Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored,
that was me—you did it to me – Matthew 25:40
Our
Service Learning (SL) activity at GreenEarth Heritage Foundation, Inc. (GEHFI)
last November 17, 2012 made me realize that there are great opportunities to
serve others through the graduate school. I had been involved in
different community service for children, youth, and young adults, locally and
internationally, but my GEHFI experience is a remarkable event because it is my
first community participation with farmers and their children who live in
foothills of the mountains. I can clearly see the purpose of having the
influence (and position) to make an impact in the lives of people, in the
community, and eventually in the country.
The original plan was to do our SL activity on
October 26 but due to the inclement weather condition we moved it to November
17, 2012.
Mountain Adventure Experience
The GEHFI
is located in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, in San Miguel
Bulacan. It took us three hours to reach Brgy. Sibul, where the community
farmers of GEHFI lives. The land is separated from the nearest
township by a river and the children have to walk across this river by foot
daily onto bumpy, rough and unpaved roads to attend the nearest elementary
school. Our group, composed of four men and five women, has to cross the
river to do our mission for that day. We travelled so far and it was an
adventurous experience for all of us since we just relied on the map for
directions. We thank God for His travelling mercy that we are able to
reach our destination safely. The weather was good and the level of the river
was below knee level, which means the vehicles can cross it. Thanks to
Mico and Raymond, our classmates, for volunteering to be the drivers and for
offering their vehicles to us. It was fun travelling on the way up to the
mountain.
As we reached the place for our SL activity, I can imagine how hard it is for the farmers to transport their harvest to the market since there is no farm-to-market road to assist them with their produce. I learned that even in their most productive months, they have extreme difficulty taking their harvest to town due to lack of infrastructure. GEHFI has requested the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Bulacan to build a bridge in the said place. What I can do to help them is to make my friends aware of the plight of the people in Brgy. Sibul through social media networking. It may reach the attention of the government or concerned citizens and/or organizations to sponsor the building of bridge.
Transforming Land
Our first activity was tree planting. Ms.
Aileen De Ocampo, UPLB agronomist serving as GreenEarth's farm manager and site
administrator, helped us in our SL activity. She asked the high school
students to assist us in the said activity. We introduced ourselves and
we had time to know them all by names (though it’s hard to memorize their
names). Each volunteer has two partners to assist in the tree planting
activity. We, the volunteers, thought that we’ll just plant in the nearby
plantation but Ms, Aileen told us that we have to walk up to the mountain to
plant our seedlings there. Good thing we all wear comfortable shoes for
trekking. It’s a ten-to-fifteen minute walk, so each volunteer took the
opportunity to get to know our partners and start the career counseling. My
partners were Renz and JP, graduating students of John J Russel Memorial High
School. I used the opportunity of knowing them by asking questions about
their dreams, status in life, and challenges as a student. I shared my
experiences with them- why did I choose BS Accountancy as my course, how did I
finished my studies and how I used my knowledge and skills for God’s
glory. I shared my life testimony with them that I had been one of the
students who belong to the economically challenged level of society and I don’t
see that as a hindrance to reach one’s goal in life. I encouraged them to
dream big because we have a big GOD, who knows the plans He has for us, plans
to prosper us and not to harm us, plans us hope and a future.
Teaching minds, Transforming LIVES
As a true believer in Christ, my mission is to disciple, teach, serve and love others with whole-hearted devotion and to be a transforming influence in the lives of others. Part of our SL activity is to help GreenEarth in resolving their problem on illiteracy and idleness through conducting lessons in English, Science, Computer and Values.
Mico, Marielle and I were assigned to teach Grade 2-3 composed of sixteen students. For science, we discussed the center of gravity through an activity of making an egg stand using salt. They are so excited to apply what they’ve learned and so each one was given a chance to do the activity. For values, we asked the students to memorize a verse in the bible and discussed how they can apply it. They were asked to share their answers by drawing it in a bond paper. I noticed that they were too shy to present their drawings in class but I’m amazed with their work. They were so creative and they can really draw. As teachers, we affirm each student after they talk to boost their confidence and to encourage them to talk and have conversation with others.
For the high school students, we divided the students into nine groups so each volunteer can have one-on-one discussion with the students. We continued the career counseling and we discussed the assessment test in English proficiency that they took last month. Dr. Matti, Founder and Executive Director of GEHFI, gave the questionnaires and the result of the exam of the students to us ahead of time. My preparation includes reading English book, and reviewing the rules of English grammar.
Even though our SL activity was conducted only in one day, I believe that we were able to make an impact in the community. We have planted seeds in the minds and lives of the kids and I pray that it will nourish and grow and that they too will also influence others.
Opportunity to build relationships
The group / DLSU MBA volunteers were determined in doing our mission in GEHFI as we are also geared toward a common goal: to make an impact in the lives of others. We don’t think that we just do our SL because we are required in BUS560M but we want to make a positive change in the lives of others. And since we have a prevalent purpose, we have developed better relationships among ourselves. I’m so grateful for the lives of my classmates and we all took the opportunity to build relationship. It is when we work with people that we get to know who they really are. Through our SL activity, I was able to interact with my classmates in a deeper level.
I hope we can always learn to give ourselves to
others and experience the joy of touching lives. My prayer is for us to use our
influence in our respective companies to craft Social Responsibility activities
that will contribute to the transformation of our company and country. I’m
looking forward to apply the important principles and valuable lessons we have
learned [and we will learn] in the graduate school.
Female Ento Gowns: Elvira Reyes
