Volunteering in the Philippines.

[Jack Peterson]

12 minutes ago, intrepid said:

The issue I see is how to learn when a expat is in the hospital.  I'm sure there is a way.

 I have said this before, We have the Embassy Warden Route that many don't seem to like, ( Maybe they don't want to be Found) then we have the Wardens that want the Title but never seem to want to do anything. I Visit many in hospital (mainly because I know them)

 Problem here, is that if you get too Involved, the Hospital Administration look to you if the patient passes on, for Payment

 OH Yes! it happens then when the S...hits the fan Someone (Anyone) that should have been looking after their Interests Starts to Blame You

 Sad way for things to Happen But.............

NAH! Eddie will be OK if he goes about things with City Hall here in Dumaguete, They will help I am sure with the Visa etc After all, he is well up on telephone communications (he will then be Ex- BT) so they may well snatch him outright for City hall and maybe the Capitol Building

 

JMHO

[Dave Hounddriver]

31 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Problem here, is that if you get too Involved, the Hospital Administration look to you if the patient passes on, for Payment

True that.  And they can easily spot who is capable of paying and they pressure that person.  They spot me as an "indigent foreigner" and don't bother me.  Not sure how they can tell but I try very hard to give off the vibe of "poor person donating time and comfort only".  Its like this,  the doctor will look at Jack and say the patient needs some medicine.  If he even hesitates, the doc knows he could pay if he wanted to.  If he looks at the floor and says "I sure wish I had the money to help him out" then the doc sees a "pooreigner" and there is no more pressure to pay his bill.  You  have to learn to act poor  but at the same time, if you ever get admitted to the same hospital it can backfire.  That's when you need a credit card to give them so they know that the "pooreigner" can  pay his bill 

 

Edit:  Sorry if this sounds like its going off topic but we really do NEED volunteers to take care of the stubborn old fools who are going to die here and need a friend whether they want to admit it or not.  Sometimes there are filipinos who care and will help out.  Often its people from the church who will come visit or the patient's landlord who is concerned (about whether the rent will be late)

Edited June 19, 2017 by Dave Hounddriver

[Jack Peterson]

1 minute ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

True that.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

I have been here over 4 years. I tried a couple different "charity" groups, they were not what I was expecting.  I tried the Rotary and the American Association of Western Visayas.  Instead of doing actual hands-on charity work, we had funds from the US (mostly) to pay for projects and we just showed up for photo ops.  I quickly got bored and quit.  They told me most foreigners get bored and quit.  Too bad, it seems that there are a lot of us that want to help out. 

I ended up just doing things on my own. I do an occasional feeding program at our barangay daycare, as funds allow. I also do some fund raising to buy school supplies for the kids.  I want to do a regular feeding program, but that would take regular sponsorship.  So, I do what I can, when I can. Earlier this month I raised almost $400 to buy and deliver school supplies for over 150 kids up in the mountains.

[AlwaysRt]

2 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

NAH! Eddie will be OK if he goes about things with City Hall here in Dumaguete, They will help I am sure with the Visa etc After all, he is well up on telephone communications (he will then be Ex- BT) so they may well snatch him outright for City hall and maybe the Capitol Building

With two new knees he is certain to have a 'leg up' on the situation.

The 'Volunteer Visa' looks a bit complicated and seems to require information from the 'company' you will be volunteering for. EMPLOYEE NON-COMMERCIAL VISA

[Jack Peterson]

1 minute ago, AlwaysRt said:

With two new knees he is certain to have a 'leg up' on the situation.

The 'Volunteer Visa' looks a bit complicated and seems to require information from the 'company' you will be volunteering for. EMPLOYEE NON-COMMERCIAL VISA

 Odd really as they do need all the help they can get But then we know, nothing is easy here

[Jollygoodfellow]

3 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Sorry if this sounds like its going off topic but we really do NEED volunteers to take care of the stubborn old fools who are going to die here and need a friend whether they want to admit it or not.

Is there that many of them as in hospitals ? 

[Dave Hounddriver]

3 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Is there that many of them as in hospitals ? 

