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PEACE CORPS PORTFOLIO
Larry J Galante Casa Miani-Arvedi, Home for Boys
Dumaguete City, Philippines 2012-2014
PCV Larry J Galante - Batch 271, CYF
Background of Site Placement
Larry J. Galante was assigned to Casa Miani-Arvedi (CMA), Home for Boys,
as a Youth Development Facilitator. Casa Miani is a residential facility that
provides assistance to orphans, street children, and boys that have been
abandoned/neglected, or come from extremely poor families. Casa Miani-
Arvedi, located in Barangay Talay, Dumaguete City, is a faith-based, non-
governmental organization run by the Somascan Fathers. It is one of five
Somascan orphanages in the Philippines, and just one of many worldwide.
There are currently 22 boys living at Casa Miani, ranging from ages 6 to 16.
Casa Miani provides educational assistance, a caring-family environment,
character formation, skills development, and support for employability.
Larry’s primary responsibilities at Casa Miani were to organize activities to
empower youth by developing the boys’ skills, enhancing self-esteem, and
building confidence. He initiated programs for theater arts and life skills,
taught English and piano during summers, utilized networking skills to
coordinate special workshops with NGOs, and assisted with organizational
development projects to enhance the center’s overall operations.
The boys and staff of Casa Miani-Arvedi
PCV’s Activities & Accomplishments
Provided daily academic tutorials to assist the boys in school
assignments, focusing on subjects of English, Mathematics, & Science.
Co-facilitated life skills activities tailored to different age groups.
Co-facilitated a Life Skills Training of Trainers (TOT) to 13 high school
boys to initiate the Peer Facilitated Life Skills program.
Adapted a Career Guidance Manual and game to assist graduating high
school students of Negros Oriental in planning their future.
Taught English and Piano during the 2013 & 2014 Summer Programs.
Initiated the annual Casa Olympics sports tournament.
Co-facilitated two résumé writing workshops for the college and
graduating high school boys.
Coordinated special workshops with partner NGOs, including
Sustainable Masculinity, First Aid & CPR, and Theater Arts.
Initiated and carried out the project, “Theater Arts for Youth
Empowerment” resulting in the production of an original musical play.
Activities at Casa Miani-Arvedi
Left: PCV Larry Galante gives piano lessons during the 2014 CMA Summer Program
Right: Men Against Violence-Amlan (MAVA) facilitates a workshop on “Sustainable
Masculinity” for the Casa Miani boys
PCV Larry Galante co-facilitates a life skills activity with his counterpart, focusing
on teamwork, communication, and problem solving.
Activities at Casa Miani-Arvedi
Outputs
28 youth participated in 24 Life Skills activities enhancing social,
cognitive, and emotional skills.
11 youth leaders conducted 12 Peer Facilitated Life Skills activities
focusing on self-awareness, interpersonal relationships, conflict
resolution, and assertiveness.
4 youth participated in Career Guidance sessions, 2 enrolled in college
courses of their choosing and 2 enrolled in TESDA vocational courses.
2 youth applied for the Peace Corps Alumni Foundation for Philippine
Development (PCAFPD) Scholarship and both were awarded full
scholarships for college tuition and fees.
7 youth participated in résumé writing workshops, and 3 applied for and
gained summer employment through the Philippine Employment Service
Organization (PESO).
28 youth participated in the Theater Arts for Youth Empowerment
project, creating an original musical play that gathered an audience of
over 300 community members for the final performance.
A Casa Miani boy demonstrating the output of a Peer Facilitated Life Skills
session on self-awareness.
All twenty-eight boys, ages 6 to 21, were involved in the Theater Arts for Youth
Empowerment Project held at Casa Miani-Arvedi.
Organizational Development PCV Larry Galante worked side-by-side with his counterpart, the CMA social
worker, to enhance the delivery of social services and improve operations
of the center, including:
Comprehensive revision and updating of Casa Miani-Arvedi’s Manual of
Operations and Child Protection Policy.
Revision of Casa Miani-Arvedi’s VMG (Vision, Mission, Goal) and
creation of the staff organizational chart.
Content updates for the CMA website.
Preparation of documents, organization of files, and updating of case
studies for compliance with the Philippines’ Department of Social
Welfare, Standards Bureau for Accreditation.
