Catalyzing Sustainable Community Building: An Environmental Profiling on MUP Diocese of Caloocan

 Environmental Profiling on Ministry of Urban Poor - Diocese of Caloocan Market 3, Navotas City

The UST Asian Studies Society’s Advocacy Project focused on producing an Environmental Profile of the Partner Community, Sitio Market 3, Navotas City. To be fully and certainly prepared with the focus group discussion that will be mainly utilized to facilitate the advocacy project, the UST ASSOC Community Development Committee had an initial consultation with the committee’s consultant, Dr. Arlen Ancheta. Different points and aspects were discussed which include how the initial interview with the community leader should be conducted, what are questions to be asked, the proper etiquette in conducting the initial interview and the focus group discussion, and the basic information that shall be gathered. 

Following this, an initial interview with the community leader was held to gather preliminary information to be used and discussed during the first phase of the advocacy project. The preliminary information gathered was crafted into a draft report and was examined by the committee’s consultant as part of a constant progress report. Moreover, the preliminary report was beneficial and has enabled the committee members to know more about the community. This also prompted follow-up questions that shall be catered to once the first phase of the project will be facilitated. 

Phase 1 

On March 6, 2021, the community development committee of UST Asian Studies Society facilitated a focus group discussion with the community members from Sitio Market 3, MUP – Diocese of Caloocan, alongside Prof. Arlen Ancheta, Ph.D. as a research consultant and Asst. Prof. Jan Michael V. Denila, MPS, the UST ASSOC adviser.

The first part of the discussion revolved around questions about the population’s profile and social relations in the community. Each of the six community members was given ample time to respond to the questions. For additional information about the topography of the barangay, the community leader sent us photos capturing the area in Sitio Market 3.

The next set of questions were about the community’s economic profile, political profile, and environmental profile. Problems present in the community that needed to be addressed were also raised as areas of concern.

Phase 2 

For the second phase of the project, the community development committee proceeded to plan the creation of a well-detailed report for the community of Sitio Market 3. The report contains the discussion held during the 1st phase wherein members of the community provided information regarding their environment and other necessary aspects related to the profiling. The committee began to write the draft, given that there had been an initial interview with the community leader before conducting the 1st phase. 

The information acquired from the initial interview and from the 1st phase was beneficial in determining the flow of the report as it also presented insights regarding the situation of the community which serves as the most important aspect of the report. The team divided the parts of the report equally and each member chose freely which part they wanted to write and interpret based on the information gathered. 

With the help of the community development committee’s consultant, the draft report became well-constructed. She provided comments and recommendations as to how to improve the content of the report. As a result, the draft report was improved by revision, editing, and rewriting. It was then approved by Dr. Ancheta and the Coordinator of the Asian Studies program.

Phase 3

To formally commence the last phase of the Advocacy Project, the committee started the program by running a quick summary on the previous phases held throughout the course of the project. Following this, the committee presented the actual content of the environmental profile report to the community members. A few minor corrections and suggestions from the community members were noted. To mark the end of the draft report's presentation, the Committee gave recommendations regarding the prospects of Sitio Market 3's community development projects. Thereupon, pictures of Sitio Market 3 to be included in the environmental profile, captured by the community representative, were displayed.

The team consultant gave an assessment of the draft report and inquired the community if they have further comments, suggestions, or clarifications. There being none, aside from the minor corrections mentioned, the team consultant asked the committee about the succeeding steps of the Advocacy Project. The Committee indicated that the environmental profile report will be submitted to the UST ABCD Office to be used as a guide by future project implementers. Likewise, a copy of the report will be made available to the community members through the community representative once revised. The recommendations of the draft report were reiterated as well. Thereafter, the Committee forwarded an evaluation link on the Zoom chat box and asked the community members for their reflections regarding the whole project.

Recommendations and Conclusion

As mentioned, the last part of the presentation of the draft paper is presenting the recommendations that could be done for future projects with the partner community, Sitio Market 3, Navotas City. 

