Kaya Volunteer Programs in the Philippines

Name: Kaya Volunteer Programs in the Philippines
Brand: Kaya Responsible Travel
SKU: 21264
Rating: 9.5 (2 reviews)

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9.5 Rating

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Location

Philippines
- Leyte

Length

2 to 26 weeks

Project Types

Arts Childcare Orphan Care Community Development Building Projects Family Youth Disaster Relief Education Teaching ESL Health Medical Disabled Care Women's Rights +5

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Program Details

Age Min.

Age Max

Timeframe

Short Term Spring Break Summer Winter Year Round

Housing

Guesthouse Host Family

Groups

Small Group (1-15) Medium Group (16-30)

Travel Type

Family Senior Travelers Solo Women

Pricing

Starting Price

$1,488 USD

What's Included

Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Some Meals

What's Not Included

Airfare Travel Insurance Visa

Last Updated: Mar 25, 2020

Last Reviewed: May 25, 2018

About Program

With more than 7,000 islands, hundreds of miles of white-sand beaches, and incredible people and culture, the Philippines is a remarkable place to travel to. However, in 2013 the Philippines suffered the devastating Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda. The typhoon caused catastrophic destruction in the Visayas, particularly on the islands of Samar and Leyte. According to UN officials around 11 million people were affected by the typhoon.

Kaya Responsible Travel offer a number of volunteer projects in and around Tacloban, the capital of Leyte. Volunteers will experience adventure, nature, and culture as they volunteer on projects that support community development, combat malnutrition, rehabilitate young offenders, teach children at rural schools, and more. If you want to travel to South East Asia, and experience the glorious vistas, wildlife, and weather the Philippines has to offer, volunteering whilst you travel means that you can travel responsibly and sustainably.

This program is currently not being promoted on Go Overseas by its provider. Check with Kaya Responsible Travel for the most up-to-date information regarding the status of this program.

Video and Photos

Local children hugging volunteers in The Philippines

Transporting bananas across the river in the Philippines

Outside shot of the community centre in The Philippines

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Program Highlights

Medical students or professionals can volunteer in a rural health clinic , and gain real experience working in an impoverished community clinic, as well experience treatment of tropical diseases
Teach English in rural schools, where English is the second language but is incredibly important to Filipinos in obtaining a job in the professional sectors
Volunteer on a building project, and help with the ongoing enormous relief effort needed following Typhoon Yolanda
Work on the NGO Media and Photography project and have a unique opportunity to view from the inside how an NGO operates, and help them raise awareness for their cause
Empower, educate, and help improve the futures of abused women who have suffered domestic abuse, sexual crime, or abandonment by their family

Program Reviews

9.5 Rating

based on 2 reviews

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Rating Spread Volunteer

9-10 rating 100%
7-8 rating 0%
5-6 rating 0%
3-4 rating 0%
1-2 rating 0%

Impact 9.5
Support 9.5
Fun 9.5
Value 9.5
Safety 10

Showing 1 - 2 of 2 reviews

I’ve been “working” for Kaya now for few years and I will always go back to them for volunteering.
The staff have been amazing and truly helpful with all my needs and requests.
Philippines was an amazing choice, I went there after Yolanda tsunami and it was very “strong” what I’ve see but the smiles and light in people faces and eyes definitely left a soft spot in my heart. Plus, Philippines is simply amazing!!!
DO GOOD, IT FEELS GOOD.
Thanks again for everything.

Response from Kaya Responsible Travel

We are so pleased that you continue to have great experiences with Kaya and enjoyed your trip to the Philippines so much! We can't wait to see where your volunteering might take you next.

Do good, it feels good is such a great takeaway and really sums up the experience we hope all of our volunteers have!

By Kaya Volunteers on June 28, 2018

My nutrition volunteer project in the Philippines was the most fun I've in a very long time, as well as being the most rewarding thing I've ever done.

