Information on this page is taken directly from my Volunteer Assignment Description and includes:

• History of the Program
• Your Primary Duties
• Opportunities for Secondary Projects
• Working Conditions
  • Available Resources
  • Location of Job
  • Work Hours
  • Cultural Attitudes and Customs in the Workplace
  • Dress Code
• Training for Your Job
• Living Conditions
• Potential Challenges and Rewards

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

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HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM

The program in the Philippines is the second oldest Peace Corps program. It began with the arrival of 123 Peace Corps Volunteers who were assigned with the Bureau of Public Education in October 1961. Since then, the program has diversified into almost all areas of development work including agriculture, forestry, small business management, health, urban and regional planning, water/sanitation, marine and freshwater fisheries, and all areas and levels of education. In June 1990, the Peace Corps program in the Philippines was suspended due to a communist rebel threat. It was resumed almost two years later. To date, more than 7,500 Volunteers have served in the Philippines since 1961.

The integrated protected areas system project started with a park management focus with the assignment of parks/wildlife Peace Corps Volunteers in parks under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 1993. By 1995, Peace Corps/Philippines realized that a pure park management approach was inadequate and that a community extension effort was needed in buffer zone communities surrounding the parks. Subsequently, the integrated protected areas system project went into two assignment tracks: (1) park management and (2) community extension. Peace Corps Volunteers assigned in buffer zone communities had the triple responsibility of promoting environmental education, pro-conservation livelihood, and youth development. By early 1997, integrated protected areas system Volunteers were successful in environmental education and youth development while the parks/wildlife Peace Corps Volunteers assigned with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources were experiencing job dissatisfaction. In July 1997, following consultants' recommendations, the two assignment tracks were merged into one with emphasis in promoting environmental awareness. Beginning in 1998, the integrated protected areas system project started assigning Peace Corps Volunteers with municipal governments and Department of Tourism offices, which were interested in starting ecotourism projects. In September 2000, a second evaluation of the project was conducted which produced several excellent recommendations, including retaining the youth and environmental awareness initiatives, strengthening the livelihood component and adopting a more descriptive project name – community-based conservation of important biodiversity areas. The change from integrated protected areas systems to community-based conservation of important biodiversity areas will take effect in April 2003 during a project stakeholders' meeting where participants will review, revise, and adopt a final version of the community-based conservation of important biodiversity areas project plan.

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YOUR PRIMARY DUTIES

As a protected area community educator, your main responsibility will be promoting conservation-minded behavior in biodiversity sites. You will be linked up and have part-time involvement (typically, 1 to 2 days per week) with a school within or near a biodiversity area. As an integrated protected area system Volunteer, you will have a variety of work settings – in the school where you will be introducing environmental education activities in school groups and clubs; in the community where you will be promoting livelihood and youth/environment activities; and in the host agency office where you will periodically report. Your work will be unstructured, variable, and will involve a variety of options including:

• facilitating school-sponsored environmental programs, campaigns (such as clean-up and anti-littering drives), and events (such as Earth Day);
• strengthening school groups and clubs and enlisting their participation in conservation action;
• enlisting youth groups in conservation action such as tree-planting, mangrove re-planting, trail building, park or beach clean-ups;
• organizing youth camps, youth conservation projects, and trainings for youth club members with the long-term objective of building environmental commitment and capability;
• promoting solid-waste management awareness and practices in schools – e.g., recycling, composting, bio-intensive gardening – and spinning off successful school or youth projects into small scale individual household behavior-changing campaigns within the community
• creating site-specific environmental education modules and organizing workshops to train community educators and other service providers (e.g., teachers, non-governmental organization extensionists);
• organizing livelihood/entrepreneurship workshops
• assisting family business groups, cooperatives, livelihood associations in obtaining loans and grants for their projects
• assisting park authorities, non-governmental organizations and municipal governments in implementing ecotourism (e.g., preparing promotional materials) and agroforestry (e.g., nursery establishment and reforestation) projects; and
• establishing an environmental/cultural exchange program between Filipino and American schools near natural areas.

