NGO theory UP

One of my courses at UP is on non profit organizations and their role in public administration. Below are some thoughts I have had from the discussions in my course.

Our recent discussion has surrounded the different levels or generation of NGO's

The first generation is
The second
The third
The fourth, is a generation that is still considered to be a theory, however more and more groups are able to identify that they are operating at lest partially if not fully in this generation.

Thus far in my research I have found three different variations of the fourth generation organizations:

1. The first is the discourse on taking what is good from the existing structure and eliminating what is bad to form the new world. These groups demonstrate little commitment to any established structure. This can be seen in the world social forums discourse
2. The second is the concept of working with the established structure and through them realizing the change. This can be seen in the direction that Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement is going
3. The third is the idea that complete destruction is the only way to move forward
   

I have been thinking that perhaps organizations are like trees

Starting off at the roots are a wide and diverse group of people and networks that come together at the base of the tree creating the first generation.

Moving up the trunk the organizations grow into second and third generations

Around the fourth generation they really began to branch out. I am finding the fourth generations who believe in a new world keeping the good parts of the old, those who seek a new world utilizing the existing channels, and those who seek to destroy all that exists to start new.

All of these levels of organizations work together to better the world in some aspect, just as a tree can clean the air, provide shade, fruit and so on.

Within the fourth generations I believe seeds will be planted for new trees, some the same others diffrent.

like NJ

On my way to see some fish in the ocean I made a comparison that I wanted to share

Philippines .........................................................................NJ

Girls love designer or fake designer bags.....................same
Way too many crazy drivers..........................................same
A very large Asian population........................................same
Toll roads have e-pass ...................................................ez pass
Toll roads have fast-food/ fuel plazas...........................same
SO many shopping malls................................................same
outside the cities it is beautiful farm area....................same
A large population lives at home during college..........same


I also wanted to share that I believe an ant family is trying to create a home under my "j" key

Hope everyone has a great evening

Getting around in Manila

I want to change course a bit in my writing for this entry. After living in Manila for about 5 weeks, I have come to two conclusions.

1. Manila appears to be void of interesting things, however this is false
2. As an outsider getting around in Manila can be overwhelming, however with a bit of faith it is quite doable

Interesting things exist however they are hard to find. Thus far I have found that:

• The National Museum is really wonderful, and if you go on Sundays it is free
• Mall of Asia has an ice skating rink, its about P400 to skate, but free to watch
• Green Belt 1 has a live theater in the same area as a movie theater
• SM North has a great rooftop area where you can sit and enjoy
• Roxas Av, has a lovely beach promenade that is enjoyable to walk especially around dusk
• Quezon City circle has occasional exhibits and always a lively group of park goers on Sundays
• UP campus is lovely to walk and has amazing street food (2.2km around the sunken garden)
  
• Tomas Morato statue is a good landmark to adventure near by, some nice shops, restaurants, salons and night life.
• UP Ayala is quickly becoming a favorite place, three coffee shops and sushi!
  

I feel that it is important to note that three of these locations are connected to a shopping mall, so it is quite probable and easy to find yourself spending an inordinate amount of time in the mall while you are here in Manila, however if you are willing to just accept that fact and take note that its the Philippine way, you can enjoy what you find.

In regards to transportation.

The metro, train, rail system(call it what you may) is known here as the MRT or LRT.

The routes are a bit disjointed, this is because they are still building the complete system however no one seems quite sure when it will be finished.

The MRT overlaps both the LRT1 and LRT2 and LRT1 &2 overlap, so you can get around the whole system.

Every station should have a map and be well labeled, i have not found any without these two things. The station attendants as well as security guards and fellow travelers will most likely be able to help you if you have any questions.

Be warned that the line to buy tickets is quite long. If you are going to be in town for a few days and plan to use one line often it will be faster for you to buy a stored value card for 100p. During rush hour lines can take up to 45 min, if you can ovoid it stay off the metro during rush hour its packed.

Do note that the LRT and MRT use different cards. The cost per ride is based on starting station and ending station but the high end is 15p or about the equivalent of $0.30 USD.

The very front of each train is reserved for women, and ladies do take advantage of this its quite nice.

The trains are all AC

Mostly they operate from 530am till 10pm

The web sites are mildly useful

The Jeeps or Jeepneys are great fun and a full adventure. If you want to try them, and everyone should, you need to know the name of a landmark (this can be any big place, a hospital, school, church, shopping mall) near where you want to go, than just start asking, if where you are going is a common location you might get lucky and find a jeep that says the name of the place in the window or on the side. Typically a ride costs around 10p. If you ask the driver he will make sure that you know when you get to your stop and even point you towards the landmark you used to get there! Jeeps run quite late (at least till 2am)however starting around 10pm the drop in frequency.

Another form of a jeep is more like a big SUV that has seats in the back, these are AC and typically a more luxurious ride, however they will cost you about twice as much.

Buses are much the same as jeeps however they go much further distances, you can get AC and Non AC with prices that match and you just need to ask around to get the one you want unless you know the area you are going and than look for the sign. These run most of the night, I am not sure if they ever stop but I have had no problems with them up till 2am

there are pre-set stops for these three and a little asking can get you to a location where many of them will be.