I met so many incredible people, both Filipino and the volunteers, each with their own story to tell. I'm still a bit depressed about being back in England.

The project involved working from 8-12 in the morning, we would get on a jeepney (the most scary/exciting/wonderfully odd transport I have ever been on) and head to the market to buy food to feed the kids. We had a P400 budget to work with each day, which works out at about £6 and you'd be surprised what we could buy with that. We would be feeding up to 30 kids but the majority of times the kids would get 2nds and even 3rds! It helped that we made friends with all of the market sellers and one of them seemed to reduce her price every time we visited!

We'd arrive at the Barangay Hall (community centre) and prepare and cook the meals, play with the kids a bit (singing songs, drawing) and then serve the food. These are the most grateful kids you will ever meet in your life, and the parents!

Every fortnight we measured and weighed the kids to see if they were growing. It was really great to see their height/weight/upper arm circumference increasing! Made everything worthwhile.
The other nutrition volunteers and I also gave a few nutrition seminars to both children and parents about the importance of good nutrition. These were to try and make the project more sustainable, to give the parents and children the knowledge so they could cook nutritious meals on a budget as well!

As well as the nutrition project, I also got the chance to help in a local orphanage one afternoon and do some painting for the "Build a Home" project. Both these were also so rewarding, everyone there was so grateful, even for small things.

It wasn't all just work though, we had most weekends off so went on a few trips away. There were around 10-25 volunteers at a time while I was there. The groups we went away in tended to range from 6-8 people which was a nice number. These weekends were the cheapest weekends I have ever been on, Biliran was the equilvalent of £30!! I went to Bohol, Borongan and Biliran, all of which were lovely, Bohol especially as there were so many beautiful beaches and so much to see! I fell in love with the Tarsiers and also the incredible amount of geckos there were EVERYWHERE (I even got a tattoo of the latter so I would remember this trip forever!)

I would strongly recommend this project to anyone with a love of nutrition and helping people. You learn so much and I left the project every day with such a huge smile on my face it hurt! Ive never had a job like that in my life and it's cemented my interest in helping developing countries with their nutrition problems. Apart from the jetlag and the massive culture shock, I have no complaints and even those faded away after a week. I want to go back some day and experience everything all over again.

Questions & Answers

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you decide to volunteer with Kaya in the Philippines?

Jamie: I decided to volunteer abroad because I felt lucky to have been raised in England where I received a lot of support for my deafness at school. I know that in other countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Peru, etc. most deaf people aren't so lucky and they don't receive the support they need. I started doing some research on Google and came across the Kaya website and saw a program that needed volunteers at a deaf school in the Philippines. I applied online and was quickly offered a place.

Kaya Volunteers in the Philippines

Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.

Jamie: I was responsible for teaching students (aged between 12 and 20) Mathematics and English. At first this was hard as I didn't know much Filipino sign language, but I willed myself to learn their sign language as quickly as possible and I managed to learn quite a lot within a week. After the first week my time in the Philippines improved incredibly as I started to meet and go out with other volunteers and Filipinos. During the weekends I traveled to many different places in the area which was very interesting and great fun.

Volunteering in the Philippines with Kaya

How has this experience impacted your future?

Jamie: Since leaving the Philippines my worldview has changed considerably. I try to limit the food I waste, limit the money I spend on clothes or other material goods, and stay openminded toward other people and help them if I can. I am very happy that being deaf didn't prevent me from volunteering abroad and helping people in the Philippines. I believe anyone who is deaf can do anything.

I really miss everyone I met in the Philippines and I really hope I can go back there again one day. I also hope more deaf people can volunteer abroad. They will love it and the experience will change their life for the better, like it did for me.

About Kaya Responsible Travel

Make a difference in the world, whilst changing your own. If you are ready to see the world, and experience cultures and landscapes that are far from your own, then volunteering or interning abroad is a fantastic way to do that. Kaya gives you the opportunity to gain invaluable work experience overseas, and to embark upon a fantastic adventure that...

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