Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Summer 2014 Issue | Page 17

organized a team of 30 people – including almost all of the
diocesan staff members, some local clergy and a team of
medical volunteers from the Diocese of Sebah in Malaysia – to
take a disaster response trip to Bantayan, a small island where
almost all of the homes were destroyed.

The Episcopal Church of the Philippines does not have
any congregations on Bantayan, where the population is
mostly Roman Catholic. But, as Casimina explained, “It feels
good to help your neighbor… but it feels better to help a
stranger.” He added, “It is incumbent on our part to really
help, regardless of what their religion is. That is one of the
strengths of the Episcopal Diocese of Davao.”
The Virginia team spent time with national and diocesan staff,
learning about rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts. “The
Episcopal Church of the Philippines’ approach to typhoon
relief is community-based – and by no means limited to
Episcopal communities,” said Blanchard. In the Diocese of
Davao, Blanchard added, “I was impressed at their focus
on mission outside themselves.” Following the December
2012 Typhoon Bopha, known locally as Pablo, diocesan
representatives traveled to outlying areas to offer relief and
rebuilding services. In one area, after receiving aid from the
Diocese of Davao, the local residents wanted to join and
worship in the Episcopal Church. “They asked us not only

to sustain their material needs, but to sustain their spiritual
needs, as well,” said Casimina. And so the Chapel of the
Transfiguration was created in the Diocese of Davao. “As a
result of that outward look, they’re growing,” said Blanchard,
“and we can learn from that.”
Typhoons are a constant for the 7,000-plus islands that make
up the Philippines, and likewise, typhoon response is a top
priority for the Episcopal Church of the Philippines, which
became an official missionary district of the Episcopal Church
in 1901 and later was a diocese of the Episcopal Church. In
1990, it became an independent province of the Anglican
Communion, and continues today in a covenant relationship
with the Episcopal Church.

The Church’s response focuses on sustainability and
community loan programs – and it’s a church-wide effort.
Throughout the process, they’ve found that, “disasters
usually bring out the best in communities,” said Floyd
Lawlet, provincial secretary for the Episcopal Church of the
Philippines. “Our people have become more open to giving to
others,” said Lawlett. “There’s an openness to share not only
money, but [products] of our own communities.” t

Learn about Episcopal Relief & Development’s response to Typhoon
Hayian at episcopalrelief.org

YASCer Ashley Cameron
The Episcopal Diocese of the Philippines is home to three
volunteers from the Episcopal Church Young Adult Service
Corps (YASC). Margaret Clinch of the Diocese of Southern Ohio
serves at a school, Andrew Joyce from the Diocese of Kentucky
serves at a farm, and Virginia’s own Ashley Cameron of St.
James’s, Leesburg, serves the Diocese of Santiago.

Cameron majored in Spanish at the University of

Mary Washington. But it was her studies in economics
and her experience working with micro-finance projects in
Honduras during college that made her a fit for the Diocese of
Santiago’s Episcopal Development Foundation of St. Mark’s.

The Foundation is an established micro-lending institution
that offers loans of roughly $100 to $1,000 to over 1,000 clients
in the Santiago city area.

A day in the life for Cameron includes processing loan
applications and meeting with applicants, paired with field
visits to the various market owners and farmers who receive
loans from the organization.

Cameron will leave her post in August, and plans to
move to the Washington, D.C., area to pursue a job in social
enterprise or micro-finance. But she will take her YASC
lessons with her: the ability to adapt, and be flexible; the
need for self-awareness, and for collaboration. “Before
coming to YASC … I enjoyed doing everything on my own,”
said Cameron. “But it’s really taught me that you can’t do it
all by yourself, and you’re not supposed to. You can learn a
lot by asking others for help.”

Photo: Emily Cherry

Young Adult Service Corps member Ashley Cameron works with
micro-finance clients in the Diocese of Santiago in the Philippines.
Summer 2014 / Virginia Episcopalian

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