Meaningful Volunteer is a volunteer placement organization currently operating in Uganda and Philippines. They place volunteers. They also teach the Standard Days Method of NFP as part of Project Lifecycle, their effort to provide family planning options in accord with the religious and ethical needs of the countries they serve. Yay, you’re thinking.
Well, except for the fact that they don’t really know that much about NPF, and evidently resent it.
They posted on the their Facebook & Twitter account Tuesday at link to an article about the Church in the Philippines, who’s been in a long, long fight against secularist pressures to mainline contraceptive methods into their country,
“Why Project Lifecycle is forced to used natural family planning methods and not modern methods like the pill and condoms.”
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t NFP a modern method? (We can have a discussion about the downfalls of SDM another time. Additionally, SDM is not the only method available in the Philippines.) Also, according to MV’s description of Project Lifecycle, this program was established to respect the regional religious and ethical preferences where they serve. Yet, this type of attitude flies in the face of the respect they supposedly trying to show.
So, if you could, please stop by MV’s Facebook page and/ or reply to their recent Tweet on this topic, letting them know that 1) NFP is a modern method and it’s amazing (your own words–whatever), and 2) Respect the countries they serve; Nobody’s forcing them to do anything–if they don’t want to teach SDM, let Project Lifecycle go. In order to comment on their FB page, you have to become a fan of MV (you can undo this later if you want), and if you want to reply to a Tweet, I believe you need to follow first. Small price to let them know.
Update: Here’s Meaningful Volunteer’s reply to me on Facebook (Please do jump in on FB if you disagree with this!):
oops. I stand corrected. SDM is obviously a modern method.
I would disagree that _natural family planing_ is a modern method though. People have been avoiding having babies by natural means ever since humankind got the whole “sperm + egg = babies” concept.
I would also wholeheartedly disagree with the link on njnfp.org that states natural family planning methods are 99% effective.
Why is it that people take about 10 seconds to look at something–not being as scientific as they claim they are–then decide that NFP is still what they incorrectly judge it to be? What really gets me is that they think SDM is more effective than NFP (Ovulation and Sympto-thermal).
14 Responses to Meaningful Volunteer: NFP Not a Modern Method
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Thanks Jess for the info. I’ll leave a comment on their web-page–emphasizing some of the excellent research on modern methods in respected medical journals. If you have a minute, will you take a look at my page on research and let me know if I’m missing an important study? Thanks so much! http://www.cssnc.org/nfp_effectiveness.html
Batrice, did you check out their Facebook site? We need a little help there. I took a look at your links, and you have some great ones. I might also add the one from the Journal of Family Medicine and really highlight the quote from the British Medical Journal: “the accumulating data confirm that natural family planning can be as effective as any method of family planning [contraception].” [British Medical Journal. Ryder, "Natural Family Planning," 725.]
I’m doing what I can – I posted to their Facebook page.
What I would really like to know is how they truly expect to help these people when all they really want to do is undermine everything they believe in. No one is telling the people of MV to use NFP, but they have agreed to teach it to the people of the Philippines. And in doing so they need to respect these people and their beliefs otherwise they could probably do a pretty good job of leading them away from the Church. It’s sad, really.
I think that the Phillipines is about 80% catholic. There might even be some CrMS teachers there…
I just don’t think they get it. Here’s their last response to me.
Meaningful Volunteer: We provide free modern contraception for those who are denied it.
We do it a non-profit way.
We share all our research and findings…. See More
We bring it world class family planning experts to do the training.
We follow best practice methods.
Not really sure what your problem is.
Previous to this they had completely ignored anything I said actually regarding the Church and just went on about how they are doing what they have been told do otherwise they would get kicked of the island. And they’ve been filled with tons of implications that NFP or SDM is not modern and that “modern” contraceptive is the only real way to go.
They’re there, which is obviously better than nothing, but where are the Catholic non-profit groups? Really they should be the ones in the Philippines since they will never have the ulterior motive of wanting to push contraceptive.
I just pointed out to them that chemical and barrier methods of birth control have existed since ancient times, so they cannot truly be called “modern methods” of family planning either.
We’ve definitely frustrated them, but they’re thinking is so backwards that it appears to be hard to break through. Every time we bring up the word “respect” they say that they work “within the religious norms”. Not the same thing… not even close. Especially when they continually say that they would much rather hand out contraceptive and the only reason they don’t is because they would be called “Satan’s workers” and would get kicked out of the country.
Yep, Finding Joy, I’m sure CrMS has a strong presence there along with other methods, but this guy wouldn’t know a real NFP instructor if it gave him a bear hug. He doesn’t even know what NFP is, and wouldn’t give it a chance because it’s connected to religion. Little does he know that the origins of SDM are religious, and promoted by a religious institution, no less. Uggh…
Completely non-sensical. This guy is a total Rachel, and he needs prayers.
Thanks for chiming in Samantha! Very good point, but clearly MV’s not operating on logic, so he probably won’t get the point…Prayers for him and MV.
Well, if that’s what we can do (plant a seed, not just tick someone off for no reason), it is what it is. Now we just pray, Angela. Good work!
I’m bothered by the fact that their attitude seems very much like”saving nonwhites from themselves.” I don’t actually believe that they’re racist, but it does seem pretty clear that they view their own (Western, largely non-Catholic) culture as superior to the Catholic Filipino culture. And I think that the Filipinos will pick up on that attitude, and they will hardly appreciate it. I hope that MV will come to realize the need to be more culturally sensitive.
I respectfully urge everyone to limit the discourse on reproductive health/family planning, vis-a-vis, effectiveness, etc.
To go interpreting “attitudes” about “non-whites”, racism, superiority, religion and some such is over-reaching and, by religious precepts, un-Christ-like.
We may disagree with MV on NFP but Project Lifecycle is not its only program. It has education, health, environment, livelihood as well. In other words, it helps communities made poor by largely Catholic government officials through graft, corruption and ineptitude.
Now, shall we go back to original question?
Btw, I am Filipino and Catholic.
From where I stand, we welcome these kinds of initiatives: MV, CERV, GVN, VFV, etc. At least, they’re doing something. And, as explained, MV tries not to offend the religious in the Philippines.
Good enough for a Filipino and a Catholic.