UNews - Tacloban City

Grant allows student to realize long-held dream

caroline.zentner — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 18:55:22 +0000

Evangeline Allen, a fourth-year management student specializing in human resources, was able to do the humanitarian work she’d always dreamed of doing with the help of a unique grant available for students who want to gain experience in a developing country. Best of all, she was able to help people in her homeland of the Philippines.

Allen left the Philippines for Canada in 1998 and now lives in Taber. She spent three months in the Philippines this past summer, volunteering first with a non-governmental organization called EVNet (Eastern Visayas Network) and then with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of the Philippines. She also participated in Dr. Glenda Bonifacio’s Philippine field study course in Tacloban City.

Transitional housing erected in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.

“I’ve always wanted to work in international aid and I couldn’t have done it without the President’s Grant for International Community Engagement,” she says. “I have a much better understanding of the struggles of people who survived Typhoon Haiyan and I was glad to be able to help, even if it was for such a short time.”

When she worked at EVNet, Allen helped develop a proposal that would have provided training, jobs or home-based businesses for widows and widowers in Tacloban. Some had already received aid that many used to establish a sari-sari store, like a small corner store, in their homes. The problem, Allen says, is that neighbourhoods became saturated with sari-sari stores, making it difficult for them all to survive.

“I went there to help EVNet get the data about what these widows and widowers want to do in their lives and help them create a proposal for funding,” says Allen, adding she later heard the proposal had been turned down.

“It’s really sad because these mothers and fathers, all they want is an income so their children will not have to take jobs or become prey for human traffickers,” says Allen.

Evangeline Allen, right, worked with Maria Zenia Dulce-Mariveles, co-ordinator of the Office of Student Affairs at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of the Philippines, as part of her volunteer experience this past summer.

She spent her final month as a student assistant at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of the Philippines. She worked in the student affairs office helping process student appeals for socialized (subsidized) tuition, sometimes joining the co-ordinator on home visits.

Throughout her stay in the Philippines, Allen realized people are still traumatized by Typhoon Haiyan. She saw a need for emotional support and counselling, and public education about topics like disaster-preparedness and human trafficking. Being in the Philippines also made her realize how she’d adapted to living in Canada.

“When I went there it struck me that humanity is fragile, whether you are in Canada or in the Philippines. Sometimes, I think we have to have disasters to go back to our humanity. Sometimes we forget what we have and that a lot of people need help. Living here in Canada sometimes I forget that a lot of people don’t eat,” she says.

Allen is grateful for all the experiences she encountered in the Philippines, despite the overwhelming needs. She’d encourage other students with an interest in international development work to consider making use of the President’s Grant to work in the Philippines or another developing country.

“It will be a valuable experience because you will learn how to not take what you have for granted,” she says. “It will be hard but the experience you get is worth it.”

The President’s Grant for International Community Engagement was created to encourage greater understanding of less-developed countries. Students can apply for up to $5,000 in financial assistance so they can participate in international development work. Funding for the grant came from an anonymous donor, someone Allen would very much like to meet.

“I want to thank the sponsor for making this opportunity possible,” she says. “It was a wonderful experience.”

Excitement builds as students prepare for Philippine field study

caroline.zentner — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 20:23:21 +0000

A few days before their scheduled departure to Tacloban City, Philippines, the 14 students in Dr. Glenda Bonifacio’s field course are bubbling with anticipation.

They are excited to meet the people, experience the culture, eat the food and soak up as many experiences as they can while they are there. While reading about the country can give them a foundation, they can’t wait to see it for themselves.

Dr. Glenda Bonifacio, centre back row, poses for a photo with some of the 14 students participating in a field course in the Philippines.

The field course is a first for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Women and Gender Studies department and is designed to develop global citizenship from a gender perspective. As far as Bonifacio knows, this will be the first field course to visit the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of the Philippines’ campus in Tacloban. While there, the group will be staying in student dormitories.

“The students will be there experiencing the life of an ordinary student. There is no hot or cold shower, there’s no air-conditioning. So they will be there as student scholars, not as tourists,” says Bonifacio. “I told them they are the pioneers who are doing it for the first time so the pioneers work very hard to pave the way for the next group.”

