My first time volunteering with Young Focus (http://youngfocus.org) at their Young Focus Childcare Center on the Smokey Mountain dump site in Manila was overwhelming. Smokey Mountain dump site is a huge trash dump in Manila which has a large squatter population (as high as 30,000 at one point) who make their living by picking through the rubbish and selling recyclable items to middlemen. Young Focus Childcare Center was developed to assist malnourished babies and toddlers from zero to 3 years old.
I met the woman that runs the childcare center about 1 km from the actual dump site. We took a tricycle to the Childcare Center which is located on the actual dump site, close to the families that live there. I knew we were getting close when an overwhelming smell hit me, a not so pleasant mixture of every kind of trash imaginable mixed with smoke from the inevitable fires that break out on the dump site due to trash being under the intense sun.
I knew that people lived on the dump site but the reality of that didn't really hit me until I saw children as young as 3 and women and men as old as maybe 90 sifting through garbage. I have seen a lot of poverty in areas like Sudan and Bangladesh but this was intense. I was happy to enter the one room Childcare Center and get busy.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE both the women that work every day at the center (they are affectionately called the "Angles") and of course the babies and toddlers that they serve. My duties were pretty simple; feeding, bathing, and mostly just giving them attention and a little exercise. The Angles laughed that I seemed best at being a human jungle gym for the 2 and 3 year olds particularly as they were fond of seeing how far up the "giant" (yes, that would be me) they could crawl. 
Most people that volunteer say that they "get" more out of their volunteer work than they feel that they are "giving". This was 100% my feeling volunteering at Young Focus and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know the Angles and the work that Young Focus is doing for some of the poorest people in the world.
If you are in the U.S. or any other part of the world as a part of an exchange program I highly recommend that you seek out a volunteer opportunity. Not only can you help people but you can also get to know more about the culture you are in and make new friends you might not have otherwise. A wonderful resource for getting started with volunteering in the U.S. is VolunteerMatch (http://www.volunteermatch.org/) where you can search for volunteer opportunities in your area or if you want to travel abroad, you can check out our sister company AIDE Abroad for volunteer opportunities. There is something for everyone no matter what your interest or available time. If you are currently or plan to start volunteering let AAG know about it and encourage others to do the same!
Erin Wingerter - AAG Pilipinas
I met the woman that runs the childcare center about 1 km from the actual dump site. We took a tricycle to the Childcare Center which is located on the actual dump site, close to the families that live there. I knew we were getting close when an overwhelming smell hit me, a not so pleasant mixture of every kind of trash imaginable mixed with smoke from the inevitable fires that break out on the dump site due to trash being under the intense sun. I knew that people lived on the dump site but the reality of that didn't really hit me until I saw children as young as 3 and women and men as old as maybe 90 sifting through garbage. I have seen a lot of poverty in areas like Sudan and Bangladesh but this was intense. I was happy to enter the one room Childcare Center and get busy. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE both the women that work every day at the center (they are affectionately called the "Angles") and of course the babies and toddlers that they serve. My duties were pretty simple; feeding, bathing, and mostly just giving them attention and a little exercise. The Angles laughed that I seemed best at being a human jungle gym for the 2 and 3 year olds particularly as they were fond of seeing how far up the "giant" (yes, that would be me) they could crawl. Most people that volunteer say that they "get" more out of their volunteer work than they feel that they are "giving". This was 100% my feeling volunteering at Young Focus and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know the Angles and the work that Young Focus is doing for some of the poorest people in the world.If you are in the U.S. or any other part of the world as a part of an exchange program I highly recommend that you seek out a volunteer opportunity. Not only can you help people but you can also get to know more about the culture you are in and make new friends you might not have otherwise. A wonderful resource for getting started with volunteering in the U.S. is VolunteerMatch (http://www.volunteermatch.org/) where you can search for volunteer opportunities in your area or if you want to travel abroad, you can check out our sister company AIDE Abroad for volunteer opportunities. There is something for everyone no matter what your interest or available time. If you are currently or plan to start volunteering let AAG know about it and encourage others to do the same!
Erin Wingerter - AAG Pilipinas
2. The interview - determining English level and how prepared a student is to participate in the Work & Travel program is the focus of the interview. Sometimes interviews are done one at a time, sometimes they are in groups. For this fair I interviewed students in groups.
3. The waiting - students that were slotted to interview near the end of the day had a long time to think about their interview. I spoke to a few students that were scheduled to interview last and they said it was well worth the wait (below some of the very last students to interview, with their great attitude they will rock the program).
That's just about it! Not to complicated. As I said this particular fair I really enjoyed as some of the students I had already met and had the pleasure of seeing again. Several students were returning after having already been to the U.S. for the Work & Travel program once and it was fun to hear how the program had changed their lives (for the better!). A few of my favorite moments from the fair:
2. Sometimes I get presents! This student had told me in a previous interview that she did watercolor cards and she was kind enough to bring one for me.
3. Getting to sign a job offer and knowing that a student will get to travel to the U.S. in 3 short months to have a life-changing experience. One of the students told me that I looked like the president signing papers.
