A Filipino-British post-graduate student gets inspired by the urban poor in Pasay

by Renee Corteling

“I had no expectations of what my experience would be exploring human settlements, but the whole encounter gave me great inspiration to widen my experience…”

In a way, my meeting with TAO-Pilipinas was serendipity. I am currently a post graduate architecture student in Portsmouth University in the United Kingdom. My particular area of interest is the philosophical analysis of architecture. But I am greatly aware that I need a more hands onexperience with building construction for the community. The Philippines for me seemed a good place to start. I had decided that for my final dissertation I would travel to Manila and explore the unknown world of the slum lands. I am very aware of the mass poverty and poor housing in the world through journals, lectures and media but this was an opportunity for me to gain a deeper understanding and more personal interaction with the communities I could possibly design for. Being in the Philippines to visit these communities to gain primary research for my dissertation was going to be a life changing experience.

Now it may have been my naivete, but I did think that I could simply walk into these communities and observe from the sidelines, covertly researching without being a bother to anyone. Luckily reality met me in the form of University of the Philippines professor Romeo Santos, who suggested that I get in contact with TAO-Pilipinas. He talked to me of a workshop that a group of students from Taiwan University had participated in. Unfortunately I missed the initial field trip, but he told me TAO-Pilipinas would be a good first port of call and I found myself in contact with the head of research, architect Faith Varona.

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A Norwegian volunteer examines the connections between gender and technical assistance

by Jorgen Bollingmo

“Could there be a bakla-Obama in the Philippines of today…”

On new year’s eve almost a year ago I left the freezing north and headed for the well-tempered capital of a country almost a day’s journey (by plane) away. My goal was a general one: to see, hear, experience, and learn as much as I possibly could in the precious little time I had (I only stayed for a bit less than 4 months). I wanted real-life experience to supplement my academic knowledge and to break out of my European bubble. I wanted to get to know an entirely new country; I wanted to find out how gender is and can be made relevant in a development context and to figure out what my contribution to sustainable development should be; and to get to know myself a little bit better.

At the TAO office I worked on an exploratory paper on gender sensitivity in development work (in technical assistance work in particular), under the Research and Publications program. The aim of the project was to develop an introductory manual and a resource guide of sorts for TAO staff to use and apply as they see fit.

Some might wonder why gender should be a concern for development workers at all. Is it not secondary to the provision of basic human necessities like food and shelter? The answer I would give is that the two things are inseparable. Secure provision of these goods for everyone also means ensuring equal access to them. Gender often stands in the way of this. Gender relations dictate who gets to make important decisions, who gets to work and with what, who gets to be in charge of family property, and the list goes on. In a developing country context, equalizing gender relations can be a question of securing everyone’s equal right to good health, to property, to earn an income to sustain oneself and one’s family, and so on. Gender equality is a development goal in itself, as the UN Millennium Development Goals also reflect.

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An Australian volunteer in Manila

by Maggie Lee

“I came to the Philippines knowing the country well in theory only… so, I stayed eight months in Manila watching theory come to life”

I came to Manila, and specifically to TAO-Pilipinas and the Institutional Network for Social Action (INSA), to learn about the community development process and to witness how these two incredible organizations worked with informal settlement communities to help them improve their quality of life.
I am a masteral student, with a focus on environmental and social issues in cities in developing countries. I came to the Philippines knowing the country well in theory only, having chosen to focus on the Philippines and its housing policies as part of my masteral studies. So, I stayed eight months in Manila watching theory come to life. Unlike many other international volunteer placements which are organized through an agency, my placement was self organized, partly through an association with my home university Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and Miriam College. The advantage of taking this path was that I was able to create my own experience, by approaching organizations that interested me, and who would give me the experience and knowledge that I was seeking.

Shaping my own volunteer experience had its advantages – I didn’t have a fixed role or duties, so in a sense, I was free to do what I pleased. And its disadvantages – as an international volunteer with a limited command of Filipino, there was only so much I could do, and had to continually rely on using my initiative to look for and create work. During my time I visited several different communities in Metro Manila, attended community consultation meetings, built relationships with the community members, performed research and helped my organizations where I could. This ad hoc approach has blessed me with a kaleidoscope of experiences.

My reflection, I feel is best seen through the lenses I wore throughout my Philippine experience: Intern, Researcher and Observer-Learner.

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