The above activities represent a menu of interventions you might pursue in your site. The actual mix of integrated protected areas system interventions will depend on the goals of your host agency, the resources available for those activities, the work priorities of your supervisor and co-workers, your own interests and skills, and the general circumstances within your site

Peace Corps/Philippines believes that capacity building – leaving our Filipino counterparts and communities more capable and empowered – is one of the greatest legacies of a Peace Corps Volunteer assignment. While this is a somewhat intangible goal and far more difficult and complicated to achieve than just completing a project, we believe it is far more important. The activities you get involved with, therefore, cannot be yours alone. You must build them around interests and perceived needs of your host community and counterparts. The success of a Peace Corps Volunteer assignment is not measured in terms of projects of individual accomplishments but by the impact the Volunteer has on the skills, attitudes, knowledge, and behavior of the people with whom he or she lives and works. To paraphrase the Chinese philosopher Lao Tse, the role of the Volunteer is not to give away the proverbial fish but to teach others how to catch it.

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OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECONDARY PROJECTS

Aside from your community involvement related to your primary assignment, you may want to get involved with other aspects of life in your community. Peace Corps service is a full-time commitment. Most Volunteers get deeply involved in their communities through a wide range of projects which extend beyond their primary assignment. These may be as varied as working with a village association in building a shallow well, developing a community library, establishing a forest nursery, or promoting other income generating projects. Many of these secondary projects can be funded by Peace Corps/Philippines' managed grant programs provided that they meet certain grant criteria.

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WORKING CONDITIONS

Available Resources

Most integrated protected areas system Volunteers work in sites where the resources are minimal. For example, your host agency will operate on a shoestring budget which, at times, is only enough to pay salaries. Although environmental non-governmental organizations may have access to domestic and international donor support, project grants are renewed annually and there are large time lags before approved grant funds are actually released. Also, schools lack infrastructure (classrooms, libraries), textbooks, teaching aids, school supplies and, most importantly, teachers – hence the great temptation to utilize you as a substitute teacher. Throughout your service as a Volunteer, you will ultimately have to rely on your skills in fundraising, networking, grant writing, and project management. More importantly, you will have to impart these skills to your Filipino counterparts.

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Location of Job

Prospective Volunteers need to know the realities of a Peace Corps assignment in the Philippines. Firstly, you will not have a choice of biodiversity sites. Integrated protected areas systems site assignments are primarily based on the objective skill needs of requesting host agencies. Most assignments (more than 80%) focus on conserving terrestrial biodiversity, so Peace Corps/Philippines will have great difficulty placing people with a strong preference to work on a marine biodiversity assignment. Although personal preferences of Volunteers are considered, they are only given secondary importance in the site placement process. Secondly, not all integrated protected areas system sites are remote and pristine sites. Your site of assignment could be any of the following: small island, mountains, upland rice terraces, lowland residual forest, caves and limestone karst, volcano, upland lake, and historical park. Moreover, some Peace Corps assignments are actually near highly urbanized centers where your host agency office may be located and where you will have to report periodically. Some sites are degraded habitats and highly populated. Your flexibility and dedication as a Peace Corps Volunteer will be tested and will be manifested by your willingness to accept any site of assignment.

The Peace Corps takes Volunteer safety and security very seriously. In fact, it is our highest priority. Before each Volunteer goes to his or her site, Peace Corps staff and host country agencies undertake multiple reviews at the local and national level to ensure that the site assignment poses no undue risks. With Peace Corps staff, the American Embassy in Manila approves and reviews sites. Supervisors and host families are directly tasked with Volunteer safety, an obligation that is taken very seriously.

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Work Hours

Your work will be with your host agency and with the community where you will be residing. You will need to spend time in both. Your host agency will determine the time schedule but should also take into account your input as well as the needs of the community. A typical weekly schedule consists of: Three days community work or fieldwork, one day of environmental education either in a school or civic organization, and one day reporting to the host agency. In practice, however, you will have a great degree of freedom determining your work priorities and schedule. Nonetheless, you need to resist the temptation to regard yourself as an independent agent of development and go off on your own without notifying anybody of your work schedule. In the Philippines, leave-taking, rendering reports, and deferring to your supervisors and superiors is essential. By not practicing these workplace norms, you risk alienating your colleagues and supervisors.

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Cultural Attitudes and Customs in the Workplace

Many biodiversity sites are minimally funded. Government staff is poorly and often irregularly paid and may not have the training of the motivation to do biodiversity conservation work. In general, Peace Corps/Philippines places you in government offices and non-governmental organizations which have staff who are more energetic, more knowledgeable, and more committed to coastal resource management work. However, things are still likely to work much more slowly than what you are used to back home. There is a casual attitude towards appointments, deadlines, work responsibilities, and timelines and it takes far longer to get even simple things done. Some integrated protected areas system Volunteers will experience more bureaucracy and a greater emphasis on form (paperwork) over substance. Still others may observe incidences of petty graft, nepotism, or lack of motivation and professionalism among colleagues. Moreover, your host agency supervisor will be responsible for other projects besides the ones you are working on. Thus, you will not get day-to-day direction from him/her and you will have to structure much of your own work. Your host agency may or may not assign you an official co-worker. If you do not have a co-worker, you will need to develop a co-worker relationship with one or more of the progressive-thinking people in your area.

