Maraming salamat for the best summer!

My last month in Bohol, Philippines is not only about wrapping up my final report and presentation, but also traveling. It was very kind of my supervisor and his wife to invite me over their house in Cebu city. It took about two-hours riding on a ferry from Tagbilaran to Cebu. Cebu is the hub of the Visayas region. It is the most densely populated island in the Philippines and is second only to Luzon in its strategic and economic importance to the country. There, Cebu & Mactan City Tour took us to many highlights such as Santo Nino Basilica, Magellan’s Cross, Taoist Temple, Lapu-Lapu Shrine, a local Guitar Factory and Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House. We did some shopping at Ayala shopping mall, the biggest mall in Cebu and had a nice lunch at a Japanese BBQ restaurant, ending the day with delicious pizzas at Yellow Cab.  The next day they also took me to the Tops, looking out from a hilltop view over the city and had such a nice dinner at Busay Lantaw on the top of the hill.  I would say this last weekend making me relaxed from all the work over these last three months.

 

Hilltop view of Cebu City

Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House

Mactan Shrine

Lapu-Lapu Shrine

Taoist Temple

Magellan’s Cross



Besides, I could not close my blog without saying a big thanks to CEVI. They surprised me with a farewell party or what they called ‘despedida.’ They gave me a customized shirt, saying CEVI <3 Saranya, and some cute souvenirs. I forgot to mention that I already got a CEVI staff shirt as becoming one of their family too. They prepared plenty of food and desserts, and two giant cakes with my name on it!  I am very thankful for all of these.  Unfortunately, I only had time about ten minutes at the party since I had to leave to Cebu. I did not miss taking a last shot photo with all CEVI family.

 

My lovely shirt

CEVI Family

On my last day in Tagbilaran, I must say I felt very excited to go home after completing my internship. On the other hand, I felt really strange that I would not see my work partner, my team and my friends in the office everyday anymore. I am afraid that on the first morning in Bangkok I might be sleep-walking, trying to get a tricycle going to the office in the morning ..... hahaha.  Lastly, I never expected that my participation in the Global Impact Internship program with WDI will give me so much experience and knowledge. It also encourages me to be involved more in development area, not only micro-finance but also other potential tools or products that could help alleviate poverty.  

Work Progress with CEVI and Vision Fund

I have shared how I am doing and traveling in Tagbilaran city, Philippines, for already two months. However, I have not talked in detail how my working task as tenure is progressing here.  In short, my goal is to plan and conduct an impact assessment on recovery project, or Bangon loan project, of which the objective is to help victims recover from typhoon Haiyan, called Yolanda in Tagalog.  First, I conducted a log-frame as a management tool used for designing, monitoring and evaluating the projects. Then, I planned out a project timeline for activities to achieve the project’s goal which are 1) validating CEVI’s data collected in the course of business (i.e. credit committee recommendation, Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI), Child Well-Being Outcomes (CWBO) and Assistance Received data) 2) Collect and monitor Interim and Final credit committee recommendation, PPI, CWBO and Exit survey 3) Conduct Impact assessment (survey questionnaires) 4) Conduct Focus Group Discussions (FGD) for parents and children and 5) Conduct a case study.  The clients/respondents for this evaluation are composed of those in five typhoon-affected branches: Sara and Balasan in Iloilo Island; Ormoc, Dulag and BayBay in Leyte Island.

Cluster meeting in Sara

 

We are ready!

Local small boat

Until now, I have validated most of the existing data to provide some suggestion and improvement for future evaluation, including planned out the appropriate time-schedule in order to conduct an interim monitoring. Therefore, the most important task that I am currently doing is to conduct a pilot test on a survey questionnaires and FGD which I, and my working partner, Tessa, have constructed. We will do a pilot test during cluster bi-weekly meetings.  The cluster bi-weekly meeting is when clients in each village gather to pay interest for their loan and for Bangon loan; clients must pay interest twice/month.

Last week we went to Iloilo Island to conduct a first pilot test. I must say the way to go to Iloilo Island is quite exhausting. We must take a Ferry to Cebu Island first and then take a flight to Iloilo city, taking 3-hours bus to Sara and another hour on bus to Balasan. That is nothing compared to what I would tell next!

This week, Typhoon Rammasun (Glenda) hit the Philippines. Fortunately, Iloilo Island has been affected only by a heavy rainstorm. The first day the typhoon hit the island, unavoidably, we had to be off work for that day.  However, the next day when the storm was less severe, we rode a small boat to visit a cluster meeting on several islands around the mainland. After leaving the shore for about ¼ of the way, the sailor said that we must go back since the wave is too strong and we have too many people in the boat!  Honestly, that moment I was shocked and just prayed to God.  After island-hopping for two days in Sara and Balasan, we finally completed the schedule we planned.  What I really appreciated is that when we conducted a survey questionnaire and FGD, all clients were willing to participate. Some of them were really excited to talk to me since there are not many foreigners visiting these areas. I really cherish every smile I received from them.  I have tried to conduct FGD myself, even though I still relied on a local staff for translation, it was very fun trying talking with them. Next week, I and Tessa will travel to Leyte Island to conduct second pilot test. I am looking forward to more knowledge and exciting experience to come.

