Volunteering at the Boys Rehabilitation Center

Program Description

By volunteering with children-in-conflict-with the law, you can help coach and mentor young male adolescents who need to alter the course of their lives. The Boys Rehab, officially called Regional Rehabilitation Centre for Youth, is a social welfare residential facility run by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which provides care and rehabilitation to male children in-conflict-with-law aging between 9 and 18. However, there are some boys above 18 years old who are still residing at the centre due to extended services that are still being provided. Although it's hard to believe, all these boys have pending cases being tried in court, some are serious offenses like crimes against property (robbery, theft) and against persons or the public (murder, homicide, rape). The main purpose of the centre is to modify the behaviour of the boys and turn them into better and law-abiding members of the society. They are provided with both specific and overall programs and services that include social (group counseling sessions, therapy), home life (chores, personal hygiene), productivity (skills training), educational (non-formal and formal education, alternative learning system), spiritual and psychological. The volunteer will be working alongside a staff composed of social workers, houseparents, and support staff. . The volunteer is required to work at this placement five times a week, from Monday to Friday and at least four hours a day.

Highlights

Basically the volunteer’s goal is to meet the objective of the centre to help modify the boys’ behavior and prepare them for reintegration into the community and their families. Due to the nature of the boys’ cases, many of them are not able to attend formal school. It is of great importance that they continue learning, and that’s where the volunteer comes in, to conduct non-formal lessons like Math and English. Training in livelihood skills such as baking, computer literacy, hair-styling, and other areas are also helpful to these young boys. The boys also enjoy sports, music, and dance. The centre encourages volunteers to share and impart their skills, talent, and knowledge on these fields.

Qualifications

No formal training is required though it is important that volunteers be compassionate, non-judgmental, and adaptable. Experience and knowledge in the field of Psychology or Social Work would be very useful. Prospective volunteers who have experienced similar childhood trauma or life experience should have received counseling for themselves as working in this type of setting may result in the surfacing of painful, unresolved personal issues.

Volunteer Types

Youth

What`s Included

Airport pick-up and drop-off, accommodation with a local host family with 2 meals a day (breakfast and dinner), program orientation, waray-waray (local dialect) language lesson, volunteers' excursion, project tour, and 24 hour local staff support.