A day with Red Cross Youth from Rizal

(In January 2011, and thanks to the ICRC Young Reporter Competition, I had the fortune of visiting the ICRC mission in the Philippines to report on the situation of youth. This post is part of a series I wrote on this visit. Click here to see the rest of the posts.)

I described in my article what a day with the ever-so-inspiring youth volunteers of the Philippine Red Cross, Rizal chapter, looks like. But it was really such a fulfilling experience that I wanted to post a few more pictures I took that day.

I joined this enthusiastic group of PRC Youth early enough to see them prepare for the day. After a while, we arrived to the chosen barangay so that they could start looking for young people to chat with.

And when I said ‘looking for youth to chat with’, I meant ‘looking for youth to chat with… anywhere and everywhere!’

Here’s a special shout-out to the brave girls that found their audience in the kindergarten. Even if they’re in their early twenties, these girls had no moment of hesitation when they stepped in to do the activity they planned for the younger ones.

That comes with experience, I think. They’ve been at it for a long time now, despite their young age. These kids are in great hands.

But they’re not the only ones in great hands; young people of all ages had someone to speak with.

 

 

These young volunteers were seen with curiousity that day. For people who live in vulnerable areas, seeing young people approach them to help isn’t always a common occurrence.

 

… And, since I wasn’t doing any of the talking, I could snap away at any sight of a pretty face!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures of happy kids are always a good way to end a blog post, but I have yet to express another of the reasons why I love the PRC Youth so much:

 

 

 

They do the recap of their activity over shared snacks! (And they were kind enough to let me have this traditional Pinoy rice dessert, and even some chocolate cake.)

Admittedly, many (if not most) of this youth initially became involved with the PRC thanks to a first-aid competition that the PRC runs nation-wide as a fun way to get young people involved with their work. NGO volunteer recruiters: it’s time to learn from their experience. Even if this competition is a game, it is enough to bring a lot of youth (or 75% of the PRC’s manpower, as I can’t stop stressing) to volunteer.

 

 

 

You really do rock, PRC Youth! All the volunteers I met in the different chapters had beautiful stories to share on what they learned as PRC volunteers, on the vision they had for the future of their country. All of them were hard-working, and, most importantly: they all knew how to have fun while at it.

 

 

 

 

Salamat for the time you were willing to spend with me, (for all the extremely delicious food), for all the photo opportunities… and for all the inspiration you still give me whenever I think of that day. Be sure plenty of people in my country are getting to know about your work!

 

Photo credits: © CICR/García Montes, Mariel
The here shown material has been produced with the authorization of The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). However, it does not necessarily reflect the ICRC’s views, and the ICRC may not be held liable for any content here shown.