Negative as these realities seem, you must remember that the Philippines is a developing country and that these realities are part of the reason why Peace Corps Volunteers are needed. Your biggest challenge, therefore, will be to work within the system to stimulate awareness, interest, and commitment to coastal resource management work so that your host agency counterparts and your constituents adopt and internalize professionalism and pro-conservation practices. The most successful Peace Corps Volunteers are those who integrate into their host agency and make their contribution within the existing agenda of their host agency. Cross-culturally adept Volunteers recognize that Filipinos place a high value on personal relationships and camaraderie. These volunteers give priority to building and nurturing personal relationships and alliances to marshal support for projects rather than appealing to purely work-oriented interests. In the Philippines, cultural sensitivity and interpersonal social skills are what parlay the effective use of one's technical skills into all-around success as a Volunteer. In other words, if Filipinos like you they will want to work with you. Having strong interpersonal skills – being a "people person" – will help you to succeed in the Philippines.

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Dress Code

Philippine culture, despite considerable western influence, can be conservative outside of large cities. Short and slippers (e.g., flip-flops), unruly long hair, or untidy appearance are strongly discouraged, as it will prevent people from getting to know and accept you, thereby limiting your effectiveness. Sleeveless shirts, plunging necklines, short skirts and shorts, and tight-fitting or skimpy clothing for female Volunteers invite unwanted attention. Volunteers are expected to dress appropriately at all times, especially when attending meetings, social occasions, or when visiting offices or working in schools. A good rule to follow is to be observant, dress according to the occasion, and take your dress cues from the people around you, i.e. high school teachers, host agency co-workers, and the community members. Of course, when you are on fieldwork, you can dress much more casually and comfortably.

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TRAINING FOR YOUR JOB

You take a large responsibility for you own learning in the Peace Corps. In order for training to be successful, you must come with a serious commitment to work hard during what will be a very intense few months. Expect to spend this initial period accommodating to a steep learning curve – a new language, a new culture, and a new job. Whether in a formal classroom setting, with your host family, or in the community, the time you spend learning about the Philippines, Filipinos, and how to be effective here will pay large dividends.

Your first eight weeks in the Philippines will feature an intensive pre-service training program, which includes an emphasis on skills development in the Filipino setting, language training, and cross-cultural studies. The instructors will be a combination of American and Filipino staff, and will also include participants from the government, academe, non-governmental organizations, and currently serving Peace Corps Volunteers as resource people. There will be approximately 85 hours of language training (in the language of your site), and another 85 hours of technical training. This will center on how best to utilize your past experience and expertise in the Filipino context. Cross-cultural studies will be woven throughout your training and integrated with both the technical and language components. You will be expected to work hard during this training experience, both in and out of class. There will be homework assignments in addition to in-class work. You will need to come prepared to take responsibility for your own learning and to take advantage of all that training has to offer you. For the majority of pre-service training, you will live with a Filipino host family. This will enable you to practice your language and cultural skills as well as to get a perspective on issues facing Filipino families and society. During training you are given a walk-around allowance. The Peace Corps pays for meals, lodging, and other training-related expenses directly.

At the end of your initial training, your supervisor will join you for a short conference. At that time, you will discuss mutual expectations and formulate an initial work plan. During your first year of service, Peace Corps/Philippines will organize multiple training events to assist you in language acquisition, cross-cultural understanding, and upgrading your technical skills for the Filipino context.

You will have opportunities throughout your pre-service training and your volunteer service to collaborate with environmental and water engineer Volunteers.

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LIVING CONDITIONS

For the first three months of your assignments (after your pre-service training), you will live with a Filipino host family to provide you with integration into your community, to provide a greater understanding of the local culture, and to help you become comfortable with the local language. Apart from having your own room, there is usually very little privacy when living with a host family. This requires adjustments, but the rewards of being part of an extended Filipino family and community are considerable. After that, you may choose to continue living with your host family, move into your own dwelling or, as is done by some Volunteers, build a nipa (palm frond) hut near a host family's house. Home in small municipalities and barangays (villages) where Peace Corps Volunteers live are not likely to have electricity and running water and much less, flush toilets. Most small municipalities have a public calling station (telephone) in the town center where you can place overseas and domestic long-distance calls. A recent phenomena are Internet cafes in major towns and cities and cellular phones which gives many Volunteers email and domestic/international long distance calling capabilities.

