Live To Give: Contribution of the Artlets Student Council and the Artlets Community for the Mission Areas of the Dominicans through Tulong Tomasino

    Every year, the University commemorate Paskuhan to celebrate the birth of Christ and as a year-ender party for the Thomasian community and Christ being the symbol of love, the University encourages love through sharing with the 2019 theme: “for unto us a Child is born.” Through Tulong Tomasino, the University expresses its compassion by extending its hands to those who are in need. Tulong Tomasino is a donation drive of the University of Santo Tomas led by the UST Simbahayan Community Development Office and conducted by the Thomasian students. 

    It was brought to the attention of local and central student council by the University and for the Artlets Student Council, by the AB Community Development (ABCD) Office, that our brothers and sisters in the mission areas of the Dominican needed help. With this, guided by the ABCD, the Council immediately informed its constituents, the Artlets community, of the information regarding the beneficiaries and how they can help during these times of need. 

    Upon indicating needed information on the beneficiaries and the situation, the Council then set a date to collect and receive donations from the Artlets community, advising students that they have until December 1 to December 6 to prepare donations that will ultimately be packed in the Tulong Tomasino boxes to be forwarded to the Simbahayan. To hasten the process, the Council advised the Societies to disseminate tasks for their class officers in order to fulfill their tasks efficiently. Fortunately, all the societies in the Artlets community accomplished their responsibility to donate to our less-fortunate brothers and sisters in the Dominican mission areas. After collecting and securing the donations, which must be properly labelled with the donor’s year, section and major and comprises of food items and hygiene kits. When all the Tulong Tomasino boxes have been dropped at the lobby of St. Raymund’s building, the Council, with the approval of the ABCD, then finally sends it off to the Simbahayan office. 

"You have two hands; one to help yourself and one to help others."

PUBLICATION MATERIALS REGARDING THE DONATION

PROCESS FOR THE TULONG TOMASINO DONATION DRIVE

THE TULONG TOMASINO BOXES DROPPED OFF AT THE

ST. RAYMUNDS LOBBY BY THE ARTLETS COMMUNITY

Para sa BUTIL Iskolar: Artlets Student Council & Becarios’ Partnership on BUTIL Honesty Kiosk

"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." – Malcolm X

    Education for all is a goal we, as the people, dream to attain. However, it remains as one of the problems that still plague our country; the amount of money to get an education restrain students to receive an education despite it being a right. Our country has written this right in our constitution. Under Article 14, Section 1 of the Philippine Constitution: “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.” It is essential that these rights are cherished and defended. Despite this noble goal, the reality is far from the truth. Free education for all, is still far from the grasp of the youth. Many young people remain as out-of-school youths due to the lack of accessible and inclusive education – even more so in the tertiary level. Steps have to be undertaken to guarantee education for all.  One of these steps is to launch BUTIL Honesty Kiosk in AB. 

    The Artlets Student Council wishes to support students that are in a state of financial uncertainty. To this end, programs such as the BUTIL Honesty Kiosk have been conducted and are still being conducted to help these students. The Artlets Student Council is eager to do its part in solving the problem by participating in this program. The Artlets Student Council partnered with Becarios in the BUTIL Honesty Kiosk project with the goal of aiding one BUTIL Scholar through the capital it receives from the project. Moreover, this will also bring social awareness amongst the Artlets Community of their roles as Thomasian students to have compassion for others. The presence of an Honesty Kiosk in the St. Raymund de Peñafort Building is a hard thing to miss. This will encourage them to take part in advocacy of free education for all. They would already be helping to achieve the program area for development of equitable and inclusive education by simply purchasing products from the Honesty Kiosk. 

    With this, the Council began processing documents in order for the project to begin the implementation phase. During the months of February and March, the Council have been submitting papers to the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) in collaboration with the Becarios to hasten the processing period. Unfortunately, by the time the OSA could approve of the project, suspension of classes already took place. Fortunately, regardless of the cancellation of classes due to COVID-19, the Council, through the monetary contributions of members of the Artlets Student Council, have already donated P6,500 for one BUTIL Scholar. Finally, the Artlets Student Council aims to continue this project next Academic Year considering these times are even more challenging for all scholars alike. 

