Helen and Mona's Monthly Journal | September 2025

Hello, we are Helen and Mona, and we work as volunteers for the Tapulanga Foundation. We arrived in Silay at the beginning of September and will stay here for one year. We want to tell you about our experiences and about what’s happening at the St. Francis of Assisi School. 

On September 11, it was our first day at the school. It was interesting to watch the flag ceremony, as there isn’t anything similar in German schools. The principal introduced us to the students, and we felt very welcome.

 

Helen joins Grade 8 on most days. There, she helps the students and teachers whenever needed and reminds the students to do their missed LAS.

 

Mona helps Ms. Ma in the preschool to sing and dance with the children, then she helps hand out the worksheets and work on them.

Furthermore, Helen had the chance to join Grade 9 in their cooking classes. It was very interesting to cook together with the students and to taste delicious Filipino food.

 

The preschool had a swimming day and we tried to swim one lap with the children and then take turns. Most of the children were very happy and motivated, and it was a lot of fun.

  

In our first month in the Philippines, we already witnessed two typhoons and one earthquake. We are glad that Silay wasn’t severely affected. It was our first time experiencing such forces of nature. Now we know that it is normal in the Philippines for face-to-face classes to be suspended due to high risk and bad weather conditions, and we know where to find the announcements when there is no school.

 

The last thing we want to report to you is the fire drills we took part in. We also have them in German schools, but we noticed some differences. Here, it is a requirement that firefighters observe and confirm that the evacuation was successful. So, there was one practice drill, and a week later, it was watched by the professionals. There are two different alarms, so everybody knows to which assembly point they should go. In Germany, we also stand separately in our classes, and the teacher confirms with a list that every student was rescued. Here, students themselves count, and it’s great that the students have so much responsibility and look out for each other.

 

We’re looking forward to staying here for a whole year and are excited to gain even more new experiences.

 

 

-Helen and Mona

Volunteer Spotlight : HELEN

    

Name:	Helen Karolina Gerner
Age:	18 years old
Nationality:	German
3 Words to describe yourself:	Optimistic - Curious - Open Minded

Tell us about your career so far. What did you do before you came to volunteer in Tapulanga?

"I just graduated and did my A-levels"

 

Why did you choose Tapulanga?

"I really like their work, especially that so many students get a scholarship and I´m looking forward to the Christmas gift-giving. Additionally, I was really interested to experience a catholic private school in the Philippines and work there."

 What are your work duties in Tapulanga/SFAS? 

"I arrive in school around 7:15 am. After the flag ceremony, I walk together with the students to the classrooms of Grade 8. If I don´t have any other tasks, I will stay there the whole school day. During the lessons, I often move between the two Grade 8 classrooms and help the students, remind them to focus on their work or get them to catch up with missed LAS. In the breaks, I often spend time with the students and talk with them or they teach me some Ilonggo."

What is the most rewarding part of being a volunteer?

"It's amazing to have the chance to get so many experiences and learn about the culture, the life and the school system in the Philippines. Also, I really enjoy the kindness of the Filipinos. All students, the teachers and other people I meet seem to be very interested and happy about meeting us."

What do you look forward to in your 1 year of volunteer service?

"Learning even more about the Philippine food, culture, traditions, the people and hopefully getting fluent in Ilonggo."

What is the most exciting or most memorable thing that happened to you during your few days as a volunteer?

"Arriving in the Philippines and getting the very first impression of the country was memorable. The country is so colorful, there are so many plants everywhere and it´s just beautiful."

What do you find to be most challenging about your work? How do you deal with it?

"The language barrier. I'm trying to learn Ilonggo as fast as possible"

Who or what inspires you?

"I'm inspired by working with many different people, the interaction with them and making a difference together."

 Tell us more about yourself!

What are you passionate about outside of work?

"In Germany, I did a lot of voluntary youth work. For example, I was a team leader in a summer camp and head of the altar servers. Here, I am looking forward to all the new experiences, meeting new people, the food and traveling."

Tell us 2 things that you have learned so far.

"I learned how to ride a tricycle and some basic Ilonggo."

What is one thing you are good at?

"swimming"

What is one Tagalog or Ilonggo word/phrase you like to use?

"Halong!"

     Bonus Questions!

What’s your target destination in the Philippines?Why?

     "I would really like to visit the Rice Terraces because I have not seen one yet in real life." 

If you could swap places with someone else for a day, who would it be?

  "an astronaut"

      

 

   

Volunteer Spotlight : MONA

   

Name:	Mona Luca Jehle
Age:	20 years old
Nationality:	German
3 Words to describe yourself:	Clumsy - Empathetic - Honest

Tell us about your career so far. What did you do before you came to volunteer in Tapulanga?

"Before coming to Tapulanga, I graduated from high school in 2024. Afterward, I worked in a restaurant for nearly six months, and then I spent some time traveling through Asia and Europe. "

 

Why did you choose Tapulanga?

"I chose Tapulanga because of their programs and their values"

 What are your work duties in Tapulanga/SFAS? 

"I am working in Preschool ( Kindergarten) and my job is to prepare the children for school through playing, singing and dancing and also do the worksheets with them."

Tell us about a typical day at work.

"A typical day at work starts with us dancing and singing together to different songs. After that, we all sit together, pray and say "Good morning" to each other. Then the kids do their worksheets and I try to assist them if needed. After that, I play with the kids and eat either lunch or breakfast with them. Afterwards, we do another worksheet with storytelling and math. I have a morning class and an afternoon class."

What is the most rewarding part of being a volunteer?

"I think the most rewarding part is to get to know the kids and their personal lives and also to see their growth."

What do you look forward to in your 1 year of volunteer service?

"I look forward to creating good connection with the kids and the teachers in school - to have a lot of fun during my volunteer year and to leaving my own comfort zone."

What is the most exciting or most memorable thing that happened to you during your few days as a volunteer?

"I was only in my first week at school, but I was already excited to meet the children and get to know their unique personalities - and I really love them already!"

What do you find to be most challenging about your work? How do you deal with it?

"I think the most challenging thing about my work is to learn Hiligaynon, because the kids cannot speak good English yet. To have a conversation with them, I need to learn their language."

Who or what inspires you?

"I think not one special person inspires me, rather a lot of people in my close environment."

 Tell us more about yourself!

What are you passionate about outside of work?

"I am very passionate about swimming. In Germany, I swam six years as my sport. I also love horse-back riding. I did this since I was a little kid and I'm really gonna miss it a lot during my volunteer year. I also love my friends and spend every free second in my life with them."

Tell us 2 things that you have learned so far.

"I've learned a bit of Hiligaynon, and I also learned how to ride the bus here, which is quite different from how it is in Germany."

What is one thing you are good at?

"I am very good at swimming or listening to other people's problems."

What is one Tagalog or Ilonggo word/phrase you like to use?

"Halong!"

     Bonus Questions!

What’s your comfort food?

     "My comfort food is fried rice with vegetables and chicken. " 

If you could swap places with someone else for a day, who would it be?

  "If I could swap places with one person for one day it would totally be Bob Marley, because of his music and lifestyle."