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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Share/Save /Spend

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Last March 13, we conducted our service learning project in Gawad Kalinga Villa Paraiso, Parañaque City. I was so excited about it. This will be my first time again to do something like this after almost six working years.

I belong to an awesome group of 10 persons. All of us were in the finance field and thus, we came up with an idea to revolve our service learning around our industry. At first, what we proposed was a financial literacy seminar to families. Due to constraints and other things, we finalized that it will be catered to kids aged 8 to 12 years. We chose GK Villa Paraiso, as one of our group mates has been supporting this community for a while.

Preparing for our SL project

We focused our discussion on how to save. Since we will be involving kids, we thought of other ways their attention can be captured. We thought of piggy bank making. We searched for ideas on Youtube and found a video that used softdrink bottles as piggy banks.

Before meeting up, we were assigned to bring recycled 1.5-liter softdrink bottles each. We also divided our group to mini-groups so that coordination can be easier. These mini-groups were program, logistics and food and games. I belong to the logistics and food group. Our mini-group was assigned to buy the prizes, to buy the art materials to be used, to order food from Jollibee, to create certificates and name tags for the participants, and lastly, to work around the budget.

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Everything, we thought, was ready. On the day itself, we met in Makati so that we can go together in Parañaque. However, the place was kind of hard to find. It was not easy for us to commute to go there. Luckily, one empty FX passed by and we hired him to directly transport us to the GK village. Though the village was out of  his route, he still accompanied us. We said it will be for a good cause.

From the main street, you will still need to walk around 10 minutes to go to the village. As one of those assigned for food delivery, our main concern was would Jollibee be able to deliver inside the village? Or will we walk to the main street again then carry boxes of food going back to the village? That was the first thing we asked Ate Becca, our main coordinator. She was the one who accommodated us and took charge to gather the kids to attend to our program. Luckily, she said that Jollibee always delivers inside the village.

Teaching the kids

The first question we asked the kids was: “What are your areams?” And I was surprised that most of them have definite goals in life—to be a nurse, doctor, etc. I was contemplating and realized that when I was their age, I think I did not have a specific desired occupation in life. I was amazed. 

Another discussion that struck me was the needs vs. wants. Even today, I  mix this one up. Our hosts, Abel and Krizel, were giving examples and the kids will tell if it’s a need or want. And their answers were not that bad for kids their age.

The kids were asked how much their daily allowance were. Some were hesitant to answer. Some got P50, others got P30, while others got less. And we taught them the 10-20-70 saving strategy. Seventy percent goes to your expenses, 20 percent to savings while the last 10 percent is for them to share.

I asked the kids if they will still allot the 10 percent for sharing? Surprisingly, the kids said yes. They share what they have left in their own way – with their younger siblings or to their parents. Our program ended with the piggy bank making where everyone was participating actively. Even the younger boys, who I thought were naughty, were designing their own bottle. We gave the kids Jollibee meals as our way of thanking them for participating.

Learning to share

In this project, I’ve realized a lot of things. One of, I think, the most important lessons is to share. The kids taught me to not be selfish. Even if they were still not in the age of working and earning their own money, they know how to handle priorities on spending. They know their goals and they know how to give back to others. I believe these kids will be one of the most humble people I will meet in the future and I look forward to working with one of them in the corporate world.

The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business.  This essay is part of a journal she kept in fulfillment of the requirements of the course, Lasallian Business Leadership with Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics.  Visit her blog at https://joanneasistin.wordpress.com/page/2/.

The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

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