Involvement Volunteers International 
I spent two weeks in Tacloban and can say I really enjoyed my time and the experience there. The construction projects I worked on were both fun and rewarding. Myself and another volunteer called April worked alongside local people, it was physical but fun. The local guys were keen to get to know us and teach us about them and their language – we had plenty of laughs. It was also amazing meeting the families that you were helping and seeing the happiness and appreciation in their eyes.
My home stay was awesome, a really nice, fun couple that really made you feel at home. The houses are simple so don’t expect 5 star but they are clean and comfortable. The food was pretty basic, it’s not full of flavour like Thailand or Vietnam but it was nutritious, fresh and hit the spot when you’re hungry!
Outside of working there was plenty of free time to socialise with other volunteers and also look around and get to know the locals – I visited most of the worst affected areas and spoke with the people living in the tent cities and slums, they were really appreciative to have volunteers there and loved having photos taken of them and checking the shots out – it was an amazing experience. I also went to Cebu to Oslob and swam with the Whale Sharks on the free weekend I had which was awesome!
It was well worth my time, I really hope this helps.
Cheers,
Rob
