June 30, 2008
Student Intern Jocelyne Cardenas (far left) with experts from the different line agencies of the Abatan River Development Project together with PROCESS-Bohol staff led by Executive Director Emilia Roslinda (far right) and the local tour guides (in uniform) of San Vicente Mangroves Association pose at Tintinan Island in San Vicente, Maribojoc, Bohol.
My name is Jocelyne Cardenas and I am a Family, Youth, and Community Sciences major from the University of Florida. For a part of my summer vacation I was able to volunteer with PROCESS-Bohol. Though I only spent one week here (June 19-27), PROCESS-Bohol gave me the opportunity to see first-hand what it takes to be a successful NGO in the Philippines. I had the chance to participate in a women’s group two-day training session (where I attempted to learn Bisayan dialect), see a hand-made broom demonstration by KNI – a local women’s group of Albur (which was amazing), and I got to sit in on several meetings on varying topics (taking place on rivers, mangroves, and churches!), just to name a few. The expansiveness of the organization’s coverage is remarkable and has yet to cease to amaze me. All the exposure I’ve had has been beneficial for my education and has made me more excited than ever to join the Peace Corps upon graduation (and perhaps return to the Philippines to learn some more Bisayan). Daghang salamat!