Volunteer Abroad in Olango Island, Cebu Philippines: Volunteering Opportunities

Volunteer Abroad in Philippines, Cebu: Olango Island is a small island just 4 kilometers off the east coast of Mactian Island, in Cebu. Olango Island is a typical Filipino town, with warm hospitality and simple culture in a peaceful island setting. The island consists of eleven barangays (villages), one of which is Santa Rosa, where the island's wharf and parish church is located. To reach the island you need to take a one hour ferryboat from Cebu City or 25 minutes palm boat ride from Mactan Island

Olango represents a typical picture of the Philippines' numerous small island communities: low-income, densely populated and groaning under the strain of ever-increasing pressure on its resources.

Although only 5 km east of Mactan Island, a major tourist destination in Cebu, Olango's residents see little benefit from the influx of tourists in the area. Many inner lying areas of the island lack basic infrastructure such as water supply and waste disposal systems.

Mainly farmers and fishermen, the community has been active in their involvement in the conservation program of the government and the management of the island. Of the estimated 4,000 households, 75% are engaged in fishing or related livelihood activities based on the extraction of coastal resources. The seas around Olango, once teemed with life are now depleted and degraded. Many fishers resort to whatever methods produce the highest catch, even when they are aware of the damage caused by some of these methods.

Most of the fishers are poor. Children often quit school to help their families fish or glean for a living, and sometimes just for food.

Fishers' families earn a monthly income of only US $40, and families of unskilled laborers much lower than that. Opportunities for employment are few and far between. And, with more and more people relying heavily on coastal resources for their very survival, depletion and destruction of the coastal and marine environment continue to rise sharply.

We offer volunteer placements working with the community on sustainable conservation projects, in the local children's community center, a medical hospital, the island high school and several elementary schools.

With our volunteer program we allow you to discover the wonders of coastal Philippines, while doing meaningful and rewarding community work.

This is a great opportunity to explore a small island community and realize one person can make a difference.

Volunteers should arrive in Cebu International airport where they will be met by our ABV staff and accompanied to Olango Island.

We offer the following programs on Olango Island:

Program Length: 1-24 weeks
Program Date: Flexible Start & End Date
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8 hour per day
Accommodations: Home stay or volunteer housing.
Meals: Yes, 3 meals a day
Requirements: 17 years or older, an open mind to new adventures.

Environmental/Conservation Projects:

Olango Island is a diverse coastal ecosystem consisting of extensive coralline sandflats, mangroves, seagrass beds, and offshore coral reefs.

The island's mangroves are most extensive in the Cebu province, and its offshore corals are home to scores of various marine species. The unique biodiversity of life on and around Olango has made it one of the best known of the wetlands recognized by the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

Olango Island is site of a 920-hectare protected wetland wildlife sanctuary, also a marine sanctuary. Volunteer participate in activities including mangrove planting, cleaning the beaches, monitoring of the protected areas and other advocacy activities together with the local people. Volunteers help with enhancing the way local residents use their coastal resources in strategically positioned communities while promoting environmental sustainability.

Experience not necessary. Volunteers will spend the day outdoors, on the beaches and some tasks participating in hands-on physical projects.

Community/Children's Centers:

Volunteer at the children's center which support education of rural village child, many of whom quit school to help support their families.

The children range in age from 4yrs-18yrs old. The center provides support, food, education sources, and strives to provide a better future for some of the most vulnerable children on the island. You can play games, arrange activities, create arts & crafts projects and share your time and caring with these wonderful children. Prior experience not necessary, volunteers should have a lot of patience, an open mind and a sense of compassion.

Health Care Program:

Volunteers with medical experience are welcome to work in the Sta. Rosa Community Hospital, the only medical facility on the island, serving over 20,000 residents. Sta. Rosa is a 10-bed primary hospital serving the entire Olango Island, which has 11 villages.

The hospital includes 15 staff personnel, with limited medical supplies. Volunteers with medical training; doctors, nurses, paramedics, lab technicians participate in direct patient care such as diagnosing, injections, IV starts and lab work.. Nursing and medical students are welcome and assist with tasks like dressing wounds, record and immunization chart keeping, helping dispense medications, helping to screen and organize patients and assisting with administrative needs or seminars. *Medical volunteers must submit a copy of their credentials or nursing certificate.

Program Includes:

Accommodations with local host family or at the community center. Three local meals a day are included. Airport transfers on arrival and departure in Cebu International airport. Our local Project Coordinator will provide orientation tour on arrival, project briefing, an introduction to work placement.

Tel: 1-215-780-1845 / Toll Free: 1-866-423-3258 / Fax: 1-215-887-0915
volunteers@abroaderview.org - www.abroaderview.org