Volunteerism - on making THE difference
by KLARA SUHERMAN
Have you ever wondered what roles you play in the society or what contributions you can make for the less fortunate? Well, my journey to Tarabangan village in the Philippines started from this thought.
You will take sometime to locate Tarabangan village on the map. Situated in Prieto Diaz municipality in the province of Sorsogan, Tarabangan is a small, poor coastal town which often makes news because it is a frequent subject of a fierce typhoon.
Organised through a Philippine's based non-profit organization call Gawad Kalinga or GK (meaning 'to give care' ) - a non-profit organisation which started in 1995 by a Catholic lay community for the work they did with the juvenile gangs in the biggest slums in Metro Manila, the aim of the 6-day trip to Tarabangan was to provide exposure to donators the actual living conditions of the beneficiaries and to extend their parts in helping the community beyond financial means. Twenty-seven of us signed up, and had one of the most memorable experience in our lives!
Hold on, I was getting ahead of myself. First, let me tell you about the journey itself. Tarabangan is accessible by two flights, and two-hour convoy car ride. Total time for the journey? Ten hours. On our way we stopped over at the mayor's humble shop house - like the man himself, before continuing our journey with the mayor following us behind riding his motorcycle.
The first thing that caught my eyes when reaching Tarabangan village was the colourful houses the people there have. Cheery colors represent 'happiness', I was told. I was also impressed by the neatness of their garden and the cleanliness of the house and its surrounding. Each house is equal in size - about 4 x 4 meters, and it contains one bedroom and one bathroom - irrespective the number of people in the family. The kitchen is built outside, at the back of the house, along with a sink to wash. There is no running water so it has to be manually pumped out of a well.
After the briefing from the mayor on our agenda for the next 5 days - work, harvest festival and trips to a bat cave and the beach; we chose the family that we would like to stay with. My friend Patricia, and I choose a family of 3 -a young couple in their twenties with their 2-year-old daughter. Their pink color house is situated on a slope of a hill - a good choice as it turned out because of the gentle, cooling breezes at night. The house is furnished only with a long wooden bench to sit on, a mat to sleep on and one light bulb. Like many breadwinners in the community, the husband is a fisherman.
Work started on first day. Each team was assigned with a local worker. The beneficiaries assisted if they were not scheduled to do communal work such as tending the green house and cleaning up the communal area. The work involved carrying cements and bricks, cementing, brick laying, digging up holes up on a hill to build a foundation for a chapel and painting the wall. The work was very labor intensive as there were no machineries. Human chain was formed to transport cement and bricks. The team spirit was overwhelming. With the music blasting on the background during the day, it made the days work under the burning sun manageable and fun.
The writer, Klara Suherman (leftmost), during her last volunteer stint in the Philippines
Although we didn't fully complete the houses by the end of our trip, the repetitive abundance of thanks we received from the beneficiaries, the mayor and his wife; and the governor brought tears to our eyes as well as theirs. Most of us were very touched by their high appreciation for what we think only little things to do and contribute. One thing that they did not realize was the lesson we took away from the experience - to live modestly, to appreciate the simple and basic things in life that we often taken for granted; and to learn how to let go. Sure on our first day, getting out of our comfort zone was not an easy task but humans are adaptable human being if we just learn how to let go our worries.
I like doing charity work - either by raising funds, donating money/goods or doing the actual work itself. The way I see it, its the least we can do to help the less fortunate ones.
Before Sorsogan, I often did volunteer works, but most of them were organised by my company - Standard Chartered Bank, e.g. - a day helping out in Mindsville, a charity-organisation for the mentally challenged children. We spend the whole day with the kids doing activities such as sports, cleaning the beach (East Coast Park), and so on. This is an annual corporate responsibility event that my company organises.
Another one that I used to be involved in is the Green Volunteer group which based in Pulau Ubin. I don't take part physically anymore, but sometimes I donate items for the group to take to less developed countries such as vitamins, and mosquito nets. I'm a bit of a greeny and I love animals too (except cockroaches and lizards).
As for the home-building volunteer work hat I did at Sorsogon, it was my first. I had always wanted to do it but it's quite expensive doing it from Australia where I was based. We needed to raise about $5,000 to cover the trip as well as the program itself. I must say, the trip to Sorsogon is definitely much tougher than spending the whole day looking after the mentally challenged people as it touches one's living comfort zone - no water, no electricity, need to squat when going to the toilet, dust everywhere etc..; and you are often 'stuck' with strangers for days.
But will I do it again? Yes, I will because it's a rewarding experience. Both to beneficiaries and to myself.
The idea of volunteerism is about giving of yourself to what you deem is a worthy cause. It doesn't have to be to for somebody who is physically poorer than you. In today's context there are people who are impoverished in many areas - from wisdom, to strength in character. It may also means volunteering to a non-human-focused cause such as climate change, or stopping animal cruelty. The main idea is to have the passion for something outside of personal (monetary) gain and working just for your mere belief in what is right in life, whatever that may be.
While you sit in front of your computer monitor right now, the world is battling one of the worst crisis ever in modern human history. Global wealth dries up, millions of jobs disappear, and all of us are affected in one way or another. Non-profit and charity organisations too have been hit by the recession. Some such as the Red Cross expect their donations to fall by 20%, while some others have to resort to cut down on their services due to lack of funding.
Now, isn't it ironic that there will be less of such charity-oriented services in the time when they are needed the most?
In such times of crisis, it is only natural to first and foremost, think about ourselves. But despite this, I believe we all realise we are still much more fortunate than many people out there. Our resources such as time and financial means may be limited. But it just takes a little effort to actually reach out and start making a difference. Every little effort helps indeed. Just remember: You're never too poor not to give and never too rich not to receive.
For a better world, cheers!
Klara Suherman is an Indonesian professional in Singapore.
Footnotes:
- Over the years GK has extended its role to provide the land for the landless, homes for the homeless; to conduct livelihood and skills training; and to provide start up capital and materials for micro-finance and micro-enterprise to develop self-sustained communities. Its aim is to provide the poorest of the poor to bring dignity to people in impoverished communities and its programs have reached other developing countries such as Indonesia and cater beyond Christian communities. To know more, please click on the link: http://www.gawadkalinga.org/whatisgk.htm
- IPA has new volunteers! To see who has joined our dynamic team of Indonesian professionals as volunteers in this association, please click HERE and scroll down to see the new "Volunteers" list in red font colour. Interested to volunteer in IPA and do not know where to start? Contact johannes.wijaya@indoprof.com now for an evaluation of your interests and strengths and be amazed by how you can actually contribute to create a more cohesive Indonesian professionals' community in Singapore, and expand your horizons and skills at the same time!
- Thinking of volunteering in Singaporean organisations? You can check out the National Council of Social Services (NCSS) - http://www.ncss.org.sg/home/index.asp