Co-facilitation of Life Skills activities, Career Guidance sessions, and
Employability workshops.
For these organizational development projects, the entire staff often
worked together to collaborate & create cohesive materials for the center.
Project Proposals
Larry was successful in writing and submitting several project proposals for
grant funding, as well as soliciting private donations:
United States Embassy Club: 27,500 php
Silliman University - American Studies Resource Center: 5,000 php
Private donors: 15,000 php
In-kind donations: Sports equipment, shoes, clothes, school supplies
In-kind donations solicited by PCV Larry Galante: school supplies and shoes to
support the educational needs of the boys of Casa Miani.
Project Spotlight: Theater Arts Larry partnered with Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts (YATTA) to organize
several theater arts workshops at Casa Miani. These workshops resulted in the
production of an original musical play, entitled BANGON. The production was
intended to enhance the boys’ creative skills, express emotions in a therapeutic
manner, and improve self-esteem. Most importantly, it was the boys’ renewed
belief in themselves that proved to be the most valuable benefit of the project.
As a whole, the community at Casa Miani-Arvedi benefitted from this project
through a sense of unity and improved cooperation among the boys. During the
intensive process of creating the play, the boys learned the importance of
commun
communication and teamwork. In order to
produce a successful performance, the
boys needed to listen to each other and
their artistic mentors. No amount of life
skills activities could have produced the
same invaluable lessons of respect that
the boys learned through their
participation in theater arts.
The cast of BANGON dancing and singing one of three original songs composed
for the theater production.
Project Spotlight: Theater Arts
Cover designs by PCV Larry Galante for the official DVD of the final
performance of BANGON.
Project Spotlight: Theater Arts
Project Spotlight: Career Guidance In order to provide Casa Miani’s graduating high school students with the
necessary information to plan their futures, Larry created several resources
for Career Guidance. The first item was adapted from the work of Matthew
P. Schmidgall (PCV Batch 270) who had created a “Career Action Guide” to
help Filipino students choose a course and plan their future. With
Matthew’s permission, Larry adapted the guide to help students residing in
Negros Oriental, Central Visayas. The guide includes college tips, a
directory listing all post-secondary institutions in the province, available
scholarships, and detailed information on 65 different courses.
To go along with the Career Action Guide, Larry also re-created the “Course
Finder Game.” This was an interactive way for students to self-assess their
skills and interests in order to determine potential college courses to study.
Individualized career guidance sessions were co-facilitated by Larry and his
counterpart to help the 4 graduating high school students determine
potential courses to pursue in a four-year college or short course with
TESDA. Ultimately, the boys were able to learn more about their careers of
choice and make informed decisions for their future.
The interactive Course Finder Game, with its bounded companion, the Career Action Guide,
adapted by PCV Larry Galante to help students better plan their future course and career.
Project Spotlight: Career Guidance
Secondary Project In coordination with Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), Larry organized a
volunteer trip to build homes with Habitat Philippines in Metro Manila. He
recruited 12 volunteers from the United States to volunteer in the Philippines for
one week. They were required to fundraise a certain amount, but many went
above and beyond, ultimately leading the team to raise one million pesos (more
than $23,000 USD) for Habitat for Humanity Philippines.
Coordinating with his counterpart at Habitat Philippines, Larry arranged all the
trip logistics for the volunteers (i.e. transportation, hotel, meals, educational &
cultural activities, etc.). The build site was located in Payatas, Quezon City in a
community called Bistekville 1. The families that were being assisted by Habitat
Philippines were survivors of floods in Manila and had recently lost their homes.
Five days were dedicated to volunteering on the build site, assisting in the
construction of affordable housing units. Larry’s team worked hand-in-hand with
Filipino volunteers, partner families, and skilled workers to construct three units
of housing. Larry’s team accomplished the following: the hauling of +2,000
hollow blocks, 5 cubic meters of sand, and the complete brick-laying and
plastering of three homes. The project reinforced a sense of volunteerism, and
allowed Americans to witness poverty and development first hand.
Top: Larry together with his Habitat volunteer team and local children
Bottom: Before & after shots of the site, showing the 3 units built by the team