First of which is institutional reinforcement or strengthening their institutional ties through further advancing and improving their goals, regulations, and principles, more so, to be more aware and involved about the current societal issues. With this, initiating and facilitating seminars would be valuable wherein one of the topics would be about human rights. A facilitated seminar could widen their knowledge regarding laws and what proper actions should be done once there would be trouble in the community. Moreover, this would enable each community member to become more vigilant especially in these times. Another topic that could be focused on is women’s empowerment wherein women’s rights, actions, and capabilities would be more intensified and given value. Given that there are so far organizations established outside and within the community where women are favorably part of, this would empower and stimulate more women to become optimistic, assured, and aware regarding the several difficulties and issues women are encountering today. These seminars as part of institutional reinforcement would be a beginning step for a more inclusive and safe space for the community. 

For the last recommendation, an additional and rigorous focus group discussion together with the community members could be done for other future projects. As the focus of the society’s advocacy project falls under environmental justice, it is advantageous to have additional focus group discussions that would focus on other aspects within the community such as its political, economic, and social profile. By this, future projects can be done in collaboration with the other organizations of the Faculty of Arts and Letters such as the Legal Management Society, The Political Science Forum, and the Behavioral Science Society. These academic organizations would help in creating and producing a well-established profile of the community regarding the above-mentioned topics as these are the organization’s strengths and academic focus.

The given recommendations are just some of the matters that the Asian Studies Society Community Development Committee deemed necessary and of top priority based on the recently concluded environmental profiling. The established environmental profile would become a foundation for the next steps to take and projects to make with the community, Sitio Market 3, Navotas City.

Overall, the advocacy project was a success as it had effectively utilized the information gathered from the focus group discussions to create and establish an environmental profile that will serve as a reliable document and a well-founded way to know the community.

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Project Details: Beneficiary: Ministry of Urban Poor – Diocese of Caloocan

Dates: March 6, 2021 - April 17, 2021

UST ASSOC Community Development Team Members:
Louise Baccay

Rinette Sebastian
Jullia Gonzaga

Lorraine Tumolva

Lei Anne So

Promoting Responsible Decision-making in Practicing the Democratic Right to Vote among the Youth

HALILIHAN: Wika ng Bayanihan 2020

 HALILIHAN: Wika ng Bayanihan, A Thomasian Drive for Change 

This pandemic time has fostered fear among Filipinos, revealed the injustices in the country, and disrupted the lives of many. The emerging challenges in these trying times, likewise call for the need to be human, even in the midst of a crippling pandemic. Much emphasis must be placed not only on human rights but also on our competence and commitment to human duty: one driven by compassion and empathy towards those who need it most—values that are notably embedded in the Thomasian identity.

HALILIHAN: Wika ng Bayanihan, as a fundraising event and donation drive, is produced by the UST English Language Studies Society as a Community Development project for the Academic Year 2020-2021. 'Halilihan' is a Filipino word that means "to bring about change," which describes the meaningful change the project aimed to provide to the lives of the indigenous learners and teachers of our partner community: Sta. Juliana National High School (SJNHS) in Capas, Tarlac.

Indigenous children around the world have historically been denied the right to embrace their own heritage and identity when pursuing inclusive education. As student leaders prompted by these significant Thomasian values, we aspired to spark change and to make a significant mark on the lives of our beneficiaries—our often overlooked and marginalized indigenous brothers and sisters. Through HALILIHAN, our purpose to raise funds from the initiative with the help of distinguished partner local brands, Tala by Kyla and Hiatus Manila have produced a great amount of proceeds that were used to provide suitable teaching and learning materials essential for the institutional learning of the community in Capas, Tarlac.

‘Halilihan Collection’ in collaboration with Hiatus Manila (@hiatus.mnl)

Photos by: Hiatus Manila

One of the brand partners, Hiatus Manila, is known for producing stylish, voguish and inspiring sweaters with trendy pieces of embroidery designs that hold the biggest impression when wearing. Believing that fashion is a self expression through art, it gives aesthetic vibes that can hop to millennial’s culture. ‘The Hiatus x Halilihan Collection’ for a cause helps raise public awareness towards the Indigenous learners' educational challenges in Capas, Tarlac. The proceeds of this collection were used to provide adequate supplies of learning and teaching materials for the community.

'Halilihan Collection’ in collaboration with Tala by Kyla (@officialtalabykyla)

Photos by: Tala by Kyla

From the most substantial brand partner who has the largest contribution to the fundraiser, Tala By Kyla, produces custom jewelry with lasting beauty, fashionable design pieces and exceptional craftsmanship that will be treasured for a lifetime. The purchased products from the ‘Halilihan Collection’ with Tala by Kyla were customized from the culture and symbols of the indigenous community as the project’s beneficiary. 

