BAHANDI: MONEYging in Time of Crisis

COVID-19 Takeover

Life seemed to have stopped as the COVID-19 pandemic took over the past five months. Empty streets, closed establishment, and crowded hospitals happened to be the sad reality. Everybody has been affected. The most evident problems include the Philippine’s unemployment rate which set record high as businesses are forced to close, access to education had also been limited as schools are forced to go online, and mental health issues have been proliferating as people are forced to self-quarantine and adapt to these unexpected conditions, isolating themselves from others. 

Bills are continuing to pile up while sources of income are cut down. Families are experiencing difficulties and parents, or the head of each household now has this question in mind: “How will we survive each day?”. How do we go about this “New Normal”, what can we do, how do we utilize our resources, what are alternative sources of income, and how do we budget and allocate our savings? These are some of the critical questions which encompass the sustainability of households today. 

Financial Management Webinar For All

The Legal Management Community Development with the Communication Arts Students'  Association launched, “BAHANDI: MONEYging in Time of Crisis,” a Financial Management webinar intended for the parents of the Ministry of Urban Poor. This online project is a part of the AB Community Development’s initiative: “ABCD- Alalay Buhay sa COVID: Damayan sa Pamayanan.” The aim of the webinar is to help parents manage, maximize, and utilize their resources to promote responsible saving and spending. 

The webinar despite being a pre-recorded video to be given to the partner community for viewing was also broadcasted live using Zoom meeting and everyone was enjoined to participate. The facilitators created a publication material and shared the meeting link on their Facebook page UST Legal Management Society to open the discussion to others since the subject matter of Financial Management during these times is necessary to all. The event featured Asst. Prof. Alain Jomarie G. Santos, PHD, CPA. He is a tenured faculty member at the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters where he currently teaches Accounting, Economics, Computer Applications, Business and Management and Research subjects. He earned his MBA and Accounting Degree both from the University of Santo Tomas and PhD in Economics from the UST Graduate School where he successfully defended his dissertation titled “Economic Resiliency Model for Floating Communities: Disaster Mitigation in the Philippines.” He is the best fit for the financial management talk, indeed! 

The online seminar was hosted by Maria Bettina Erquiza from the Communication Arts Student Association. The program started by a thanksgiving prayer led by Emmyli Sison, the auditor of the LM Society. It was formally opened by the head of the LM Community Development, Aanaan Singh, with her opening remarks. Finally, the speaker began his talk by discussing the current situation amidst COVID-19 and how this pandemic reveals a long standing financial-crisis. Furthermore, he gave the economic and social effects of these conditions and further elaborated on who would be seriously impacted by the crisis. He then moved on to the main part of his talk which highlighted the “10 Practical Ways to Manage the Pandemic Financial Crisis.” 

1.     Don’t lose sight of cash; 

2.     Prepare to be unemployed or underpaid; 

3.     Do not fall into Debt Trap; 

4.     Make a list of assets you can liquidate; 

5.     Learn to trade off some long term for immediate goals; 

6.     Do not speculate of gamble on things; 

7.     Check on new opportunities, alternatives work and develop skills; 

8.     Spend primarily on essential things;

9.      Keep questioning your purpose and your contribution; and

10.  Pray,pray, and pray. 

At the end of the talk, the speaker entertained some questions. This Q&A portion was open to all participants of the video. The session concluded with a closing remark from Khalilla Yayen, co-head of LM Community Development Committee and a closing prayer from James Pichay, external vice president of the LM Society. 

New Normal in Conducting Community Development Projects 

Community development projects given these times cannot be implemented directly in communities given these trying times but this did not hinder the organizations to maximize the use of online platforms to reach out to the partner community and at the same time, the people all over the social media. Webinar is already a great medium to aid in what the community needs. Spearheading these types of project need careful planning and good coordination between the persons involved. To aid you in doing one, be mindful for the following tips:

• Before executing the actual video session, one must be mindful of the responsibilities and communication with members and contingency plans for technical difficulties, especially when conducting live activities. 
• The team must anticipate and be prepared to adjust to any problems or situations which may arise during implementation especially since it is given that not everyone can afford a gadget and connection in the Philippines is not that good or not accessible in all places.
• The organization can also ask ideas from the coordinators of the community regarding projects which they need to be implemented using online platforms while still abiding by safety guidelines during these times. 
•  It is good to be literate in the app or software you are navigating or at least tap someone who is. Be knowledgeable of the features. 
• For video recording, we have experienced that it is good to have 2 persons responsible for this. These point persons must also have 2 gadgets with them or they must know how to multi-task such as monitoring the video from their laptop and having their phone open for messages and communication with the rest of the team.
• It is also suggested that the people involved in the program do a test run of the script, program flow, and video a day before or hours before the actual session. 
• While on the actual webinar, remind the participants to mute their audio and video to be able to hear the speakers clearly and smoothly without distractions which would be coming from the live audience. This lessens the chance for interruption and problems from participants.
• Furthermore, make sure to check your audio, visuals, and screen sharing presentation. 
• For file storage and sharing, make sure that your device has enough space for the memory of the video.
• If this video is to be shared, one can use Google Drive to upload the content and share it to others.
•  If the file is too big, it is suggested to trim videos and remove unnecessary parts for convenience.
•  Opening the floor for a Q&A segment allows an interactive engagement with your audience.
•  It is advisable to prepare on how you would be taking questions for this portion.

Conducting a live webinar and recording is a good idea for online projects. If one opts to do a live webinar while recording it, the above-mentioned suggestions should be taken into consideration. To emphasize, the test-run is a must. This allows you to have an initial view of how the program will go. This also allows the persons handling the recording to know how to control the features during the video.

Helping communities is definitely a challenge today but nevertheless, definitely doable. We can still extend a helping hand to those in need using different platforms and medium which are available today. Proper coordination, communication, and teamwork can lead to fruitful projects without placing anyone at risk. The lessons gathered from this webinar could gradually help families adjust to the current conditions we are experiencing. We might be physically apart, but we are together in empowering and uplifting each other during these difficult times. 

After all, the Legal Management’s BAHANDI: MONEYging in Time of Crisis was a total success and they can’t wait for their community, the Ministry of Urban Poor to be able to learn something and effectively adapt it in their “new normal” lives. With the help of their coordinator, Asst. Prof. Ronald M. Castillo, M.A, everything went smooth.