Brangay nutrition and other happenings

                Things have been getting busy here in the Philippines. First some bad news. Dr. Gerry Ortega, a journalist here in Palawan, was assassinated last week. He spoke out against logging and mining here in Palawan, and, for now, the powerful interests have silenced him.  But he is not the first, nor do I believe he will be the last to stand up for what is right despite the dangers that it may bring. Send your good thoughts towards his family – they are going through some rough times.

On a side note I would like to add that I did not find out about this assassination from the local newspaper. Within the hour of the assassination- in fact it was around noon on Monday, January 24^th when in the teachers’ room at PSU, phones erupted with the familiar beeping of incoming text messages. That is how I found out this man was assassinated. The way news travels and relationships are intertwined on the island of Palawan is something I have never seen. There are about 250,000 people in Puerto Princesa alone, and yet it seems everyone I spoke to heard about the assassination by the end of the day- before the news paper could print it. Also, after talking with people about the tragedy, is seemed everyone knew a family member of the Ortega’s. For such a large population, people are very connected here.

                Lately, I’ve been searching for organizations and people that are interested in collaborating on projects. So far, I have had a few leads and we will see where they go. I am working with another volunteer running a class once a week for three hours teaching out of school youth functional English skills with some character building games intertwined. It is through an organization called Life Church and they have an entire program aimed to give these kids business skills to help them compete not only in the local market, but hopefully globally. We have separated the class based on their ability since we have students who cannot speak a word of English, and we also have students that are quite advanced. It has been a great way to tap into the youth that cannot afford the tuition at PSU. It has also been great because I get to incorporate real ESL strategies in a functional setting. At the University, theory is often taught over application and so it is refreshing to teach applicable skills. We do dialogues, games, skits, etc. It reminds me why I like working with teens- they are hilarious and creative!!

                The other day, I attended an HIV/AIDS seminar sponsored by USAID which had the goal of inviting all organizations who do work in the health sectors to discuss the current issues and foster private/public collaboration to help solve these issues. The seminar was mostly in Tagalog but I would say I understood 60% of it. That’s because they were speaking very clear Tagalog- kind of like the clear English we would use in a formal presentation. For the majority of my time here, I have been struggling to understand conversational Tagalog, which, like our conversational English, is often very fast and not enunciated very clearly. I surprised myself on how much I could understand. I learned a lot about the current sexual health situation. You can imagine the issues the Philippines is having with little to no health education mandated in their school systems. Things we take for granted of knowing, for instance, how you to prevent pregnancy, is just not common knowledge here.

                After the program Life church held a seminar to launch their program irespectlife. Since abortion is illegal and EXTREMELY dangerous (even fatal) in the Philippines, the church is also trying to get involved by having the out of school youth that I teach mentor other students giving the out of school youth leadership skills while providing the barangays they visit a more approachable person to talk to about your the sensitive subject of sexual health. It was a great program. But what I loved seeing was the students I have gotten to know the past couple of weeks on stage playing guitar, drums etc and singing- While others were showcasing what the church has taught them about running a business by having food stands and clothing stands with local products that they learned how to make. There were also students running games because, let’s face it, an event here wouldn’t be complete without some games. The students seemed so excited to show what they have made  and  what they have learned and they were all conversing with me in ENGLISH (which of course is accompanied by a small giggle fit). It was a rewarding night that I cannot describe enough to give it justice. It’s really the little things that mean a lot here.

                Matt and I also recently attended a Barangay Nutrition Session by an organization called Roots of Health. They provide health education, healthy food and activities for Barangays and other organizations. In this particular barangay known as Pulanglupa (or “Red Place”), they used to mine for Mercury in the area so the water and most likely the soil are contaminated. The diet in the area is known to be low in nutrition, but they have seen much improvement in the health of the residents since conducting sessions 2-3 times a week. It was a great experience attending this session and it was a much needed break from some of the frustrations the first few months as a PCV tends to bombard you with.  Unfortunately our camera is not working right now so we had to borrow these pics from the Facebook page of Roots of Health.  (Thanks to Roots of Health for posting the pics!) I also attended a workshop at Western Philippines University this organization gave on reproductive health for students which was great to see.

Krystal at Barangay Nutrion Session at Pulang Lupa

Matt at the Barangay Nutition Session in Pulang Lupa

                There is a program put on by Peace corps called Tudlo Mindanao, where we bring teachers from Mindanao (a place where PC does not go bc of security issues) to Manila and conduct a training. Unfortunately, I was not chosen to do assist with this training (there are a few every year) but I instead I get to attend a four day hike with the Life Church going from the city proper to Sabang (about a 2 hour car ride). Its a hike that helps raise money and provide activities for out of school youth. It is how the program for the Out of school youth started a year ago, and they are continuing the tradition to try to help more struggling youth.  I am excited to attend this and get to know my community and the students I mentor even more. Plus during the hike they did tree plantings and other community activities along the way so that would be fun. Then in Sabang, which is home to the famous Underground River, we can relax at a beautiful beach and hike in the gorgeous forest (that is, if we aren’t already hiked out by then). It should be a good time.

                In a nutshell, everyone is happy and healthy and we’re finding our place in this crazy new life. I think its safe to say we miss everyone at home and some things about living in New England (especially snow!) but I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world!

Ingat!