Report_필리핀 봉사

Two years in the Philippines was what motivated me to think of helping others. When I first came here in 2006, I was in grade 5. At the age of 10, I was shocked to observe my peers selling key chains and coin purses on the road while cars were waiting for the traffic light to change. I felt thankful and guilty at the same time for being safe and comfortable in the car. Whenever we were passing by those kids, my mom told me to help them if nothing changes after ten years. Even after I went back to Korea, I could not dismiss the painful scenes that I observed in the Philippines. And last year, I have got a chance to visit the Philippines thanks to my mom and my sister who came back here to study English. Even though the ten years that I promised with my mom has not passed, the scenes I saw were not much different from the ones that I observed back in 2006. So I told my mom that I would like to volunteer so that I can provide support to change the situations of the poor kids. Thanks to Dr. Jung who introduced me to Dona Juana Elementary School, I could carry out the volunteer program that I planned on my own.

The details of the program mostly came out of my experience during my school years in the Philippines. I first decided to teach math because I remembered that most of my Filipino classmates found the subject most difficult and they always envied Koreans for getting high grades in math. I knew that it was not because Koreans were smarter but because they were trained to do fast and accurate calculations through repetitive practices. So I chose a textbook named “Miraculous Calculation” to guide the children to have lots of practice in arithmetic operations.

The second part of the program is teaching English through Korean folktales. While Korean wave has become a trend in the Philippines, I wanted to teach them about Korean culture. Since Korean folktales contain both Korean culture and universal values such as love and filial piety, I thought they will be appropriate to help the students adopt Korean sentiments and moral lessons at the same time. Also, in the hope of sharing the story with more students, my students and I decided to donate the books to the school library after we complete the course.

I chose the last part of the program to be origami because I remembered that while origami really helped me to acquire coordination capability, imagination and other useful skills, I have not seen any Filipino friends doing it. So I brought books and materials from Korea, where origami is a very popular activity for children, to teach the students origami and let them enjoy it with their friends.

With such curriculum, the program is successfully ongoing thanks to six bright and enthusiastic students. In fact, there is one student who especially grabs my interest: the daughter of my driver. When I first asked the driver if he knows the way to Dona Juana Elementary School, he said that was where his daughter was attending. When I talked to the principal of the school that I would like to teach five grade 5 students, I was once again amazed by the coincidence that the driver’s daughter was in grade 5. However, she was not included in the five students that the school chose for the program. Still, maybe because of her father, she came to see our classes on the first and second day of the program. And on the third day, I could see her waiting for my car with her backpack. As soon as I got out of the car, she came to me and asked if she can participate in the program. There was no reason for me to reject her request. Fortunately, I had extra books and materials for her, so she joined as the sixth student of the program. Though she started a little bit late, she excels at every subject and is showing great improvements. Actually, her father was thinking to have her work as a maid as soon as she graduates elementary school so that she would help support her family. However, as he observes her enthusiasm for learning and her progress closely, he seems to be changing his mind. If this program contributes to the father’s decision to support her studies, I would not expect for more.

Likewise, I hope this program to spark the motivation of the students to dream bigger and aim for higher. So I am also planning for a college tour at University of the Philippines. My sister’s tutor, who is currently a student at UP will be guiding the students to show the campus and tell her story about how she grew up in a poor community and how she finally got into the most prestigious school in the Philippines. I am looking forward to the reactions of the students after they look around the campus and listen to the success story.

On the first day of the program, students did not answer my questions and only nodded whenever I gave them instructions. Later, I heard from a teacher that it was because they were not used to getting attention. Since there are almost sixty students in a class, it is natural for them to become passive and timid. However, my students now do ‘rock, paper, scissors’ to decide the first one to present the writing work. Nobody knows how much potential is hidden inside the students. Only close attention and continuous education can make them visible. Though the words might sound impressive, it is not a hard work. If one has a warm heart for the students, he or she can be a great help for them. I am just a normal high school student, too. However, because I have conviction that education is the only way to improve the quality of their lives, I am sharing my small talents. Even after this program ends, I hope other people who have the same warm heart with me to continue volunteer program in their own communities. Once this volunteer program spreads like a movement, young children who do not enjoy the benefits of education would be able to find their potentials and dream for better quality of lives.