Change Agent 2015 Global Gathering

Okay... I have never written a blog before so this is very new to me & I am hoping I am doing it right!             

As a fairly late starter to the YMCA Change Agent Programme my plans all happened rather quick! With less than 5 weeks to go to the Global Gathering I booked my flights & confirmed with Romulo that I would be there!

As I packed my bag I started to worry at what had I got myself into! Nervous about travelling half way round the world to spend the next 10 days with 150 other Change Agents from 62 Countries all there for the same reason- to make the world a better place for young people & promote Youth Empowerment. My nerves were quickly settled when I met two of the change agents from England at Heathrow Airport, after quickly getting my flight socks on we boarded the plane for our adventure!

Departing England & arriving in Tokyo all seemed to happen rather quickly & didn’t feel like nearly 13 hours of travelling! We arrived in Tokyo around half 10 in the morning & met some of the other Change Agents awaiting our arrival at the airport to leave for Yokohama. We boarded a coach & started the introductions with an excited buzz from everyone!

We arrived at the Peace Boat & I was amazed at how big it was! I am not sure what I expected as I have never been on a boat before... unless you count a pedalo! The greeting from the Peace Boat staff was amazing! I felt like I was in a 5* hotel, everyone was so friendly & welcoming! I checked in & was taken to my cabin, met my new roomies for the next couple of weeks- there was Steph from Scotland, Ani from Georgia & Anastasiya from Belarus. I quickly unpacked & went to lunch.

The rest of the day was spent introducing ourselves & getting to know each other which was great- so many interesting stories from so many people, it was really overwhelming to hear what other YMCA’s do & what people do within their projects. In the evening we had Emergency Training.. we were told to grab our life vests & head straight to our muster stations! This was executed to perfection & we all felt safe in the knowledge that should anything happen we knew what do (even if that was just to follow the person in front!)

The first few days absolutely flew! With the programme starting bright & early in the morning before anyone knew what time it was it was time for bed! The sessions were informative & thought provoking & gave us lots to talk about when we split into smaller groups to come together & look at different ideas- this is always good because you get other people’s perception & opens minds. The small groups consisted of around 12 Change Agents & each time we went into small groups we were given exercises to complete that were challenging but created lots of healthy debates. The sessions consisting of Strategic Planning, Future Focus, Strengthening Our Movement, Leadership, Risk Assessing, Fundraising, Negotiation, Facilitation & Problem Solving- these are just a few of the big team sessions before we went off to our groups to develop them further.

We started preparations for the Philippines on day 4, we were split into 12 working groups & were tasked with putting a 90 minute session together to facilitate at the Talisay School in the Philippines, this was a tough task in itself as we only had 3 sessions to put it all together ready to present!  The schedule for the Philippines was a busy one; we disembarked from the boat at 2pm & we were taken via coach to the Talisay School where we were greeted by 500 happy smiley school children all waiting for us in their sports hall! It was an overwhelming greeting & I cannot describe the feelings we all had walking into that hall, I feel emotional just thinking about it. We had a welcome from the Principle of the School, a dance performance from the students & a small concert by the choir which was amazing we went off with our students to start our sessions. I was astounded by how well the sessions went & how responsive the students were, so positive even when telling us the disempowerment & the social injustice that they face growing up in the Philippines. These students are the lucky ones (very loosely said as they too suffer sever hardship) & are only able to attend school as they have gained a scholarship (usually by distant family members) which is no easy feat. I heard one student tell us that she wanted to be a teacher when she finished her studies but her father has said she has to be a chef, I find this really hard that she cannot make her own decision even though I am sure her father only wants the best for her but she gets no choice at all. We asked the students to write down what they believed the main issue for them is in the Philippines & all of the said poverty, corruption, drugs & bullies. I cannot imagine the things they have seen whilst growing up. Nevertheless they were so happy for us to be there with them & it was truly an honour to meet them.

 

We left the school late afternoon heading back onto the coaches & set off to the Talisay Town Hall where the students & the local community had put together a celebration for us, they know how to party! It was extremely humbling & meant so much that they had gone to so much effort for us.

We arrived at Cebu YMCA approximately 10pm, we found our rooms & dropped our bags. The rooms are very basic but clean. Toileting is interesting we had to fill a pan of water in order to flush as the system is not modern.