Taxis are reasonable compared to the rest of the world, but expensive compared to the jeeps and buses. Make SURE to have the taxi driver use his meeter otherwise you will get ripped off. They also should have good AC, if not find another taxi. In general if you have a choice take the newer looking taxi, the companies give the new cars to the best drivers. At many places there are pre set taxi stops where you just get in line and wait for your taxi. A good thing to keep in mind is to lock your door once inside, everyone here says it safer. I have also found that frequently my taxi driver says he knows where we are going but we end up driving around for a while trying to find it, just be prepared. They run all night just make sure you call ahead if your going to need one at a set time.

Tricycles are little pods attached to motorbikes, they have selected zones they can operate in but within that zone they can go wherever you would like. The are less expensive than a taxi and faster than walking. Pre-discuss the price before you get in, normally they are honest about the prices except in the rain or late at night! They run all night however its common to find the drivers asleep if your out too late.

As I discover more ill do my best to update you

=)

Life when your open to it

NCPAG

As most of you know I got accepted into grad school and have departed India to the Philippines. While I have not started to volunteer here I have encountered many interesting organizations. This is a list of a few, if any of you want to come do a volunteer stint here, housing is abundant and cheep, as is transportation and food!!!




Hands on Manila ~ http://www.handsonmanila.org.ph

Red Cross ~ www.redcross.org.ph

Philippine rural reconstruction movement ~ www.prrm.org

Poverty action ~ http://poverty-action.org

While I have been here getting into school mode, Ian has been finishing up his visa in India before heading over to Cambodia where he is going to work with an orphanage called Harmony Farms ~ http://oneworldfamily.net

life has been really wonderful and we are excited about whats to come!

India is .....

Ian and I have been developing simple ways to explain to people what India is like, a few that we have so far are...

India is ....
a place that takes a big spoon and stirs you all up
a completely different world
a developing nation with third world sectors
beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep

ill try to post more as we think of them.

loves

Bag milk

Ian and have rented a two bedroom apartment in the French quarter of Pondicherry for three days. The decision was made while we were staying in mallapuram in a super budget under renovation roach infested place that had regular two hour power outages. While the hotel was one of the worst the 40 degree c temperature's as well as the outbreak of cholera and swine flue made going out a bit of a gamble. If those factors were not enough to get us into a nicer place when we both started developing sever rashes we packed our bags and changed towns. Town changing was not too complicated, tho if we had less stuff we might have been able to squeeze on the first five buses, but bus number six was fine. We passed through coastal farmland that was beautiful, mid west on the Atlantic coast, with palm branch huts. It was easy to imagine how much damage this area suffered during the tsunami. As we were travailing along the first rains of the season started. Three thoughts on that 1 rain creates such wonderfully fresh cool and clean feeling air 2 it's awesome when you bus fare guy gets out to repair the windshield wiper with twine 3 the lack of sufficient if any drain system creates widespread flooding mixing the sewage up even more. Just as the rain was dying down and the lighting was taking out power lines we walked into a French restaurant owned by a pleasant elderly French man and inquired about a room. That is how we ended up staying in this apartment. It's about 20 usd a day but it has wifi and a kitchen. The wifi is great, I am making this post using the I touch and we have no need for Internet cafes. The kitchen is also great giving us control of our food prep sanitation. Yesterday we went to the
market and bought lots of fresh food to eat while we are here and this morning I had my first encounter with bag milk. I was able to open and poor it just fine however I do not understand what to do with the milk remaing in the bag. My solution was to put the bag in a bowl so the opening was up and put the bag in the fridge till Ian wakes up and he can use the rest. On a side note is was so lovely having cold milk to poor over fresh cereal and into my hot coffee:) we belive the our rashes were most likely heat rashes since they have been getting progressivly better since we got ac. I hate to admit it but it's possible that south India really is too hot this time of year.

Port Blair

Hello Everyone,

Sorry that it has been so long since I last wrote. Its been busy, I will also say sorry in advance since I have very little sleep in my system right now so this might jump a bit. We left Dharamasla after a wonderful last day at the local swimming pool. A pool that is just slightly above freezing, since it is all fresh mountain spring fed =) I was extra sad to say good bye to all my friends and hope that I will get to meet them all again some time soon. We did however hit our first bump in a while when an ATM ate Ian's spare bank card just before we got on the bus =( We went to the Bank of American in Delhi only to be informed that while they have the same name and logo and web site they are in no way connected to the Bank Of America in the US, SERIOUS?!?!?!?!? Outside of the bank Delhi was nice, we stayed with some friends of mine who live in Delhi and they showed us some of the local flavor, much better than being on our own. We then got on a 1.5 day train ride to Calcutta. Its a fun city we both enjoyed it very much.

Most of our stay was spent trying to figure out the shipping corporation of India to get boat tickets to Port Blair. What we learned is that:

• office is near millennium park and taxi drivers know where that is. 
• The office is closed on Thursdays as it is a holiday.
• You need to bring a copy of your passport and visa as well as a passport sized photo when you go to buy tickets.
• Cash only for boat tickets.
• Arrive early and give yourself two days to stand in line because it will most likely take that long.

There is a restaurant/ Bar called limelight just down the road from the office that has cola floats, and they are what you expect cold cola with a scoop of ice cream on top... only 70rs

After all this education we went to super travels and bought plane tickets. Than visited Mother Teresa's nunnery, quite peaceful and refreshing before a 5 hour shopping experience 3 hrs packing 2 hrs sleeping and than the airport. Today we are going to visit an old jail and try to get boat tickets for tomorrow to Neel island and than on to Havelock. I most likely will not be back on the internet for about the next 3 weeks while I enjoy this tropical paradise and try to find a place to volunteer at, I wish you all the best!!

Laura