellent diving and beautiful beaches that make this one of the best kept secrets in Asia.

Find out more about i-to-i, watch their short video here: http://video.i-to-i.com/site-videos/video.html

Highlights: What were the highlights of your trip that you couldn't wait to tell your friends about?

"I couldn't wait to tell everyone about how different the Philippines is. It sounds weird, but I had never been away before on my own, so I couldn't wait to tell everyone about the culture. I remember the first meal I had was breakfast, which consisted of fried fish and rice. I thought this was sooo strange, but after a few days I loved it. I remember trying a few of the weird delicacies that they also had in the Philippines such as Balut (which is a fertilized duck egg) and snakes heart. I also wanted to tell everyone about how amazing my homestay family was, the mum (Nanay Fe) treated me like I was one of her own, and looked after me so well, I got sick when I was there due to the change in food and she looked after me so well, we write to each other all the time still and we send photos back and forth to each other. I couldn't wait to tell all my friends about all the volunteers I had met out there, from all over the world, I made some friends for life out there, and I will never forget them. Some of them I meet up with regularly." (Ashley Newton)

Qualifications: Volunteers at this project should have a genuine love of children and young people. Although you do not require any special skills, any experience working with children or young people would be valuable. Volunteers must be able to use their initiative and be motivated to work without guidance. Volunteers should be patient, compassionate, resourceful and imaginative.

Cost in US$: USD 1145.00 for 2 weeks, USD 150.00 for every week thereafter

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: You may become involved in a variety of activities, including homework support, arts and crafts activities, games, songs and social education. All of the projects involve an element of English teaching, but the amount required and the method of teaching will vary from project to project. Your schedule will be flexible and will depend on the needs of the project. You may be asked to help the staff members improve their English or IT skills, or you may become involved with fundraising or improving the appearance of the project.

Age Range: 18 years old and above

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network

i-to-i Meaningful Travel's Mission Statement: Founded in 1994, i-to-i is an award-winning organization providing unique opportunities for you to travel, work and live abroad. Thousands of travelers aged 18 to 80 have joined our volunteer vacations and over 50,000 have learned to Teach English as a Foreign Language through our tailor-made TEFL courses. With over 400 projects on 4 continents, you can join the worldwide i-to-i volunteer community on an extended adventure in areas such as teaching, community development, sports coaching, conservation, building or internships in tourism, marketing, journalism, or health.

Year Founded: 1994