PFAC Palawan Volunteers Reminisce Part 2

Former PFAC Palawan International Volunteers Reminisce their Time in the Refugee Camp.

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I love my job in PFAC Palawan. I worked with the wonderful Vietnamese friends I made and the fabulous IOM Staff that still feel like family.

Remember the great spring rolls at the VRC Coffee Shop? What about the swimming at the sandbar on Sundays? And what about the PFAC Swimming Team when we got caught on the boat to Manila saying good bye to dear friends and had to jump overboard and swim back to the dock? I miss everyone from PFAC.

HELEN MURPHY

Former IOM Medical Coordinator, 
PFAC Palawan

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Well, substantial amount of work was definitely a requirement, but I didn't mind at all because when you love what you do, it's not work but a hobby.  I am a professional singer and I love every form of music.  But the point is, the refugees, especially the youths, needed to do something to fill their precious times in the camp while awaiting resettlement.  Teaching them how to play the xylophone and the drum was a great way to help them take away their boredom and distance themselves from smoking, alcohol, and stuff like that.

Yes!  My service to the Vietnamese refugees, United Nations, and PFAC Palawan was one of the best and probably the most significant highlights of my life not just as a teacher but as a person in general. I appeal to you Vietnamese refugees to not ever forget your foundation which played a big part of who you are today.  Your membership in the band was not accidental.  God brought us all together for a purpose... to entertain, to educate, and to inspire others. And we all succeeded, didn't we?  Thank you for supporting our beautiful music together.  If in the future we have the opportunity to reconnect, I will definitely be here with open arms and warm heart.  You can find me on Facebook under Sam Taylor.  God bless you all.

SAMMY TAYLOR 
Former HTC-PFAC English Teacher 
and Drum and Lyre Vietnamese Youth Trainer 

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PFAC Volunteers Reminisce Part 1

Former PFAC Palawan International Volunteers Reminisce their Time in the Refugee Camp.

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"It's more worthwhile to work in a refugee camp.  These people are displaced.  They lost their families, their homes... I know they need my help badly and only a person with a good heart will be able to serve the less fortunate without having second thoughts or mental reservation".

MARISSA LADICA

Former HTC-PFAC 

English Teacher

 

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I'm so blessed to be a part of these beautiful people in their journey in life.  I'm so thankful to HTC-PFAC for playing an enormous part in molding the person that I am today.  I’m eternally grateful to my Vietnamese students and beloved interpreters, who opened my eyes and taught me to see the true essence of life. They’ve been through a lot of struggles in their journey to freedom, but have always remained positive and have lived their lives in an honorable way and have always been grateful to the country that gave them a second chance.   

Last but not least, I am so grateful to you Andy for inspiring me to be a good language teacher.  The Vietnamese refugees’ stories will always be my inspiration in my journey to where I am teaching now and to where I am going to be in the future. However, and I say it from the bottom of my heart, if I could bring back those times, I’d rather serve the refugees... the less fortunate.

 

GEMMA LEDESMA

Former HTC-PFAC English Teacher 

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As a camp engineer, I designed the water system of the refugee camp, the VRC or PFAC, way back in the very early eighties. Those times were memorable to me. During my free time, and when I could, I would take some refugees to town and we would eat together at our favorite restaurant called "Golden Horse". 

DWIGHT RUSSEL

Former VRC Civil Engineer, PFAC Palawan