Formation and Training

The program aims to recruit, train and field young professionals to do volunteer work in schools, parishes, NGOs and people’s organizations for a period of one to two years.

The program provides the following:

Orientation and Skills Training Seminar and Retreat (10-14 days)
The seminar aims to equip the volunteer with the necessary knowledge, skills, value orientation, and spirituality for competent and committed service to the areas/communities they are assigned to.

Mid-Year Evaluation Seminar and Retreat (7 days) is aimed at giving the volunteers the opportunity to reflect upon their experiences and review their growth areas. Apart from this, these sessions give them the opportunity for faith reflection.

Year-End Evaluation Seminar and Retreat (7 days) is aimed at evaluating the one year of experiences of the volunteers and assist them in the integration of their learnings and realizations into a commitment to a way of life in the Church. Besides serving this as a closure, it also prepares them for their return to social structure they had been separated from (their families and friends).

Regional Fellowship (3 days each, 2 times a year)
These gatherings are designed for the volunteers in each geographical region. During these gatherings, the volunteers are given the opportunity to share their concerns and difficulties in their work areas. The gathering as serves as a time to rest and re-energize.

Regular Visits and Dialogue by the Program Staff
The aim of these visits is to monitor the progress of the volunteers in their service areas as well as their faith journey. It is also gives the program an opportunity to dialogue with area supervisors regarding the formation and work performance of the volunteers.

The program also tries to provide logistical support to the volunteers through housing and monthly allowances.

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Three hundred ten young professionals have served for one to two years as school teachers, youth formators, parish workers, and community development workers in rural and urban localities around the country, making their main apostolate the education and formation of the poor and the young towards a community-based and community-oriented leadership. The volunteers come from different educational and socio-economic backgrounds where, at a certain moment in their lives had encountered the Religious of the Assumption sisters. This diversity of cultures and backgrounds enriches the community of volunteers as they are united in prayer and service.

The volunteers are recruited through the assistance and recommendations of the AMA alumni and RA Sisters in the different regions and countries. The Campaign and Recruitment Committee designed the module, which helped in facilitating the campaign talks. A great number of young people have been recruited from the existing mission areas where past volunteers had worked. The presence of volunteers in these mission areas inspires young people to also give a year of service.

The total number of volunteers for May 2002 – August 2003 was 20 but we have had 4 fall-outs since. This year, the volunteers come from the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao regions and France. In addition, there are short term volunteers from USA and Sweden.

While the impact of the volunteers’ service is most felt in the communities and organizations they serve, the training and formation they experience contribute to a growth in their commitment to God, country and their neighbor long after their volunteer year.

The Receiving Communities

For May 2002 – April 2004, a total number of fourteen (14) receiving communities applied in the AMA Volunteer Program. The Screening and Admissions Committee composed of the program staff, a board member and some alumni decided on which applicants to approve and which areas they were to be assigned to. The receiving communities were deliberated based on its support for the formation of volunteers, areas with the least available resources, and if it was part of the Assumption community and extended apostolates. This year AMA sent the volunteers to nine (7) receiving communities.

The AVP Alumni

The alumni community has continued to be a support group, a praying community and has provided human and material resources to the volunteer program.

The alumni, as members of the board oversee the implementation of the program and the sustainability of the organization. Each Board of Trustees member heads or supports a committee that is directly involved in the operation of the AVP.

Other alumni assist the AVP by facilitating recruitment talks, designing and facilitating formation modules and giving logistical support to the program during gatherings. The alumni fund raise every year for the AVP.

The Japanese Alternative Tour (JAP Tour)

AMA-Philippines entered into a partnership with the Religious of the Assumption Sisters of Mino, Japan for the formation of college girls The Japanese Alternative Tour provides activities aimed at making the student aware of social realities and giving them an experience of living with the people in the Philippines. The alternative tour features exposure trips, lectures and discussions, institutional visits, interaction and sharing, immersion (homestay with an urban/rural poor family) and sightseeing to historical and cultural places. The program is conducted for 7 to 10 days. The participants homestay in the different Assumption communities for four days and three nights. The tour takes place during the month of December and an average of 15 young people participate every year. However, due to recent developments in international security and peace and order, the program has been shelved temporarily.

Filipino - Japanese Immersion Tour (Fil - Jap Tour)

The Religious of the Assumption Sisters together with some parishes in Japan and some AMA Alumni created a program for the Filipino-Japanese children (known as doubles) whose pressing concerns are the identity crisis and racial discrimination that they constantly experience and other family problems due to inter-cultural marriages. The program assists in the re-rooting/ and befriending process of both cultures, which they belong to. The program provides exposure trips, lectures and discussions, institutional visits, interaction and sharing, immersion (homestay with urban and rural poor families) and sightseeing. This has been temporarily shelved, too.

Short-term Volunteer Program

The Short-term Volunteer Program is offered to locals and foreigners who wish to immerse themselves in the realities of poor communities. These volunteers, most of who come from communities where the Assumption is present, give 2 weeks to 6 months serving in local institutions, NGOs, and parishes. The foreign volunteers participate in the repair of schools/community centers, provides sports clinics, tutorial lessons, leadership seminars, etc. It also includes joining the activities of the other volunteers and the alumni. The program is conducted during the entire year. For this year, we have already welcomed 2 Americans and a Swedish National.

Retreats and Recollections for the Young (RRY)

AMA Alumni receive invitations to provide retreats and recollections from different schools, parishes, and youth groups. The participants come from various sectors such as Assumption students, youth groups, office employees, and laity. Retreats and Recollections are conducted upon invitation. In one year, the average number of participants to these retreats is approximately 200.