 

Last but not least, I have cooked some Filipino local food which are Chicken Adobo and Corned beef with shredded cabbage. I am not a good cook, but I hope it looks good enough to try!

Chicken Adobo

Corned Beef with Shredded Cabbage

‘Kumusta’ Hello

It is over a month I have been in Tagbilaran, Bohol province. I had a chance to go on a trip traveling around Bohol with my roommate’s nieces and nephew who came to visit their aunt on the weekend. In Bohol, there is no other tourist destination more famous than Chocolate Hills. Chocolate Hills is composed of over a thousand perfectly cone-shaped hills, located in the province’s central area. The hills are covered with green grass which turns to chocolate brown during summer. It is a fascinating natural wonder; however, what I am excited most is that finally, I have seen the Philippine tarsiers, one of the smallest primates in the world, in the Tarsier Conservation Area. Tarsiers are only found on the islands of Bohol, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao. Their small size makes them difficult to spot. The name tarsier is taken from its extremely long tarsus bone. They are able to rotate their head 180 to compensate for their immovable eyeballs!  Other landmarks we visited are Blood Compact Monument, Baclayon Church, Simply Butterflies Conservation Center, and Hanging Bridge. We also drove past Mahogany Forest and took a photo shot with ShipHaus. On the next day, we spent a whole day at Dumaluan Beach on Panglao Island. It is a long stretches of powdery sand beach and crystal clear water. What I learned here is that no other souvenir is as good as your foot getting stung by sea urchin. Fortunately, I am doing fine now. Besides, we went on kayaking. I must say it was a tiring weekend but fun!

Chocolate Hills

Tarsier

Dumaluan Beach

I am not only on traveling, at least. This month I have visited CEVI’s branches in Ormoc and Dulag which are on Leyte Island. Therefore, it is my first experience for islands hopping. I even slept overnight on a boat. In order to go to Leyte, I and my lovely Filipino work partner, Tessa, must take a ferry to Cebu Island first, then take another Ferry to Leyte Island. During CEVI's branch visits, I have just learned that each town here in the Philippines has different styles of the Tricycle. So, I don’t miss taking photo each design I saw. I still see debris of houses, churches, and hospitals hit by typhoon Haiyan, particularly in the Dulag area. I am thankful that at least, there are Red Cross, UNICEF, World Vision, and other Non-profit organizations including CEVI helping these victims recover.

My story will not end if I have not talked about local food and desserts yet. In my opinion, most Filipino foods taste pretty much sweet, but I really like chicken adobo my roommate cooks. I definitely will ask her to teach me how to cook it before I leave. I tried a few desserts such as Halo-halo, Leche Flan and Suman Maron. Still, there is another interesting common street food here I must introduce. It is called balot, a developing duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten in the shell. It is sold only at night along the street, so people will not disgust it while eating. Is that surprising?

Halo-Halo

Balot

Suman Maron

‘Salamat’ Thank you for reading my story and other WDI fellows’ inspiring stories 

Hello Tagbilaran!

CEVI Office

Flying back from the U.S. to Bangkok, Thailand and then making it through to Tagbilaran, the Philippines is such a long ride. Even though feeling quite jet lagged, I am very excited that it is time to start experiencing the new place and new culture. Tagbilaran is the capital city in the island province of Bohol, Philippines. It is also where Community Economic Ventures, Inc. (CEVI), a non-profit microfinance organization, the Philippine arm of VisionFund International (VFI) and World Vision, is located. CEVI is where I will soon to be part of its family.

Tagbilaran is quiet and peaceful town to stay. The transportation that is most commonly used here are tricycles and jeepneys. There is a very limited number of taxis. Most taxis are only found at the Tagbilaran pier and airport. Thus, tricycles are vehicles that I usually take to go to the office and anywhere else. It is my first experience taking this kind of tricycles and it is quite fun if you are taking it on a rough road surface. After getting to the apartment, Hyacinth, my first Filipino friend and my future coworker took me to the office to start an orientation. As their Roman Catholic ritual, CEVI staff will have daily life devotion for half an hour every day in the morning. I could not miss the opportunity to participate in devotion even though I am not a Christian. In devotion, they usually sing praise and worship songs, discuss passages in the bible, and share their opinions and experience related to those passages. However, this weekend is when people here celebrated Tagbilaran's fiesta day, which falls on the 1st of May in honor of Saint Joseph, the husband of Mother Mary and the foster father of Jesus Christ. Most people, including Hyacinth, therefore went back to their hometown for a celebration.

ICM

Tricycles

My shared apartment,
on the right block

 

Thus, for my first weekend in Tagbilaran, I chose to take a tricycle to go to the Island City Mall (ICM), the biggest shopping mall in Bohol (Do not expect it to be as large as one in the U.S.). Apart from doing my grocery shopping, I decided to go watch a movie. What I am amazed here is that it is very cheap! For 3D, it cost only 150 PHP or 4 USD. Watching movie would then be another thing I recommend to do here. Unfortunately, on Sunday there was no water and no electricity on my apartment due to the maintenance.  Thus, to run away from such a hot weather, there is surely no any other place better than shopping malls. I then decided to kill my time at ICM again. 

That’s it! My first week in Tagbilaran, Philippines: being familiar with the place, getting to know people around, and doing some shopping therapy. Hopefully, more exciting things will come soon.