This is a blog that we have put together in order to inform South Gloucestershire and Stroud College students, staff, families and friends about our Philippines Project.
Who are we and what is it that we are doing that is worth blogging about?
We are a group of volunteer students and tutors from South Gloucestershire and Stroud (SGS) College. We first began the Project in 2011 with staff and students from the Care, Health and Early Years and Construction departments of the Stroud campus of the College. The Project provides its participants with the opportunity to learn about social problems abroad and engage in philanthropy as part of good global citizenship. The Project hopes that all its participants will feel compelled to do more and view volunteering as their meaningful civic duty.
(Some of the 2012 Volunteers having purchased hygiene and sanitation supplies for PCF School)
The students in 2012 were: Amelia Marshall, Ashley Hands, Briony Lee, Daniel Pullen, Faith Bowerman, Jennifer Bates, Sabine Rickett, Spencer Mustoe and Tzarynd Powell. The original tutors and Project leaders were Jason Farrier and Maria Meredith.
Since it was started, the Project has worked directly with various Philippine charities to support street and waste picker children, fundraising and volunteering across a range of initiatives within education, nutrition, health, social and livelihood. The knowledge, skills and talents of SGS students and staff are integral in doing this.
In its first year, the Project supported the Philippine Community Fund (PCF), now known as the Purple Community Fund. PCF is a British charity based in the Philippines, founded by Jane Walker, MBE, in 2002. You can read a little more about the PCF in a dedicated page within this blog. Students and tutors collaborated on fundraising activities for PCF throughout the academic year of their involvement, then travelled to the Philippines to spend a fortnight working directly with dumpsite communities in the capital district of Tondo, Manila. During that period of time, the Project volunteers worked with the charity across a range of their education, nutrition, health and community-based initiatives, located nearby to the infamous ‘Smokey Mountain’. The latter was the former principal garbage dumpsite for the capital city of Manila.
The Project was so successful in 2012 that we continued it into 2013, 2014 and 2015 and we hope to continue it every year!
In 2013, the 4 members of staff representing Childcare, Carpentry, Fashion and Health and Social Care respectively were: Maria Meredith, Jason Farrier, Kayleigh Ross and Maria Butunoi. The students were: Emily Wakeham, Katie Bodenham, Finn Britton-Minney, Matt Kingston, Sophie Cole, Yasmin Sharma-Scott, Jasmine McAfee, Amber Lundberg, Helena Megson, Sarah Cook and Lucy Papps.
(The 2013 Volunteers during our last day at PCF School)
In 2014, Maria and Jason were joined by Nathalie Liva of Health and Social Care, Filton Campus and Rebecca Morgan of Performing Arts, WISE Campus. The students were Filsan Adan, Annabel Bliss, Finn Britton-Minney, William Bull, Damian Jay, Luke Naish, Andrea Robertson, Billie-May Rogers, Yasmin Sharma-Scott, Alexandra Trinder and Montana Woodman Matthews.
(The 2014 Volunteers in transit to Manila via Hong Kong International Airport)
SGS College nominated the Project to be its principal fundraiser in 2014. We are very proud to say that the Project raised over £15,000 for PCF in 2014, and that 100% of monies raised went directly to the charity.
In 2015, the Project broadened its remit to work with other Philippine charities including CRIBS Foundation, Bahay Tuluyan and Bukas Palad. We also had the opportunity to work with Kesz Valdes, who in 2012 was the youngest International Children’s Nobel Peace Prize Winner, on his project, ‘Championing Community Children’. Maria was joined by Tim Wanell of Student Support Services and Naomi Greaves of Health and Social Care, Filton Campus. The students were Ava Douglass, Billie-May Rogers, Clark Alltoft, Dan Smollan, Eleanor Ford, Elliott Robinson, Josh Doidge, Kheamah Powell and Sue Nuttall.
We invite you to read more about our current Project and its staff and student volunteers on our Facebook page: SGS College Philippines Project.
SGS College Philippines Project 