Volunteers Bob and Lisa Burton have used their time in the Philippines to improve the quality of education in San Andres
Peace Corps volunteers visit Minot
Minot native, husband looking for sponsors to ship books to Philippines
By: Joseph Boushee
Editorial Writer
Posted at
- "It sounded like a plane was flying over our house," said Lisa Burton, describing the noises that resounded just outside of the 20-foot by 20-foot bamboo "nipa hut" house where she and her husband lived. It was raining heavily, and the wind blew hard.
"It was similar to a hurricane," said Lisa's husband, Bob Burton.
The typhoon went on for about 29 hours. When the Burtons awoke the next morning, trees were strewn everywhere on the small island in the eastern Philippines.
"We woke up and saw a huge hole in their (the neighboring) house."
Luckily, the Burtons, and their neighbors, who stayed with them that night, were unharmed. The Burtons, disappointed about the damage to their neighbors' home, realized how much was lost in the storm.
How did the neighbors feel?
"They just laughed," said Lisa. "We saw what was lost. They saw what was saved."
As Peace Corps volunteers, the Burtons have called San Andres, a village of close to 5,000 people on the island of Catanduanes their home. And they will continue to do so until September 2005. Volunteering in the Philippines since July 2003, and working through a two-year commitment, the Burtons, being two of three Americans on the island, have used their time in the Peace Corps to improve the quality of education in San Andres.
Lisa (Mahowald) Burton, originally from Minot, is assigned to work at the San Andres elementary school. Her husband is assigned to the village's high school. Despite working in different areas, the Burtons' main objectives are similar - to help school teachers develop their teaching skills and to create class curriculum. The Burtons are not actual classroom teachers, but act more as guides to teachers. There is no set curriculum for each grade in the San Andres schools. Teachers are just given a set of learning objectives which their students must meet.
Lisa Burton said that her experience has been challenging in the Philippines. She said a lot of the people have stereotypical ideas about Americans. Some assume that all Americans are wealthy.
"They were amazed to hear that poverty exists here," she said.
Burton said that some people in the schools assumed she and her husband were experts.
"It's hard to erase those stereotypes," she said.
Along with working in the classroom, the Burtons have compiled a large amount of donated books hoping to create a library for the school. Lisa Burton said there aren't many reading materials available to students in San Andres.
"It's not that they can't read or don't want to, it's just that there is little or nothing available for them to read," she said. They are currently looking for a Minot business that is interested in sponsoring the shipping cost needed to transport the books to the Philippines. Anyone interested can call 852-2768.
The Burtons say that living conditions in the Philippines are basic. People pump their drinking water from wells, and secretaries at the schools use typewriters.
"The culture is very refreshing," Bob Burton said of such simplicity. He said being immersed in the culture has taught him to further respect the conveniences that are available to him in the United States.
Of the whole Peace Corps experience, he said, "It's been life changing." "I enjoy the people." he said.
Lisa Burton shares the same feelings, saying, "The people are amazing."
To enter the Peace Corps, the Burtons had to go through a one-year application process. After applying and being accepted into the program, they began training. Their training prepared them with knowledge of Philippino language, culture and dialect. "We're kind of working (on picking up the language and culture) all the time," Bob Burton said.
The village of San Andres was described to the Burtons by its residents as "a very safe part" of the Philippine Islands. It is the Mindanao region, south of Catanduanes that is the more dangerous area. Volunteers in the Peace Corps are not assigned to work in that area.
The Burtons are on vacation in Minot for a few weeks now, but they will go back to their life in the Philippines June 30.
