Viola and Matthias -Volunteer’s Feedback

Dear Sir Francis and Father Shay,

We hope you’re doing well. We wanted to provide a summary of our activities over the past week, along with some reflections and feedback.

  1. Friday, September 6th, 2024 – Arrival
    Driver Mike kindly picked us up upon our arrival. He was punctual and accommodating. In the evening, we had dinner with the three students, which provided a nice opportunity to connect with them. After dinner, we all went to bed to rest after the journey.
  2. Saturday, September 7th, 2024
    We had breakfast with the kids in the morning, which was a lovely start to the day. Afterward, they showed us around Olongapo City. We took the opportunity to purchase SIM cards (Smart and Dito) and visited the beachfront. In the evening, we spent time together with the three siblings playing games, singing, dancing, and sharing a lot of laughs. It was a wonderful bonding experience.
  3. Sunday, September 8th, 2024
    At 9:15 a.m., we departed with Father Shay to attend the church service at the girls’ home. Afterward, we participated in two group discussions, one with the boys and one with the girls, where they reflected on the children’s behavior and experiences. Later that evening, Matthias and I explored the city further, walked around, and picked up a few supplies.
  4. Monday, September 9th, 2024
    We began the day at 10:00 a.m. with a meeting that included Father Shay, Mabelle, and Grace. Following that, Donald presented us with insightful information about the Fair-Trade Mango Project. Later, we met Max and shared dinner together and played some games, the kids joined it, too.
  5. Tuesday, September 10th, 2024
    The day started at 8:30 a.m. with a meeting where we watched a few more videos about Preda and its various projects. Around noon, we went out for lunch with Max at Mokbang, followed by a visit to the Boys’ Home. Kenneth gave us a tour of the facilities, showing us potential accommodations for Max and Matthias. We spent time with the kids there before visiting the girls’ Home, where Nicole showed Viola my potential living quarters. We ended the day with a stop at a mall before heading back to the office.
  6. Wednesday, September 11th, 2024
    We embarked on a trip to the Mango Farm, picking up Donald along the way. We collected mango seedlings and delivered them to a small village of about 70 families. After a brief meeting with the villagers, Donald explained the key principles of Preda’s Fair-Trade work: fair wages, sustainability, and non-discrimination. We planted some seedlings together and shared a traditional meal (rice, meat, broth, ginger and papaya) served on a large banana leaf. Despite the heavy rain, the experience was wonderful. After lunch, some children showed us their school route, and we introduced ourselves in several classrooms, spending time playing with the children.
  7. Thursday, September 12th, 2024
    Matthias and I took the time to answer some reflection questions from our organization, Misereor. We interviewed Father Shay and Mabelle and discussed our experiences over the past few days. In the afternoon, Viola worked with Eric to resolve some issues with my SIM card activation, which took a bit longer than expected.
  8. Friday, September 13th, 2024
    Today, we met with Grace to plan the next steps. I suggested moving into the girls’ house on Sunday, so Viola can start working there on Monday. Matthias has expressed that he would prefer to stay at first in the Main Office and continue his work with the Boys’ Home.

Overall, it has been an insightful and productive week. We look forward to the upcoming days and getting more involved with the projects. We are also interested to see some other projects, like the fair-traide project, prison visitings, court hearing, school visitings, educations seminars and among other things.

We are grateful for the hospitality of the three students who have been incredibly helpful with any questions we’ve had, such as how to operate the washing machine, getting around the city, exchanging money, acquiring SIM cards, and much more. Additionally, we are very pleased with the warm welcome we received from the many staff members at Preda, whether at the boys’ home, the girls’ home, or the main office. From the very first moment, we’ve felt that our questions are taken seriously, and assistance is provided immediately. Father Shay is always available to listen, and for example, any room repairs were promptly addressed.

Best regards,
Matthias and Viola

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Preda Foundation Inc.

The work of Preda Foundation is focused on alleviating the physical, emotional, psychological and sexual abuse and suffering of children and preventing abuse through community education and social media.

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