Bonifacio has imparted some history about her homeland and prepared the students for the conditions they will encounter. Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda hit Tacloban City hard when it made landfall in November 2013. Thousands of people were killed and homes and infrastructure were destroyed. Rebuilding is ongoing.

The students are trying to prepare themselves as much as possible for what they will encounter. However, the reality on the ground will still be a surprise, says one student who expects to be inspired at how people have persevered and worked together to help each other.

Students will be immersed in local life during their stay. They will visit non-government organizations working in the area, evacuation centres and women’s co-operatives, attend community festivals, meet with representatives of different government agencies and attend lectures by Filipino scholars, practitioners and local officials.

Because of the diversity of their majors, including sociology, psychology, fine arts, women and gender studies, neuroscience, education, math, community health, management, environmental science and Native American Studies, the students will bring a variety of perspectives to their experiences.

They will be able to see the effects of globalization, of colonization, of gender roles, and how the music and art communities are helping people rebuild after the typhoon.

The students, who received the Campus Alberta Grant for International Learning (CAGFIL) for this trip, depart June 20 and return July 20.

Students to learn the effects of development and globalization in field course to the Philippines

caroline.zentner — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:43:01 +0000

A group of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students will have the learning opportunity of a lifetime this summer as they trade the classroom for the streets of Tacloban City, Philippines.

“Instead of sitting in the classroom, they will get lectures in the field,” says Dr. Glenda Bonifacio, the U of L professor in the Department of Women and Gender Studies teaching the course and a former resident of Tacloban City.

During their month-long stay beginning June 20, 10 students will visit non-government organizations working in the area, evacuation centres and women’s co-operatives, attend community festivals, meet with representatives from different government agencies and hear on-site lectures by Filipino scholars, practitioners and local officials.

While much has been rebuilt in Tacloban City, the landscape still bears the scars of Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in November 2013, killing thousands of people and destroying homes and infrastructure.

“It will be the first field course for women and gender studies and the first one to the Philippines,” says Bonifacio. “They’re going there to immerse in the society, in the community. In the end, the goal is to develop global citizenship from a gender perspective.”

The Philippines is still considered a developing country, although the literacy rate is about 95 per cent. In 2013, the island country placed in the top 10 in the world for gender parity while Canada was in 20th place. Bonifacio says the field course will give students the chance to understand and analyze how local and global forces manifest in the lives of people by looking at geography, environment, society, culture and economics.

“I was very excited because I love travelling and I’ve been on school trips before that have taken me to different places that I wouldn’t have visited on my own,” says Jasmine Saler, a fourth-year U of L student majoring in kinesiology and women and gender studies. “To go with someone who has lived there, who knows the languages, who has connections there, that’s the perfect way to travel.”

Saler is also looking forward to learning a different way of living in the context of recovering from a natural disaster.

“I can’t imagine ever having that opportunity again,” she says. “I am most eager to see the festivals and the vibrancy of the culture. Understanding the connection between peoples is also what I’m really excited to learn about.”

Christina MacDonald, a third-year U of L general social science student from the Onion Lake Cree Nation, which straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary, applied for the field course in keeping with her parents’ teaching to take any opportunity to travel. Not having travelled outside of Canada before, she admits the prospect of a month in the Philippines is rather frightening.

“I’m really scared but I always learn something amazing from that fear,” she says. “I’m always interested in how other people live. We’re all human beings at the end of the day but we have these intersectionalities, such as gender, race and class, which we have to deal with every single day. To actually experience the intersectionalities that other people face firsthand will allow me to understand it better.”

Even though students have expressed interest in most of the spots, Bonifacio encourages other students who’d like to attend to put their names on a wait list. With five months yet to go, she says openings may occur and students on the wait list will have priority.

In addition to paying tuition for the six-credit course, students have to cover the cost of their flight, housing, accommodation and meals. They’ve received $750 each from the Campus Alberta Grant for International Learning but with the cost of a flight nearing the $2,000 mark, the students hope to raise more money through fundraising initiatives. Anyone interested in sponsoring a student is invited to contact Bonifacio via email at glenda.bonifacio@uleth.ca.

UNews - Tacloban City

Grant allows student to realize long-held dream

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