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Y<\/span>ou may have some questions on what this is all about. You may just be curious or you may also have a “calling” that makes you want to do the same. In any case, I\u00a0will try to share what I\u00a0can about the complex idea of volunteerism with you. It’s not for everybody, but if you feel a deep sense of “going where there is greater need” then JVP might just be the next adventure for you :)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n WHAT<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n JVP stands for Jesuit Volunteers Philippines. It is a foundation, mainly based in Ateneo campuses (Manila, Davao, Naga, CDO, and Zamboanga Local Chapters) that partners with institutions that request for volunteers. These institutions may be public\/private schools, cooperatives, NGOs, and parishes. There are 3 main sectors of assignments: education, socio-economic, and socio-pastoral.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n WHO<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Anyone can be a volunteer!:) as long as you meet the simple requirements of being a college graduate, single (i.e.\u00a0not married), under the age of 35, and with\u00a0a strong spirit (hehe) you are already qualified! Depending on the needs of the organizations and the applicants’ credentials, JVP will match institutions with volunteers. Some go individually while some go in pairs.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n WHERE<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n All over the country! There’s a joke that JVP stands for “just visiting the Philippines” because of all the adventures volunteers get to go on.\u00a0After a while, the country seemed\u00a0much smaller knowing my batchmates were in different locations at the same time. Some are assigned to far flung areas that have very limited signal and resources, while some are assigned to the busy streets of major cities (e.g.\u00a0Metro Manila). But of course, a volunteer is assigned to an area that is different from his\/her origin. I was assigned to\u00a0Sumilao, Bukidnon – the most beautiful place ever.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n WHEN<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The JVP Volunteer Program\u00a0starts around May and ends around April, so it is around one\u00a0year all in all, including the Orientation Seminar\u00a0and Year End Seminar. The actual assignment in the area is 10 months.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n HOW<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n This is the hardest question to answer, because each volunteer has different tasks, routines, and experiences from the other. For me at least, I\u00a0assisted in the farming cooperative’s activities. Not to worry if you feel you’re not equipped enough to facilitate (or lead discussions, teach, or make lesson plans – that’s what the Orientation and Mid-Year Seminar is for). Aside from the deliverables that I needed to complete together with the cooperative, I did\u00a0everything they did. (Now this is the fun part!) I\u00a0got to plant, harvest corn and cassava, ride tractors, eat farm rat, make beaded bracelets, learn <\/span>Cebuano\/Higaonon<\/span> (Binukid), participate in rituals, eat in fiestas, soil paint, and so much more!! This of course includes doing my business in latrines and experiencing water shortages when the pipes are busted :) I\u00a0lived with a foster family and it was the funnest! Bukidnon was awesome, especially because of all the mountain ranges\u00a0(Sumilao is actually 600 MASL) and the fact that there are 7 main indigenous tribes in the province: <\/span>Bukidnon, Higaonon, Talaandig, Matigsalug, Tigwahanon, Manobo,<\/span> and <\/span>Umayamnon<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n WHY<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I think there are 2 main reasons that led to my decision to volunteer.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 1. I have always loved nature and the outdoors. During climbs when we needed to pass through cottages and villages, I\u00a0had always wondered what it felt like to live up a mountain. Roughing it up never bothered me, in fact I\u00a0think I\u00a0even like it better than being clean hehe. As a city girl with no province, it ironically made more sense to me to live with nature, where life is simpler and you can\u00a0<\/span>find God in all things<\/span>. I had been putting it off for a few years and one day, I\u00a0finally went ahead and applied.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 2. I had a calling for it. I have always loved the less fortunate and I\u00a0have always had a strong sense of responsibility for our country. I wanted to immerse myself in something different.\u00a0I must admit that at that time\u00a0I\u00a0had a\u00a0conflict within myself\u00a0that nothing could solve – no matter how many mountains I\u00a0climbed or reefs I\u00a0dived, there had always been an “empty space.” During those times, I\u00a0would wake up early everyday to hear mass before going to work. At the end of every prayer, the answer was clear. I was to drop everything and dedicate my life to God.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Since th<\/span>is journey, my life had changed forever. “JVPs: ruined for life.” I wear my JVP cross everyday to literally hold on to; to feel like I\u00a0have God holding my hand through everything I\u00a0experience. For strength, for faith, for love. The JVP journey was far from easy; in fact, I\u00a0think it was the hardest thing I\u00a0ever had to go through in my life (I\u00a0even won the <\/span>Maalaala Mo Kaya<\/span> award in our batch for crying so much), but it was the most worthwhile. Not only was I\u00a0able to know myself better and the people I\u00a0wanted to help the most, I\u00a0was able to know Jesus Christ – how he suffered, how he forgave, how he had compassion, and how he loved.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Through that year, I had Fr. James Martin’s <\/span>A Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything<\/span> and\u00a0St. Ignatius\u00a0to guide me through my journey. His prayer got me in tears each\u00a0moment it started playing in my iTunes (yes these were the only kinds of\u00a0songs I\u00a0had in my playlist):<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Panginoon, turuan Mo ako maging bukas-palad<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Turuan Mo akong maglingkod sa Iyo<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Na magbigay nang ayon sa nararapat<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Na walang hinihintay mula sa ‘Yo<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Nang makibakang di inaalintana<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Mga hirap na dinaranas<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Sa tuwina’y magsumikap na hindi humahanap<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Ng kapalit na kaginhawaan<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Na ‘di naghihintay kundi ang aking mabatid<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Na ang loob Mo’y siyang sinusundan<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Why did I\u00a0go to JVP? “To go where there is greater need.” Because it grounds and centers you. Because it puts things into perspective. Because it made sense.\u00a0Because the world needs more people in God’s team. Because of love. Because there is no other life worth living than a life of service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Kim Panuncialman ( JVP Batch 35 assigned in Sumilao, Bukidnon, Yr.2014-2015 ).<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 2014-2015, I\u00a0was one of the 35 volunteers of JVP Batch 35, sent to Bukidnon to live with the Sumilao Farmers as a Community Organizer. Now this is one of my favorite topics and people close to me know that whenever I talk about JVP, the story never ends! This is only because it was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=613"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":616,"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions\/616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jvpfi.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.wixstatic.com\/media\/dd4896_50379881b9004c27a3c0ed24380e2861~mv2_d_4000_3000_s_4_2.jpg\/v1\/fill\/w_521,h_391,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01\/dd4896_50379881b9004c27a3c0ed24380e2861~mv2_d_4000_3000_s_4_2.webp\")
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