The organization I belong to is the School of Arts, Sciences and Teacher Education of Colegio de Dagupan. Our institution is a private school organization known to have active participation in the community that aims to produce graduates who are active contributors of change in the community. Being situated in the city of Dagupan, students and members of the organization are well aware of the status of the communities around the city. The city might boast great development in economics and infrastructure but there are sectors in the community who are being left behind. As a participatory organization, Colegio de Dagupan has lived up to expectation by creating and implementing extension services that include programs that helps in the improvement of the city. Each department of our school has their specific program that they implement all through out the year.
Our department’s extension service is a non-formal education and feeding program that caters to young and underprivileged children. One of the program’s objectives is to teach young children of basic academic concepts through story telling, fun games and activities. Another objective of this program is to gradually introduce the idea of formal education to young children without intimidating them. It also intends to help improve the prevalence of malnutrition in certain areas of the city by feeding participating children and teaching them about food and nutrition.
For this program to work, we first need to plan and map out all the things we need to do for the entire duration of the program. We also need to coordinate with different institutions, organizations, and agencies that will help us in the implementation process of the program. For this, we have to coordinate with the different student organizations in our department. This is for the reason that we need the participation of students who will serve as the workforce in executing our plans. We also need to ask permission and approval from the academic and Finance departments that will validate the program as an official school activity. The finance office will also give the budget intended for extension services programs of the school. With a strong plan, workforce force, and budget, we can now go to the next step, which is to coordinate the program to different localities in the city. We now need to market the program to different local agencies and government officials to help officiate and support the program. To be able to do this, we need to convince them by showing them the plans and objectives of the program. By this, we create linkages and partnerships that will benefit us in the future. After this step, we now go to the crucial step of marketing the program to the community. For this step we need the assistance of community leaders (Barangay Captain and Councilors, CVO’s, Barangay Health Workers etc.) in disseminating information to the community. We sometimes do house-to-house to inform residents about the program and how their participation is important. We explain to them the goals of the program and how they will benefit from it. This is where the community leaders come to play. They become opinion leaders who can persuade community members to participate. As house-to house can be time consuming, we also put out posters and flyers about the program for us to guarantee good community turnout during the implementation days. During implementation days, it very important for us faculty members to be there in the community to help facilitate the students as well as document the event. Faculty member are also obliged to get feedbacks not only from the participants but also from parents and community leaders. This will let us know which aspects of the program we need to continue and aspects we need improvement on.
The impact of the program not only affected the culture of the community but also on the culture of the organization that I belong to. The said program has not only given the students the chance to teach and participate in the program but most importantly they are able to internalize moral values of generosity, respect, and kindness. With this kind of program, it became a norm in the whole organization to give a helping hand to anyone who is in need especially in times of tragedies and disasters. This type of program also has given all members of the organization the sense of pride and satisfaction belonging to an organization that gives priority to humanity through community services.
Moreover, the program’s main objectives greatly affect the culture of the community. It has helped young children be accustomed to social interaction in the formative years of their lives that will help them most importantly when they begin going to school. Children has manifested interest in learning new ideas, skills, and behaviors, which is a good sign in getting them ready for formal education. Children and parents have also given interest in food and nutrition and how it affects their well-being. They started to become aware and more conscious on what they need to eat to be healthy. Parents are now more engaged to take control of their children’s welfare. They are now also able to realize their responsibilities as parents and how they can improve their parental skills.
Also, involved communities have shown active participation to developmental programs directed for them. It also made them aware and open of their status in the community and what they can do about it. Poor communities should never be blamed for why they are poor. There are problems in our society as well as in our government that has long been neglected and overlooked. Since these problems will not be solved overnight, it is the responsibility of organizations like ours to extend help to communities that needs assistance. It may seem such a very small contribution to our society but as we go along and continue this kind of programs, we will see how important they are to people. As individuals and as members of society, we should always remember to give our share in helping one another.
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