Project Implementers

Paolo Jericho Duruin-Manuel

External Vice President, UST Artlets Student Council

Joe C. Todaka

Community Development Head, UST Artlets Student Council

Rendzborg C. Bautista

BUTIL Project Head, Becarios de Santo Tomas

Lapis at Papel: Basic Education Seminar and Workshop towards Literacy

It has already been months since The Political Science Forum visited the residents of Ministry of Urban Poor in Caloocan to bring joyful yet meaningful project regarding Basic Education. The Organization, with its own aim of engaging people to a broader understanding of politics, plot this informative project to provide an aid to the community with the goal of teaching them basic education that would enhance their skills not only in reading and analysis but also in terms of writing formal letters. It is a continuous advocacy of the organization to share knowledge to other people and enhance their skills for them to know their rights as citizens, to prevent the abuse of power, and most importantly, to promote social change. Hopefully with this project, the beneficiaries would become critical thinkers in different political engagement within their community as they are already conscious of the true interests of political actors.

And now here we are, the busiest day for each Community Development Coordinator, the implementation day. November 10, 2019 was the final chosen date as there had been cancellations in the pasts due to uncertain events. Things to be brought were checked; the papers, materials for discussion, prize for games, token, certificates, and most importantly, the food. Volunteers and students were more than excited to be part of the chosen community even only for a day. The bus arrived at the location of the event and we were astonished that the participants were younger than expected. However, it did not become a problem as subtle changes have already been made; actually, the enjoyment starts here. As the participants were mostly teenagers, it was easy to caught their attentions and make them participate in the games we prepared. We played “Pinoy Henyo,” we danced Chicken dance, and we even had a small pageant show to know them more and to remove their timidness so they can be comfortable with us. After several minutes, the seminar begins. The talk was about reading and analysis. Personally, I thought the participants would be bored during the discussion but, I was more delighted that they actively participated, raising their hands to engage in the discussion. They were more than willing to learn about this basic education. Moreover, sharing of experiences was also became part of the event so further insights would be attained regarding the participants. As the discussion ended, it was the time to evaluate their learning; context analysis had been prepared for their workshop. The participants were divided into 4 groups with a volunteer per group for assistance to analyze the given news article. The workshop was meant to check their understanding of the importance of reading and analysis in their everyday lives. Each and every one wrote their insights about the text and shared it within the group. 30 minutes was given for them and after that, one representative per group was tasked to explain what they have learned in front of everyone; each representative had simultaneously gone in front to explain their understanding of the article. As they explain, TPSF Commdevt committee were already satisfied of the outcome of this project even 1^st phase was only accomplished. Even for a short time of discussion, they were close to achieve the aim of this whole project with their presentation. The seminar ended with smiles on their face while they were eating their lunch. Not only had the participants had fun as they have said in their evaluation forms, as the coordinators and adviser of TPSF also attained their desire outcome. We took several pictures for souvenirs and some would like to add us on Facebook for more conversations and interactions in the future. We never bid goodbye as we promised that we will return for the continuation of the 2^nd and 3^rd phase of the project. Sadly, continuation has been postponed due to the pandemic that cost us to stay at home for a while. Nevertheless, the memories from the MUP community would be cherished as we would not forget them but will be more than proud if they sustain the project and keep it in their mind as they grow older and be a person with a name someday; they may forget the people but not the shared knowledge inclined to that seminar.

FIRST PHASE- November 10, 2019

"Pinoy Henyo"

"Getting to Know Contest"

"Writing Activity"

"Food Distribution"

"Wacky"

"Committees and Volunteers"

Pilosopiya Para sa Masa: Motivating the Rehabilitants Through Philosophy

"I Am Not Defined By My Relapses, But By My Decision To Remain In Recovery Despite Them."

Spearheaded by the faculty members of the UST Department of Philosophy, Concilium Philosophiae in partnership with the UST Artlets Student Council, the project: Pilosopiya Para sa Masa, aimed to teach philosophy to the rehabilitants through the process of "community of inquiry" which encourages critical discourse and reflection to produce a personal outlook for the participants. The Healing Path Foundation have been a long-time partner community of the AB Community Development. In line with this, the Concilium Philosophiae and the Artlets Student Council aims to sustain this project for a long term, focusing on the community's progression step-by-step. The student leaders of Concilium Philosophiae and UST Artlets Student Council envision to teaching future rehabilitants, and aiding them with this program through the help of faculty members and the AB Community Development advisers.

