International Youth Work Camp, 12th-18th May,2014 Iloilo, Philippines

Last Updated (Thursday, 10 April 2014 12:09)

Introduction:

The International Work Camp as a flagship program of the Youth Participation and Leadership Development (YPLD) Committee is a platform to help promote global citizenship. As you are already aware, the Central Philippines, including Iloilo was heavily affected and devastated the provinces losing lives, sources of livelihood and most if not all of the houses and structures in the area. This is International Work Camp, therefore, is a show of solidarity with the suffering people in the affected community, particularly in Tambaliza, Concepcion, Iloilo.

The venue and location of the program is a community where current recovery and rehabilitation responses are being carried out. Concepcion is one of the municipalities of Iloilo Province located in the Northeastern part of Panay Island. Barangay Tambaliza is one of the sixteen (16) island barangays. Fishing is the main source of livelihood among the households. By travel from Manila International airport to Iloilo is one (1) hour. Participants will stay overnight at YMCA Iloilo. The following day, early morning at around 6:30 in the morning, participants will travel 2.5 hours by land to reach the municipality of Concepcion. They will have a brief visit to the government official then travel by boat to Barangay Tambaliza in 45 minutes. In consideration of this travel schedules and condition, participants will be requested to be early and on time during required ‘call time’.

There are no modern facilities in the community where the work camp will be held. During the program, all participants will stay and sleep in the school class rooms or tents as quarters. The food services will be provided by the host local YMCA and community. They will prepare in advance to accommodate the participants with suitable basic facilities including sanitation and water supply. This is indeed a challenging situation where participants are called upon to practice ‘poverty and solidarity’ having to live with basic and minimum needs during the 6-day program with the affected community. Participants are therefore requested to bring basic and simple personal effects during the program.

Objectives:

To show solidarity with the suffering local people through living and working with them in their planned responses through collectives and community work;
To help in the recovery process by helping rebuild the library facilities by building book shelves in the school library;
To organize and conduct some remedial classes and children’s activities;
To know and understand local life and culture through dialogue and cultural exchange and homestay.

Program Components:

Orientation and getting known/ expectations setting
Devotion/Reflection
Courtesy visits to local officials
Work Orientation and grouping
Construction and painting 4 days
Sharing and understand community realities
Understand Natural Disaster of Philippines
YMCA involvement with Youth work/ Team building
Outdoor Camp experience/ work with Children
Community Activities
Home stay
Exposure
Recreation

The Work Camp will be held on 12-18 May 2014 including arrival and departure in Iloilo, Philippines. The National Movements are requested to select one (1) participant from their movement with partial travel subsidy. Please book your flight from home country/Manila/Iloilo in a direct flight preferably arriving in the morning of May 12.

Participants:

15 International Participants
15 National Participants (from different local YMCAs)
20 Local Participants from Tambaliza/Concepcion community
10 Local Organizing Team

Methodology

The Work Camp will mainly help the construction of library cup boards/cabinets in both elementary and high schools, organize activities with children, meet and dialogue with community people and reflections sessions and sharing among participants later in the afternoon as appropriate.

Tentative Plan for the Work Camp

Date	Location	Activity	Description
1^st day	Iloilo	Arrival	Morning arrival of participants in Iloilo YMCA. Get to know each other, orientations and night stay at Iloilo YMCA.
2^nd day	Tambaliza	Introduction/Sharing Settle down Camp site	Early morning leave from Iloilo City to Tambaliza (work camp site) by road, 3.5 hour drive and 45 minutes by boat. There will be brief stop-by visit to the Government officials. Settling down, community Welcome program and work starts after lunch. Evening: Sharing with community people their realities in Tambaliza; informal gathering and interaction;
3^rd day	Tambaliza	Work	Main Task: help in making book cupboards in the school: Construction and painting Later in Afternoon: Outdoor activities with Children
4^th day	Tambaliza	Work Camp/Experience life with a family	Continue with Main Task help making book cupboards in the school: Construction and Painting Evening : Home stay
5^th Day	Island Hopping		30 Minutes Boat trip: See Green Island
6^th Day	Tambaliza	Community Feast Reflections/Wrap-up & Closing	Community festival: Children program including games, songs, creative arts music and dance. Closing Program Reflection and evaluation
7^th day	Iloilo	Departure	Tambaliza to Iloilo

Registration/Participation fees: USD 50

Green Fund: USD 15 (only International Participants)

For more information and for national/local host contact persons:
Mr. PablitoTabucol, National General Secretary with email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and telephone number 63-5280557; Mr. EleazarBlando, General Secretary, YMCA of Iloilo with email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and mobile phone number 63-9177179056 and Roger Peiris, Youth Officer, Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs, with email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Kindly send the registration form on or before 25th April 2014.

I wish you all with Peace and God’s blessings.

Kohei Yamada
General Secretary

Work Camp program schedule 2014 Final (35.8 KB)