LOGARTA
During the recent UP Commencement Exercises the phrase “serve the people” became a constant refrain; this reminded me of the UP presidency of the scientist, Dr. Emil Javier. Before this there were many outreach programs, but with him a system-wide program called Ugnayan ng Pahinungod started and an Oblation Corps began.
It had been open not only for those still active within the UP system but also included the alumni. Those from Bohol had Dr. Romulo Davide start the farmer-scientist program. This was a beautiful program that made the farmers, the volunteers, and the community realize that there was a great deal to learn from the farmers.
Another part of the program which I found very inspiring was the Gurong Pahinungod Project. Just retired faculty or new graduates were invited to offer their services to a needing public school. UP High graduate, Iris Abellana served in Compostela Valley. After the experience she worked with us in a Teacher Training Program in Argao. Here it was clear that service is always an occasion for learning. Iris had developed and learned a lot by living in the forest and serving the community out there. She was called to respond to emergencies, including driving out a snake in our living quarters!
Dr. Leodivina Cariño supervised the system-wide program. I remember she insisted that assistance to a community must actually serve the needs of that community, not those of the volunteers, especially some hidden agenda. So there was always needs assessment. When we had a teacher training in Bohol I came knowing that the Social Studies teachers wanted inputs in geography. Magnolia Ariza had already made a survey of Bohol which I could use for a discussion with the teachers. I learned that in Dauis jewelry crafting is a cottage industry. The training of the trainers stressed that exposure to the community was a must for social studies. So I brought the teachers into encounters with small entrepreneurs of their place. The map-drawing followed. I guess they learned something for they enjoyed the experience and confessed they had come to know their locality better in that training.
Every service work was preceded by a briefing. Every activity was followed by a de-briefing. I asked Ms. Portia G. Dacalos about these sequence of activities. She and others explained that the debriefing served to deal with the traumatic experiences of the volunteers. The briefing was meant to prevent cultural disrespect, accidents, but most especially to inspire. Imagine, how a group of Christian instructors about to go into Sultan Kudarat were briefed. Volunteer work was heart work, not a mechanical undertaking done for requirement purposes. Involvement with Pahinungod was meant to keep that heart of a volunteer for a lifetime.
In an orientation of the Oblation Corps, President Emil Javier declared that in UP there should emerge not only an aristocracy of brains but also an aristocracy of character.
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