This project consisted of three phases which was planned to be held on January 22, 27, and 29 of 2020, at the Healing Path Foundation in Quezon City. A week before the first phase of the project, an ocular visit to the community was conducted. The ocular visit team composed of Alyandra Resurrecion and Mikaela Avelino of Concilium and Paolo Manuel of Artlets Student Council. They were oriented with the rules and regulations of the facility. The student leaders and volunteers were instructed not to take photographs of the beneficiaries and that their names were under strict confidentiality. After a thorough discussion with the community leaders about the project and inquiry on the concerns and specific needs of the community, the following topics were suggested: values formation, importance of family, and positive attitude. Thus, alongside their adviser, the team designed lesson plans, videos and processing activities specifically catered to the needs of the community. For the first two phases, the project heads and volunteers conducted a Close Facilitating and Learning Process; personally communicating with the participants through the subject of philosophy by preparing the participants to watch informative videos in which they will explain the context of and how they felt upon watching it. The activity was met by active participants who were attentive and vocal on the discussions. The topics of value formation, importance of family, and positive attitude were tackled and heartfelt dialogues arose. After every phases' lunch breaks, a group reporting was administered that focuses on the main points that have transpired in every focus group discussion and the processing activity was accomplished through a pen and paper assessment. The second phase concluded with a trust-fall exercise in which the participants state words and sentences that inspire them to be better. Overall, the first and second phase went without any other complications. The third phase, however, was disrupted by the suspension of classes due to COVID-19 despite the multiple attempts to reschedule. 

To conclude, the project, “Pilosopiya Para sa Masa” ended with only finishing two phases. Regardless of the unfinished third phase, it is still evident that this project has impacted both the project heads, volunteers, and beneficiaries, establishing a bond and understanding and ultimately giving both a better and more positive outlook on life. 

OCULAR VISIT OF THE PROJECT HEADS

ZEUS SUAZO GIVING THE INTRODUCTION ON THE

FIRST DAY

 

PAOLO MANUEL FACILITATING THE PROCESSING ACTIVITY ON THE FIRST DAY

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY OF THE PROJECT IMPLEMENTERS AND VOLUNTEERS,

TOGETHER WITH DR. MARELLA BOLANOS (ADVISER) AFTER THE 

FIRST PHASE

LORENZ LAYAO ENGAGING WITH THE PARTICIPANTS

IN A DISCUSSION ON THE SECOND DAY

 

JOE TODAKA CONDUCTING THE FINAL ACTIVITY, TRUST FALL 

ON THE SECOND DAY

The Leader Within You: Empowering the ACEs of the Community

"Youth voices are powerful, it is through these voices that they empower a whole new revolution of thinking for nation-building."

This project was spearheaded by the Legal Management Society’s Community Development Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Letters. The participants of the event were the adolescents of the nearby community of the parish. As an organization that aspires to bring out the excellence among their constituents, the project was able to help the participants to be aware of their potential to be effective members and leaders of their respective communities. 

The organization first and foremost aimed for the development of the participants’ sense of self and identity because the essence of the entire project was empowering these future leaders by instilling skills and values such as discipline, problem-solving, goal setting, proper decision-making, communication, people management. 

The project had three phases which were conducted on November 30 and December 7 of 2019, at the Ministry of Urban Poor- Caloocan, Navotas City. The first two phases during the first day focused on personality development, while the third phase on the latter date was a leadership training. On the first day of the project, which involved 12 volunteers, talks and activities on personality development enabled participants to understand themselves better. Activities such as human bingo, writing impressions, tallest tower and charades were accomplished. Two speakers were invited, namely, Ms. Ludeth Zyra A. Mercado, MA, RGC, from the AB Guidance Office, to talk about, “Assessing one’s strength and weaknesses”, and Mr. Tyrone Jann Dc. Nepomuceno, MA, the Community Development Coordinator of the UST Senior High School, who talked about “Self-care and Management for Young Leaders”. The participants were responsive and willing to commit to the activities, they were competitive during games and attentive when it came to the discussions. During the last phase of the project, 18 volunteers, with two speakers, we were able to conduct a leadership training. After the first phase which was centered on personality development, this phase was now focused on the application of those learnings. The event had the same participants from the previous project with some new faces, which were interested in joining the program. At the beginning there was a recall of the lessons before the first speaker speaker, Adonis Basa, who discussed about the “Elements of Effective Leadership”. The second and last speaker before the team-building games was Krizia Bricio, who the Central Student Council secretary (2019-2020), who talked about “People Management and Working with a Team”. After the two speakers, we proceeded to the five games; Mine field, puto-seko tongue twister, sack race, and flour puzzle. These were all group activities which exemplified the leadership and teamwork, while enjoying a healthy competition among peers. Both days ended with an oral evaluation besides from the written one. Facilitators and participants were asked by the host about what they learned, and what they felt about the program which transpired. 

