Posts by Gill
Iloilo
← Return to gallery index Iloilo is the main city on Panay, an island in the Visayas. I spent a week there at the beginning of July, combining work and sightseeing.
Read MoreMicro-mythbusting
Deconstructing some common assumptions about microfinance
Travelling to Iloilo at the beginning of the month in order to conduct an assessment of a microfinance programme that targets people with disabilities as clients, I was required to undertake a bit of a crash course in microfinance theory. Microfinance – the provision of small loans (and other financial services) to the poor to enable them to avoid using traditional moneylenders who...
Read MoreIndependence Day
← Return to gallery index The Filipinos celebrate their independence from Spanish rule on June 12th. Or rather, the Filipino government does - its a national holiday, but most Filipinos don't actively participate and the only real public celebration is the one in Rizal Park (pictured) that's put on for the president. If it hadn't been for the Lonely Planet it might well ha
Read MoreAmerican Cemetery
← Return to gallery index The American Cemetery in Manila is a poignant memorial to the devastation caused in the Philippines by WW2 and is contains the largest number of military graves outside of the US. It's kept incredibly well manicured by the US federal government as its technically considered US soil.
Read MoreWhere is your companion?
It is Independence Day in the Philippines and having heard that there will be a parade in Rizal Park I make my way into Central Manila from my current home in Quezon City (slightly out of town) and follow the slowly gathering crowd of people towards the grandstand. Almost immediately as I join the throng, someone approaches me and asks me who I am and where I’m from. I’m used...
Read More