In the hopes of raising awareness on the struggles of indigenous learners in the country, HALILIHAN: Wika ng Bayanihan also sought to promote inclusive education for everyone especially with the struggles individuals go through from remote learning in the new normal. As an organization that values the beauty of our diverse culture while preserving indigenous languages, and seeks to empower the marginalized through inclusive education, HALILIHAN strived to emphasize the grassroots perspective of indigenous learners with the pursuit of educating people and elevating their everyday educational realities and challenges. 

Photos by: HALILIHAN: Wika ng Bayanihan

Last March 2, 2021, The HALILIHAN: Wika ng Bayanihan team has packed 531 sets of school supplies for the indigenous learners and to the teachers of Sta. Juliana National High School in Capas, Tarlac. With all of the donations, The project was able to provide ample educational materials for all 531 students and teachers of the community.

On March 13th, 2021, the first batch of donations arrived in Sta. Juliana National High School, Capas Tarlac.

Photos by: Liezl Sanchez (School Principal)

Photos by: Janet Cura (Supreme Student Government Adviser)

The valiant and passionate teachers of Sta. Juliana National High School showcased their  full excitement as they received their tote bags with teaching materials provided by HALILIHAN. 

A total of 511 indigenous learners and 20 teachers of Sta. Juliana National High School was able to receive various learning and teaching supplies from the fundraiser. Initially launched in the last month of 2020, on December 14, the journey of HALILIHAN was not all smooth sailing, for its planning and implementation took almost 6 arduous months as the project ended on March 13, 2021 after transporting the last set of donations to the community. UST-ELSSOC’s Community Development team continuously worked on this project as it was important for the organization to disseminate the educational reality of the Indigenous learners in these times to raise awareness and to reach a great number of people to contribute towards this initiative.

Through the HALILIHAN team and the help of our partner brands and those who generously supported our cause, the drive amassed a total of:

Php 298,368.60 of funds

Despite the initial doubts, the team’s hard work together with the overwhelming support that the project received directed for our purpose, has allowed us to successfully provide enough school supplies and duplicating machines for the community of SJNHS. 

Indeed, through the Filipino’s shared language of compassion and the spirit of Bayanihan, great change can be fulfilled regardless of the endless limiting barriers that may come our way. Today, and every day, we continue to strive for better realities for learners everywhere. Dahil ang para sa Sta. Juliana, ay para rin sa bayan.

#ParaSaSJNHS

#HalilihanByELSSOC

#TranscendLevELS

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/halilihan.fundraiserph

Instagram: @halilihan.fundraiserph

Twitter: @halilihan_ph

 

 

PROJECT DETAILS

 

Beneficiary: Sta. Juliana National High School — Capas, Tarlac

Date: December 14, 2020 - March 13, 2021

 

HALILIHAN PROJECT TEAM

 

Project Heads:

Adrianne Milla

Marygrace Cariaso 

 

Creatives:

Daniel Juanga

 

Public Relations/Communications:

Brittany Kirsch 

Rozene Adremesin

 

Marketing:

Keanah Ycasas

Blessy Gelomio

Niña Nangel

 

Project Officers:

Bianca Budomo

John Paul Javier

The Theoretical Component in the Budget Forms

The budget part of a project proposal in our institution contains a Theoretical Counterpart.  These are values that are not really used, consumed or spent.  At first, I was weirded out with this, and asked the then Director on what this is about.  

As explained, these are theoretical values given to volunteers such as volunteer students working in a community development project, volunteer faculty spending time to help, the same with administrators, alumni, and of course, members of the community who helped in making the project come into fruition.  I was still stumped, if these are volunteers, why are there amounts?  I had an 'aha' moment of insight on the explanation that yes, they are volunteers, doesn't mean that their work does not have value.

In an accounting perspective, if these were not volunteers, so how much did their work clock in?  Because they're volunteers, the project got to save this particular amount, and that adds to a former unseen value in the work.  

