About the Program
The Women's Shelter that VFV works with is officially called Regional Haven. It is a social welfare residential centre run by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. It was set up to provide responsive intervention and rehabilitation programs to women who are
victims of gender-based violence or who are vulnerable to abuses and exploitation.The
centre aims to enable disadvantaged women in difficult circumstances to resolve
their problems. It also aims to restore the women’s normal social functioning
to regain their self-worth and dignity.
These are achieved through the
provision of protective and rehabilitative services. The
centre provides temporary safe haven to women from 18-59 years old and
to those below 18 years old if they are pregnant upon admission to the centre.
Most often the women institutionalized at the shelter bring their dependent
children. They are provided with basic and vital services such as residence, medical,
psychological/psychiatric, livelihood skills development, legal, formal and non-formal
education, and other relevant services.
Role of the Volunteer
The
volunteer will be working alongside staff composed of social workers, nurse,
houseparents, and support staff. The centre chief is a registered social
worker. The
volunteer is required to work at this placement five times a week, from Monday
to Friday, even on holidays since the program is always open. Usually the
required number of work time is only 4 hours but volunteers commonly render
more than 4 hours. Due
to the fact that the women have assigned tasks, there are certain periods daily
in the morning and afternoon in which they are free and these would be
allocated for the activities organized by the volunteer. On Tuesdays, the women
attend non-formal classes, hence there is no session with the women. Instead,
the volunteer may choose to take care of the children.
The
volunteer’s role is basically to empower these women by organizing activities
that can aid in restoring their self-worth. Empowering can be in the form of
education, awareness of their value as human beings, and livelihood and skills
training. The volunteer should always incorporate fun and relaxing activities. The
objective is to prepare them for reintegration to the community. They must be
prepared mentally, socially, and physically to be able to function normally
again. They must have skill sets in order for them to be self-sufficient and
dependent only to themselves.
Dress Code
To
conform with the Filipino conservative culture and to look professional,
volunteers must dress modestly. The volunteer must report to work wearing the
appropriate clothes.Top
must consist of shirt of blouse or t-shirt with sleeves. No singlet or tank top.
Top should not have plunging neckline. Bottom wear must be long pants or
knee-length skirt. Footwear must be shoes or sandals.Outside
work, a volunteer can wear more comfortable article of clothing such as shorts
and tank tops and wear flip flops.
Transportation to the Placement
During
placement, volunteer will take any of the following public transportation
vehicles, depending on his/her destination: jeepney or multicab. Patience is
required when traveling to and from placement. The
volunteer’s daily commute takes at most 15 minutes and requires him/her to
travel from Bliss to Pawing, Palo on a multicab for “St. Paul’s Campetic.” This
ride costs 0.16 USD only. On the way back, the volunteer has to take the "Tacloban/Bus Terminal” jeepneys. The return trip also costs the same. The volunteer
will be briefed on getting to placement and back during the
placement orientation at the beginning of the program.