Most lowland Filipinos eat rice as their staple. Corn, potatoes, or tubers are the staples of some who live inland. Bread and noodles are available in most towns. Imported (i.e., American) goods are available in the larger towns and cities, but they are expensive. Rice is often eaten with fish, pork, or chicken. Mung beans and a variety of vegetables are available. Food is often cooked in coconut oil or lard. Filipinos like sweets and carbonated drinks. Bananas, papayas, mangoes and other tropical fruits are available almost everywhere. Flexibility in dietary preferences will be required. Given the Filipino preference for fish and meat, maintaining a strict vegetarian diet will be a challenge.

Volunteers travel locally on buses, jeepneys, bicycles, and on foot. Peace Corps/Philippines provides a one-time bicycle allowance. Due to traffic accidents, Peace Corps/Philippines prohibits the operation of motor vehicles and motorcycles by Volunteers. Inter-island travel is mostly by boats carrying anywhere from 10 to 500 passengers.

As a Volunteer, you receive a monthly living allowance of P7,260.00 (about US$140.00) and a settling-in allowance of P5,000.00 (about US$96.00) to defray the initial costs of needed household equipment, clothing, etc. In addition to the $225.00/month readjustment allowance set aside for Volunteers at the end of their service, Peace Corps Volunteers also earn $24.00/month vacation allowance.

As in many other countries where Volunteers serve, Americans working in the Philippines face cultural adjustment in understanding and addressing prejudices and stereotypes held about them. Unconsciously, many Filipinos expect that the American Volunteer will be white and, hopefully, Catholic. Some Hollywood movie stereotypes about American women have prompted advances from aggressive Filipino men. Drinking alcohol, sometimes to excess, is widely accepted as a social activity for men. If you are a male for whom alcohol has been a problem, think seriously about the wisdom of putting yourself in a situation where regular encouragement to drink is likely to be a part of daily life. The above, and many other cultural issues Volunteers are likely to face, will be addressed fully in training.

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POTENTIAL CHALLENGES AND REWARDS

There is a high degree of long-term job satisfaction among Philippine Volunteers. However, you will encounter several frustrations throughout your service, particularly in the beginning. Host agencies will not always provide the support as promised. Your supervisor may be often too busy with other work priorities to attend to your needs. You may not be given a co-worker and might be left to your own devices. Moreover, target beneficiaries are often resistant to behavioral changes. They are often not interested in improving the environment, since they are too preoccupied with the daily struggle of earning a living. If you still entertain romantic notions about the Developing World, your illusions will be shattered. The challenge for a Peace Corps Volunteer is to avoid being cynical and to look beyond all of these and realize those are the very reasons why Peace Corps is needed in the Philippines.

Your job will be unstructured, as it will often be left up to you to choose which conservation intervention you will be working on. This will require self-discipline, self-direction, and the ability to motivate yourself and your counterparts to take action. You need to be outgoing and cross-culturally sensitive so as to develop beneficial work and community relationships. You need to be persevering in the face of inevitable disappointments, especially because you will not see any visible impact of your work for months. However, Filipinos are warm and intelligent people and if they see in you the altruism and sincerity of a true friend then you can get things moving. The Peace Corps staff and your fellow Volunteers in the Philippines also stand ready to support you.

Despite initial setbacks, Volunteers ultimately attain job success. If they are successful it is because they have developed the characteristics of a successful Peace Corps Volunteer: perseverance, an outgoing personality, cross-cultural sensitivity, self-direction, flexibility, and creativity. They have developed a winner's attitude.

The Peace Corps has a long history of service in the Philippines. Peace Corps Volunteers have made significant contributions to many communities, families, and individuals throughout the Philippines. In turn, the experience of serving in the Peace Corps in the Philippines has deeply changed many Americans. Ultimately, the impact of Volunteers in the Philippines is seen in countless anecdotes from ordinary Filipinos that has now become a Peace Corps/Philippines boast – "Go to any Philippine town, no matter how small and remote, there will always be somebody who will fondly recall, often with misty eyes, as certain Peace Corps Volunteer who served in the distant past". That Peace Corps Volunteer could be you. If you feel that you have the background and the personal characteristics to accept the challenges – and opportunities – outlined above, we invite you to seriously consider this invitation.

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