Aruna, hailing from Cherrybrook, New South Wales, works as a Human Resource Officer at the Christian Foundation for the Deaf and the Blind in Bacolod City. Read as she shares her thoughts on volunteering and her insights on livin' it AYAD style!

Q: Was it your first time to visit the Philippines? What was the first thing you did after knowing that you’d be assigned as a volunteer in the country?
A: This is my first experience of the Philippines. After I found out I was assigned here, the first thing I did was yell with excitement, at my desk in my last workplace! Honestly, I was excited about living in a country about which I had limited knowledge at that time. It would make my experiences not bound by my expectations or stories I had heard from others, where I could take everything in with a fresh pair of eyes.

Q: Tell us about your assignment. How does it fit in your HO’s program?
A: I‘m based in the Christian Foundation for Persons with Disabilities (CFPD), an organisation that works to educate and empower persons with disabilities in Negros Island. My organisation partners with the community to do ‘Community Based Rehabilitation’ (CBR): helping communities to plan, implement and monitor programs for persons with disabilities.
I’m here as a Human Resources Officer, working closely with staff to basically, help to improve their performance by developing their skills, self-awareness and confidence. We’ve developed HR policies/ systems that will hopefully help everyone to better understand where their roles fit into achieving the organisation’s goals, work better as a team and do their jobs more efficiently. I also work as a ‘trainer of trainers’ – the part I really enjoy. After my counterparts and myself did a training needs analysis, we’re now running workshops to address the most important skills gaps the staff have identified themselves. Building these skills will hopefully help them to more effectively facilitate community workshops, communicate & manage conflict, give and receive feedback, and document their activities accurately for CBR. Finally I’ve been involved in helping CFPD to develop a fundraising strategy to raise community awareness, networking opportunities and broaden fundraising sources. As an organisation we’ve introduced a couple of new events, such as an annual Negros-wide community congress to raise awareness about CBR. Most recently, we started a fundraising Gala Day to celebrate CFPD’s yearly anniversary, develop partnerships and spread the word about CFPD’s work.

 

Q: So far, what is the biggest challenge in the assignment? How are you dealing/how have you dealt with it?
A: I think I’ve been pretty lucky to work in an organisation that is open to change & new ideas, has a leader with vision, and passionate, capable staff who can see the value in developing themselves. Because we’re fairly small and almost solely funded by one source though, I think my biggest challenge has been trying to be resourceful with limited financial means. Due to the global financial crisis our funding was cut, so the challenge has been around effective planning to make sure we have enough resources to sustainably run our community programs, and ensure funding for the most important staff programs. We’ve dealt with this by making fundraising a priority, and prioritising staff development needs depending on how much budget we have. We’ve also tried to communicate openly about any forthcoming staffing changes, to give opportunities for people to air their concerns. This hopefully provides an avenue for honest feedback, encourages a bit of accountability and means that whatever plans are created include the staff’s views.

Q: If you were to sell Bacolod as a tourist destination, what 3 words should NOT be missing in your campaign?
A: Artists: To me, Bacolod is full of celebrations of art...here’s a couple of small examples. Chicken inasal (chicken roasted over charcoal, eaten with kalamansi, vinegar and chilli), is one of the trademarks of Bacolod. Inside Manokan, a proclaimed ‘chicken inasal district’, is a small restaurant owned by a well-known local artist whose works are displayed on almost every available inch of space. He uses mediums like clay, papier mache, wire, and paint on canvas/ cloth to vividly express scenes of everyday life in Negros. It’s fantastic – kind of feels like you’re sitting inside an art gallery while feasting on chicken. Silay, 15mins from Bacolod, is also home to an artist who specialises in continuous wire sculpture, so has sculpted intricate pieces such as masks, natural landscapes, and people’s faces out of a single piece of wire. His skill is truly remarkable. We recently had a festival in February that attracts artists of various backgrounds, who collectively painted a large mural over one of Bacolod’s main streets. There are some great galleries and museums here that showcase local paintings, sculptures and a fascinating toy collection from all over the world.   

Festivals: Bacolod seems to love having a reason to celebrate. In the time I’ve been here I’ve been witness to the annual Masskara (‘Smiling Faces’) festival, a colourfully impressive display of parades, lights, masks and costumes; the first annual Chicken Inasal festival, a festival entirely dedicated to Bacolod’s signature dish; Panaad, an opportunity for artisans from all over Negros to showcase their handicrafts and talents; and the above-mentioned artists’ festival which drew creative types from all over Negros.

Beauty:  Negros produces half of all the sugar in the Philippines so the city itself is surrounded by cane fields on all sides. Mt Kanla-on, an imposing volcano a bus ride away, is flanked with vegetable crops, mountains and some of the last woodland forests in Negros. Exploring this area by motorbike has been one of the real highlights of my time in the Philippines.   

Q: What’s your top 3 Pinoy food?
A: Tough question! Banana-Q, halo-halo and Bicol Express. Guapple pie, a local dish made of guava, cinnamon and muscovado sugar comes in a close fourth...

 

Q: What do you do during your free time? (Assuming you even had any, haha)
A: I love photography, so I enjoy trying to capture bits and pieces of everyday life around me: kids playing outside where we live, a funny street sign. This also extends to some of the travelling I’ve done around the Philippines...from what I’ve seen, the country really is full of ruggedly contrasting landscapes and cultures. I also play badminton with other volunteers when I can, try and get to the gym, and some mornings participate in aerobics classes run outside the provincial government building. Karaoke on the Magic Sing with my work and housemates is also a laugh, not to mention very addictive...

Q: What do you see yourself doing after AYAD?
A: I’m quite keen to continue a career in development using the experiences and insights I’ve gained here...being aware too, that there’s a lot more I have to learn! At the moment I’m considering work opportunities in Australia, or elsewhere in Asia. This experience has made me realise that I’d like to pursue work in India, to discover more about my own culture whilst also getting practical insight into development issues at a grassroots level there. Basically, my options are pretty open at the moment!

Q: What would be your most unforgettable AYAD moment?
A: Running a facilitating skills workshop, as part of the above staff development program, to assist the community workers to be better facilitators in the workshops they run. I was later pulled aside by one, who told me that the skills he was learning were not only helping him to be a better employee, but a better husband and father to his kids. It was a really touching and fulfilling moment, where I could see that the work we’re doing may have more far-reaching effects.

 

Q: How has the whole AYAD experience changed you?
A: In many ways I’ve learned to be more pragmatic with my work and take things as they come – bahala na...having a laugh and enjoying where my work and my friendships take me. I think I’ve developed an even greater appreciation for the importance of developing strong, honest relationships with the people around me and how important these relationships are to almost everything I do. Probably the biggest part of my experience has been to appreciate my roots more and realise how ‘Asian’ I actually am, despite having spent  limited time in India. As I mentioned before, it’s spurred me to seriously consider working in India doing a similar type of work.

Q: Any message for those who are still thinking twice about volunteering in the Philippines?
A: Go for it! It’s an eye-opening, fun, and fulfilling experience. You won’t regret it.