I find it as an 'aha' moment.  So, we don't really budget that amount, we don't raise that amount, we don't release that amount, because these people volunteered.  It's not that we are slapping money on volunteer work, it's that we're giving justice to the act.  Yes, no amount of money can equal such volunteer work.  But for one, it simply satisfies the basic accounting of savings.  For example, when I conducted research on the social and economic value of zero-waste practices on solid waste management.  People may not be earning from zero-waste, but people can save money.  More so, there are by-products of a community system of zero-waste.  This is what the theoretical accounting does.

That's just one, it's also a reminder of justice.  The scenario harks back to my freshmen days as an MA Political Science student and I had Prof. Maria Jesus Izquierdo in Social Justice, Ethics, and Care special visiting professor course.  In one of our readings, was the injustice of care such that mothers who are not gainfully employed but are housewives have the potential for abuse or to not be cared for simply because they do routine, unrecognized volunteer value.  Yes, they do it voluntarily.  It's up to us to give these value, to remind people of such, and thus to advocate for a community whose volunteers have value.

The same applies to one of the principles of ethics.  Prof. Maria Carinnes Alejandria discussed the principle of justice in a faculty meeting on research ethics, saying that when we ask an ambulant vendor for time during an interview, then we take that person's time from his or her livelihood.  The same applies to community work.  Yes, again, I iterate, they volunteer.  Thus, it's for us, the beneficiaries, the stakeholders, to ensure and advocate that volunteerism becomes a welcoming condition for our fellow volunteers. 

Community Development Forms

 Just click the link below 

Dropbox

Calendar 2nd Term A.Y. 2020-2021

 This should help in plotting out your projects

Link

Community Profiling Brgy Sibulan During CHED Course in Community Engagement and Organizing Batch 2019

This is a narrative in pictures of a community profiling conducted at Brgy Sibulan, Nagcarlan, Laguna.  It is one of the university's successful communities and was chosen to be the site for immersion and community profiling under the Commission on Higher Education program for the training of future community development coordinators.  This is the second batch of trainees and I was fortunate to be chosen to be funded for this.  My team was tasked to do political, social, and economic profiling, and our team chose to use participatory mapping and transect walk as data collection tools.

Following are pictures of the community profiling where my team met w select community members, youth, women, government, etc. to map out nodes and lines of power in the community to help map out the political structure.  We would ask participants for existing points of power (i.e. government offices, residences of government officials, places to go to when in need, etc.) then we have them write each on Post-its and place on a map in the barangay hall (thankfully they had a geographic map on the wall).

 

Here are close up views of the data on the mapping.  

The day after the participatory mapping, we met different community members for a transect walk.  Here we went on an interview tour on the main streets of the community both noting the data from yesterday's mapping, and asking questions on economic and political resources.

Once data was collected, we used appropriate modes of analyses.  For the participatory mapping, we analyzed by tracing the locations and by graphing the institutions and organizations.  We did the same for economic resources.  Once done, we conducted a SWOT analysis on these data.  below are pictures of the team working at the community's chapel. 

During our training, our mentors asked us for materials that we would want to request for the immersion.  A guide though was that we have to use non-technological materials since we're doing field work.  Hence aside from the Post-its, we had lots of yellow paper for notes, Carolina, Manila papers, and colored markers along with some tapes and scissors.  

Below are pictures on when we were still doing in-classroom training, note the use of Manila papers for our class presentations.

Data once organized were laid out in presentation form for presentation to the community for validation.  These materials once validated were given to the community as a parting gift, adding to the community's tools.

Since we were undergoing training, we also had preliminary presentations before our mentors and some community representatives to help iron out the data.  One very important advice we received from our mentors was to make the presentation audience friendly, use visualizations, graphs, pictures, instead of being wordy (words belong more to the presenter and less in the visual aids).  After the preliminary presentations, we continued to perfect the materials for the validation presentation to community stakeholders.

On our last day, we presented the analyzed data to the community.  We had several groups of stakeholders and each gave constructive comments if not affirmations on the data as presented above.  Below are pictures of the validation presentations.

When we got back in Manila, our team got together via FB Messenger and through Google Docs to create to manuscript of the community profile.  For UST-AB Student Community Leaders, the resulting manuscript in the link below.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OsnJ_-PbpD-C7z1_gUkZq701txkGqcPU?usp=sharing