Reflection 2: Volunteerism in the Philippines

Volunteerism is like a party. The host is the community which the volunteers will serve; while the guests are the volunteers. There is a specific date to conduct the activity, as well as a specific venue.

Just like a party, volunteer work needs careful planning to ensure success. The hosts (people in the community) should make sure that their guests are comfortable and should protect them while they are in the community. The guests should follow the rules of the party: the dress code, the house rules, among others.

In a party, the hosts decide who their guests will be. Gate crashing or inviting oneself to a party is not advisable, because most likely the hosts will not be happy about the intrusion in their lives, however good the intention is.

Inviting people to a party should be done days or weeks before the actual event to give the prospective guests time to prepare. They should be given the time to think about it and decide whether or not to accept the invitation. Pushing people to participate or involve themselves in an event they have don’t have interest in may cause misery to both the hosts and the guests during the party.

Lastly, volunteer work, just like a party, brings together different people with different cultures. For volunteer work or party to be successful, the guests and the hosts should tolerate and respect each other.

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We tend to remember bad or negative things more than positive things. One psychologist said it is some sort of a defence mechanism innate to every human being to help him or her survive in this competitive world. I think this can be the explanation as to why we sometimes can’t help but judge other people based on what we hear without even verifying the truthfulness of the claims. On my observation, the stereotype is usually either ethno-linguistic based or economic-status-based.

Take for example Tondo. This small community in Manila is notorious for being a haven for all sorts of criminals. There are places much worse than Tondo today, but the name it has acquired had stuck sticked like bazooka joe in the hair.

I believe that Tondo was not labelled as such for nothing. I have the vaguest idea but according to my mom (she practically grew up there), gangs used to rule the place. It was a scary place to be in back then, especially after dark, she said. She remembers the streets in her whole community being deserted by people as early as 6:00 pm, as if staying for a minute longer would kill them. Well actually, my mom said it could.

But Tondo is much peaceful nowadays. Sure it has its own set of hold-up gangs and drug addicts, but those people are everywhere. Even in the most exclusive and expensive villages, I’m sure. People from Tondo are generally friendly and helpful. And think about other people, not just themselves. Only in Tondo did I feel the essence of “kapitbahay” being alive. Our place is hours away from Tondo, but I have countless encounters with people from this place. They are the most hospitable people I know. Whenever I visit my relatives and friends who live there, they would make a fuss about whether I’ve eaten, would worry themselves because they don’t have ice cold Coke, or would wear out their arms trying to make up for the lack of ventilation in their living rooms.

I believe that people would raise their brows on this next one, but I can’t help but mention that I feel secure when I’m in Tondo. Of course I still take extra caution when I’m in areas where residents are not unfamiliar, but generally, I feel protected when I’m in my friends’ and relatives’ “baluwarte”.