A few of us decided to head into the city to take a look around, at first it was very developed with big buildings & cars whizzing past, we found McDonald's after filling ourselves up we travelled further down the street.

This is when I realised that the Philippines is developed in so many ways but leaving its people behind. We were met by a child as young as 3 sleeping on the pavement with a car parked watching her, on approaching the child the car turned the headlights on in order for us to see us- the aim of this is so we go to the child & give her money etc which the people in the car would take- I was heart broken. I have been fortunate enough never to have seen this before & I was left completely gobsmacked, devastated & soul destroyed. Every part of my being wanted to pick that little girl up & take her to safety but there is no where. On waking further down the road there are adults, young adults & children sleeping on the pavements whilst cars & buses are racing past. This has to be the hardest thing I have witnessed & I have been naive & sheltered for too long.

On returning to the YMCA all be it in tears I listen to a change agent at reception stressing that she does not have the wifi code & demanding she must have it- I think this puts into perspective the troubles that we face are a slight inconvenience compared to the plight of the street children/adults! After listening to this for a short while I decide to return to my room & try to sleep before getting the opportunity to feed the street children in the morning. Also being very mindful of the native Philippine bugs... there were a few roaches stomping around! I lay in bed trying to sleep but it wasn’t happening, I couldn’t stop thinking of the poor children I had seen, I just lay reflecting on how fortunate I/we are.

 

An early start to Thursday, myself & another change agent met early to have a look at Cebu City first thing to see how different it is during the day. Whilst returning we collected a couple of street children & took them with us back to the YMCA.

It was amazing seeing over 200 street children, adults & scavengers arrive at the YMCA to eat. It started with dancing & singing which the children enjoyed as well as the Chang agents! It was so interesting to learn that to feed all these people it costs 1500P a day which is the equivalent to £20 roughly a day, which for less than 20p a day per person they are getting a fully nutritious meal which included bread, porridge & sausage.  After breakfast the children all went for a swim in the YMCA pool again another enriching experience as this ensures that the children are clean, have a wash & what fun they had! We left the YMCA at 7.45 with 3 groups all heading somewhere different, group 1 went a rehabilitation centre for Filipino people who have disabilities such as deafness, blindness & mute, group 2 went to plant Mangrove Trees to help protect the land in typhoons & group 3 which was my group went to a fair trade centre where they focus on recycling, this was fascinating it is run by Filipino women- Tungkop Women's Organisation they are making products out of rubbish, which I can tell you is unfortunately in its plenty. It was wonderful hearing from these women that who have started this group as it enables them to work around their children & earn around 350P £4.78 a day. The women are a group of 150 age ranging from 18-63.

We left the Tungkop Women's Organisation to have a walk around the church in Cebu which was beautiful. One thing I noticed was security is high & our bags were checked when waking into most places including the church & shops.

From there we went to a shopping mall which has been very well developed & clearly a lot of money has been spent on this mall, this was a bit raw due to the fact that no less the 10 minutes down the road there are children sleeping in the street which left a bitter taste. From what I can see from the Philippines they are working so hard to develop & improve the country but there is still a long way to go. All the Filipino people that we met were so positive & happy even the people that are living on the streets which is almost hard to believe. It has confirmed to me that you can have all the possessions & money in the world & still not find happiness, these people have nothing but each other & little support from their government but have to be the happiest people I have ever met.

In the afternoon we returned to the Peace Boat where we met to have a debrief of what everyone brought back from their experience in the Philippines. I discovered that for some change agent the experience with the children was something that they experience on a daily basis at their YMCA & for others like myself it was shocking.

 

The next few days were rather sombre & gave us a good time to reflect on our experience which is one I will never forget. The final days ploughed on through the programme at a good pace & spirits were raised by The Musical Team who put on a fantastic production.

 

We were all excited for what the future holds for the YMCA & before we knew it, it was day 10 & time to say goodbye which was sad but definitely a see you next year rather than goodbye. A lot of hugs were shared & facebook adds whilst travelling back home.

 

 

I am so lucky to be a Change Agent & cannot wait to help contribute with my fellow 150 colleagues (more like friends!) to help make the world a better place.