This is an excerpt from the final paper prepared by a group of Management students led by Kuya Hans Chua of Ateneo de Manila University under its BIGKIS program. Kuya Hans and his group were assigned to work with Lingap’s community partner in Sampaloc, Manila through the United Church of Christ in the Philippines-Kundiman. The aim of their engagement is to assist Lingap’s community partner in the design of their community-based enterprises. Their final output may be accessed by clicking this link.
Our area engagements were definitely fruitful experiences. They were a different change of
pace from our usual academic routines since they allowed us to interact with real people living real lives, in contrast to our usual academic encounters, where these encounters would be just about us students, the professors, and the learning materials.
The area engagements enhanced virtues that we would appreciate in an academic setting, such as being open-minded, adapting, as well as discoursing effectively. Moreover, they also enhanced virtues that would usually be left out in an academic setting, such as showing empathy, understanding, and kindness. With the given opportunity, we saw a glimpse of what they saw and what to expect in the real world, which was very eye-opening for all of us as it gave us a different point of view of life as well.
In our NSTP experience, we learned how to appreciate our discipline from a practical
perspective. Sometimes, the stress that comes with learning tends to make us take for granted that what seems to be common for us might not be too common for others, others experiencing different realities of life. While our course, Bachelor of Science in Management, usually teaches its students how to run a profitable business, there is also a goal towards pursuing a sustainable business. In a world where climate change and poverty are still primary concerns, we simply cannot turn a blind eye to these anymore. We are called to share what we have experienced and learned with those who need it the most, such as the communities that we have engaged with. We can teach them how to efficiently use their resources, as well as learn how to acquire other resources such as revenues, and teach them how to market their products themselves.
Although the online engagements with the members of Lingap Pangkabataan Inc. (LPI) and the UCCP church members were fruitful and insightful, there is still a lot more that can be done to make these experiences more impactful for both the community and the students. The online setup for the engagements posed limitations, such as internet connectivity, and a limited view of the current state of the community as well as the initiatives being implemented. A whole day onsite engagement session with them, while going around the community at the same time, would give the students a better understanding and perspective on their needs and opportunities through physically observing and coming face to face with them.
Another manner of enhancing the experience is by going beyond just the proposal,
compared to just conceptualizing and creating the initial design of the products, connecting the
community with suppliers, and creating the initial marketing plan. This way, the community members would have a headstart and the students could utilize their management skills in order to apply them
in a community-based sector, applying the core value of the Magis.