            It was the first project of the committee, and it was greatly successful. Not only did everyone learn from the experience, but we were able to establish bonds and friendships with the participants. The project was thought off carefully. The activities and content of the talks were specific and appropriate to the age group. The facilitators were quick to adjust and solve mild problems during the program, while keeping the audience engaged to not lose momentum. 

FIRST PHASE – November 30, 2019

THE ACES OF THE COMMUNITY 

THE TALLEST TOWER

GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

SECOND PHASE – DECEMBER 7, 2019

THE ACES OF THE COMMUNITY DAY 2

I AM A LEADER

PUTO SEKO TONGUE-TWISTERS

SACK RACE

Article by 

Khalilla Yayen

A Better Normal

A.Y. 2019 - 2020 is a year of transitions for ABCD.

It saw the transition of the seat of the coordinator from a great woman, Asst. Prof. Analiza Yanga of the Department of History to one hailing from the Department of Political Science.   

From left to right: Asst. Prof. Ronald Castillo and Asst. Prof. Analiza Yanga 

It's the middle of the transition of the nation's K-12 educational upheaval.  When an A.Y. ago, the batch graduated that curriculum's senior batch leaving many of the departments bereft of senior and junior students and left with only sophomores and freshmen.

AB Student Community Leader's Orientation on September A.Y. 2019-2020 

AB Student Community Development Leaders'Training January A.Y. 2019-2020

As this post was being written, the world also was facing a transition.  What some would say, "new normal", and what others also term as "better normal."  When the world is beset by the dealy Corona Virus 2 and the accompanying illness that it causes its victims - Covid 19

But that is the essence of Community Development, challenges come our way, and we face it as a community.  I take this as an opportunity to coin the word for my term as Community Development Coordinator - Tindog - from the Cebuano word "Stand up."  Inspired from Panjee Lopez' 2005 article on the First Karangalan Conference and Festival where they began with a Tindog Invocation, seemingly a litany roll call of Philippine heroes.  

This blog was created as the A.Y. began but this first post coincides with the launch of a better normal for ABCD.  The A.Y. may be ending, but we end with hope and with a blast.  AB will have its Special Term Community Development - ABCD - Alalay Buhay sa Covid: Damayan sa Pamayanan. It will be the first project done in a better normal environment, composed of online linkages and supported by strengthened leader committees in the partner communities.

May the new normal be a better normal.

Tindog AB, tindog ABCD!

- Asst. Prof. Ronald M. Castillo

BANGON BAYAN, BAGONG BUKAS: A DONATION DRIVE FOR OUR ATES AND KUYAS IN UST

The COVID-19 Pandemic has greatly affected the lives of many people not just here in the country but around the world. As classes were suspended and students were advised to stay home, the UST Chorus of Arts and Letters, also known as AB Chorale, thought of a way to help our Ates and Kuyas from the City Service personnels of UST.

The UST Chorus of Arts and Letters, spearheaded a donation drive with the title, BANGON BAYAN, BAGONG BUKAS, that aims to give aid to our ates and kuyas in the university who continuously make our campus clean in these times of pandemic. We acknowledge their hardships even before the suspension of classes because of their efforts in making the university a place for learning by maintaining the cleanliness of the classrooms and surroundings. 

The donation drive was launched through a virtual performance of the song, Umagang Kay Ganda. A song that has a message that there will always be hope despite everything that we are going through as long as no one will be left behind, we will together reach the happiness and dreams that we are all attaining. Followed by virtual concerts with some of the members, friends, and alumni of the AB Chorale. A total of 30 performances from May 3, 2020 - May 31, 2020 were held to promote the donation drive as well as to entertain people through the gift of music so that viewers, members and alumni of the organization may still feel the presence of AB Chorale even when they are at home. At the end of the donation drive, a total of 82, 553 pesos were gathered through online transmissions. With a grateful heart, the organization wants to thank not just the donors but everyone who has helped us in making this donation drive a success. 

 

Thus, The name of the project aims to remind not just our ates and kuyas but everyone that there are times that we cannot avoid some situations and may bring us down but we should always remember that tomorrow is another day, another day of hope and another chance to see that even though we are surrounded by unfortunate events, we can still hope for better days ahead because of the people showing us goodness.