No, most of them are still living at home.  When they don't get out much people tend to forget about them and they just fade away and often die at home.  Remember how I mentioned Ken in a previous thread?  Too stubborn to go to hospital and he just died at home.  Fortunately he had a few foreigner friends to take care of him at the end and help out with the final details.

When I was talking to the administrator at Silliman University Medical Center, (about 1 year ago now), she said I would be surprised at how many old foreigners who come in, die, and get shipped out and they have no one come visit them even.   But like Jack said, her interest is in finding someone to pay the bill.  My thoughts are with the guys who just don't get out much.  Like the guy with no legs who lives here in Dumaguete.  How many even knew there was one?  But fortunately his wife takes care of his basic needs, but some of the guys aren't so lucky.  How do you find them?  It just happens if you walk around, talk to people, ask questions and listen.

[keithatela]

On 6/19/2017 at 4:49 AM, Eddie1 said:

Within about 3 months from now I will have left my home and job here in the UK and finally arrived in the Phils to continue the next stage in my life as an expat.  I guess like many people we wonder what we will do when that day finally arrives and how we combat potential boredom, after all when you are retired I am guessing all days just feel like a Sunday?  

I have a few interests that I would like to explore, I am a poor swimmer so would like to spend time improving my swimming and then hopefully take Scuba lessons and enjoy diving in what must surely be some of the best dive sites in the world.   I also have an interest in Martial arts and that has been my main hobby here in the UK for the past 20 years or so and I am looking into the possibility of learning the traditional Philippine martial art of Escrima/Arnis to give me another time occupying hobby which I might be able to infuse with my own knowledge of Jujitsu.

However, above all else I would like to spend some of my time in a Volunteering capacity, it doesn't have to be immediately, I will have plenty to occupy myself on my arrival and for some considerable time afterwards but eventually I would like to volunteer my time to help others (by that I mean Pinoy, not driving the forum members home from a heavy session at the 'Why Not' bar, Lol.).

So, for the forum members that are already doing this type of thing or to others that have had previous experience in this field.. How do you start?  How do you get your foot on the ladder?  Is it through local churches or even a Rotary Club type of organisation?   What are your experiences? How do/did you get involved?

For me personally I want a hands on type of voluntary work, maybe (but not exclusively) helping out at an orphanage or assisting children/adults that have sight/hearing/verbal problems where they could just do with an extra pair of hands at no cost. I am not looking to build a project from scratch like forum member Bruce has done with his excellent work on Samar but just to give my time and assistance. It doesn't matter what island it would be on, I will be starting off living in Dumaguete as I have stayed there previously and have a few friends down that way including some of our own forum members, admittedly if I could find what I am looking for on Negros Oriental that would be a bonus.

So, over to you guys and girls, what information or ideas do you have?

Hi there Eddie

My name is Keith Wakefield, I am from England, Exmouth Devon to be precise. I have been here in Tacloban Leyte for 10 years now. I am the regional director for a UK/Filipino charity for Region VIII, which is Leyte and Samar. The name of the Charity is DERRT ( Disaster Emergency Response and Relief Team) xxxxxxxxxx -       We are always looking for Volunteers and it would be good if you could organise a team in your area or give us your support any way you can. Let me know what you think. My email is xxxxxx

Edited July 26, 2017 by Jollygoodfellow
Read the rules first

[Jollygoodfellow]

4 hours ago, keithatela said:

Hi there Eddie

My name is Keith Wakefield, I am from England, Exmouth Devon to be precise. I have been here in Tacloban Leyte for 10 years now. I am the regional director for a UK/Filipino charity for Region VIII, which is Leyte and Samar. The name of the Charity is DERRT ( Disaster Emergency Response and Relief Team) xxxxxxxxxx -       We are always looking for Volunteers and it would be good if you could organise a team in your area or give us your support any way you can. Let me know what you think. My email is xxxxxx

Edited just now by Jollygoodfellow

Keith

WE appreciate what people do to help those in need but please read the rules before posting. It's not rocket science, links for new members, redirect to Facebook or anywhere, Email addresses posted etc. So if you want my cooperation please let me know.