Volunteer with Street Children in the Philippines
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Volunteer with Street Children in the Philippines
- Philippines
- Leyte
About Program
Sadly, it is not uncommon in the Philippines to see children begging for food and sleeping on the sidewalk. Some of these children live at home but spend their day on the street instead of attending school.
Others have left home permanently. As international food prices grow and little is done to improve the lives of socioeconomically stressed families, the street children ‘problem’ continues to grow with yet more and more children appearing on the streets of Tacloban and Ormoc City.
These children come from dysfunctional homes where typically there is poverty, violence, neglect, or addiction issues. Many have left home to escape from abusive treatment. Others have resorted to begging in the streets because there is no food in the home. Street children typically sniff rugby (a brand of glue) to overcome hunger pains and cope with depression. Most of the street children are malnourished and in poor health, and vulnerable to sexual exploitation and recruitment by street gangs.
Consider your impact: Volunteering abroad can be a rewarding experience for both volunteers and local communities, and at Go Overseas, we believe all volunteers should have the resources to make informed decisions about the type of volunteer project they want to partake in. However, despite best intentions, some organizations offering placements in orphanages may unknowingly place children in danger. You can read about the potential dangers of orphanage volunteering here.
Video and Photos
Program Highlights
- Travel freely around the city and visit some sites of interest in the island
Program Impact
By volunteering to provide education and recreational services for these children you will be contributing to our efforts to improve the lives of some of the least fortunate children in the Philippines.
In most cases, the street children have not had a nurturing upbringing, have dropped out of school, and are typically in poor health. They have not had many positive role models in their lives, and many of them will welcome the attention and services offered by a volunteer. Others may be less trusting of adults and will be more challenging to work with. You will work closely with the city government street children social welfare program. By working with these youths in a caring and non-judgmental manner, you will demonstrates that adults can be trusted and respected.
Most importantly, Volunteer for the Visayans (VFV) hopes that its volunteers can transfer their specialist skills, interests and good attitudes to the street children and corroboratively think of long term strategies to address the growing issue. Most of all, VFV wants to recruit role models for the children to emphasize the importance of obtaining mainstream education and to reduce the development of bad habits.
