Currents
Mayon Volcano generated 8 mild explosions during the past 24
hours…more pyroclastic flows will probably occur in the following
days due to progressing explosions…The public is reminded that
Alert Level 4 is still in effect, which means that a hazardous
explosive eruption may occur at any time…
-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), August 14, 2006, 7:30 a.m.
by Mariah Klingsmith and Jarod Maggio
Mariah hikes on the 100-foot deep lava flow from Mt. Mayon.
And thus began our exciting two-year adventure as Peace Corps Volunteers in the Philippines! Since we arrived in April 2006, we have experienced Mt. Mayon’s most recent volcanic eruption and two typhoons, Milenyo and Reming – the strongest to hit this area since the 1950’s.
Our new home is Sto. Domingo, Albay in the Philippines’ Bikol region. Home to 80° Fahrenheit average year-round temperatures, 20 typhoons per rainy season, spicy food, an 85% Catholic population, fiestas, jeepneys, coconuts, pili nuts, terraced rice fields, fishing communities, and whale sharks; seldom does a day go by without some new insight into Philippine culture or geography. In our free time we play soccer with local kids, snorkel and scuba dive, read, go to movies, and hike the volcanoes in the area.
Jarod and Mariah on the beach in front of their home.
The Philippines is an interesting blend of third world economics and poverty mixed with westernization. For example, it is not uncommon for Filipino households to have 18” TVs with cable, but no toilet or running water. For the majority of the population every day is a struggle to feed their families, but in the city there are malls, internet cafes, and McDonalds, which are a testament to how the small upper class thrives. Due to the globalization of third world countries in the 21st century, our Peace Corps experience is not the primitive living-in-ahut- with-no-electricity lifestyle that many of us envisioned Peace Corps to be. However, bridging the gap between the westernization and those who have been left behind has been our overwhelming challenge.
We are members of the 265th batch of Peace Corps Volunteers in the Philippines. The Philippines was the second country to host volunteers after its creation by President Kennedy in 1961 (the first was Ghana); 2006 marking its’ 45th anniversary.
Jarod helps local fisherman build boats during the rehabilitation effort in their barangay, Salvacion.
Jarod is assigned to the agricultural department of the local government unit as a Natural Resource Management Extentionist. His primary project is to help improve the coastal resource management and local fishing practices of the community. I am a Water, Sanitation, and Solid Waste Management volunteer assigned to work with the sanitary inspector of the local health unit. My primary job is to help municipal and school representatives design and implement sustainable solid waste management education in the schools and local barangays (or villages).
The role of the Peace Corps volunteer is not only to complete a primary project, but also to be involved in multiple secondary projects. Jarod is working on starting a youth outdoor club (something resembling his experiences in NOLS Pacific Northwest Semester in 2004) and a science club at a local high school. I hope to introduce alternative cooking stoves, construct toilets, and help procure basic first aid kits for barangay health workers. Together we (along with other Peace Corps volunteers in our area) have begun a project to introduce BioSand Water Filters for clean, affordable drinking water at the household level.
Mariah at the Padang evacuation center, the week after the typhoon.
Lately, however, all our energy has been focused on helping with relief and rehabilitation efforts after Typhoon Reming. We’ve helped do damage assessments, type records, play with children at evacuation centers, help NGOs with their relief goods distribution, and assist Hands On Disaster Response, an American NGO, with two boat rebuilding projects.
Padang-Padang, a barangay hit by the typhoon, with Mt. Mayon in the background.
Our volunteer service will end in June 2008 and we will return to continue our education. Jarod will pursue graduate studies in glacial geology and climatology and I will focus on environmental policy. The invaluable introduction we gained during SEA Semester to the importance of the oceans and global community, along with our environmental experiences in the developing world, have inspired us to pursue a life dedicated to creating a better understanding of human and environment interaction.