Reports 1

Introduction:

This paper wishes to disclose some general ideas, concept, nature and scope of volunteerism in the Philippines, highlighting the experiences of the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod, the volunteer program of the University of the Philippines. Our country has a long and rich history of volunteerism. Although we can account only for those activities with which we are directly involved, in our country, there are a number of institutions, groups, both local and international, very active in rendering voluntary programs and services to many under-served provinces and poor communities, especially in times of disasters and calamities. The Cultural Roots of Volunteerism

When we hear the word volunteer, what comes to mind is offering of oneself for service, initiative, through an act of free will, responding to help solve a problem, share a skill, show care, sympathy, etc.

We can see from these responses that volunteerism, based on the contemporary use of the word, has six elements:

1. recognition that a need exists;

2. response to a need out of free will or initiative and not an act following a certain mandate or authority;

3. response to a need by giving not only material things but service, talents, time, energy, or skill;

4. the ultimate beneficiaries are other people and oneself;

5. the services are rendered free from any monetary obligation; and

6. the volunteer service is in partnership with an organization or institution.

The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod/Oblation Corps Experience

The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod/Oblation Corps is the initiative of the present administration headed by the University President, Emil Q. Javier. This volunteer program was conceptualized as a challenge to the University's commitment for social and public service after the initial findings on the survey of Knowledge, Attitude and Values revealed that contemporary UP students put social commitment and morality very low in the hierarchy of values. Launched in February 1994, it seeks to institutionalize volunteerism among UP constituents by offering free service to communities in dire need.

The program takes the name Pahiningod, a Cebuano term commonly used in the Visayas and Mindanao, which is the closest Filipino equivalent to "Oblation."* It symbolizes the offering of one's self to the service of the nation. Ugnayan recognizes the linkages of the volunteers and the University to the community and society at large.

The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod mobilizes the students, graduates and faculty, as well as the units and organizations they represent, to share their skills, intelligence and time to the under-served communities. This is a way of giving back to the people a part of what they have acquired in an institution subsidized by the Filipino people.

In two years, the Ugnayan has organized five major programs and continues to institutionalize initiatives in voluntary service. These programs can be classified as:

1. Recognition of all ongoing voluntary work;

2. Fielding of volunteers in communities;

3. Pilot testing of a new technology or concept/Volunteer Consultancy;

4. Volunteer work towards educational institution building, and;

5. Volunteerism as a field Academic Study and Research.

   These programs are implemented through the four autonomous units of the University: UP-Diliman, UP-Los Banos, UP Manila and UP in the Visayas.

   Through these programs, the Ugnayan has fielded more than 800 volunteers, of whom 30 are working full time in their assigned communities. Others have participated in over 40 medical and surgical missions, conducted tutorial sessions in more than 300 elementary and high school students, practised peer counselling and stress debriefing, worked with indigenous communities for environmental rehabilitation, facilitated academic affirmative action programs and training on fisheries, agriculture, community organizing; food preservation and fermentation, small scale industries and assisted welfare institutions like orphanages and nursing homes.

   The programs of the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod are always carried out in partnership with people's organization, local communities, government agencies, local government units, non-government organization, and academic institutions. Below is a summary of the programs undertaken by the Ugnayan.

6. Recognition of all ongoing voluntary work Although the voluntary work in the University was institutionalized in 1994, it should be taken into account that since the University was founded in 1908, volunteerism has been practised by its constituents. The nationalistic orientation and commitment to public service of the students, faculty and staff of the University encouraged them to engage in several voluntary activities under different organizations based in the University. What is new in the program is the recognition and support of the institution of these endeavours.

7. Fielding of volunteers in communities The Ugnayan intensifies the commitment to public service through a program that encourages graduates, faculty and students to share their expertise and time in under-served communities. The fielding of volunteers in communities takes several forms of services rendered. This is in partnership with the government agencies, local government units and non-government organizations.

   The Ugnayan works with the Department of Health for several medical and surgical missions all over the country. Through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Ugnayan reaches out to children who are victims of sexual abuse, physical violence and illegal recruitment; to elderly and; to the differently-abled individuals. The Agrarian Reform Communities are assisted by the Ugnayan in cooperation with the Department of Agrarian Reform. Some municipalities request volunteers to facilitate training on community development, small enterprise development and environmental management.

   Disaster response is a vital component of the volunteer program, especially here in the Philippines where natural and man-made calamities often occur. Several measures have been conducted to raise funds for relief operations for communities and individuals which are victims of typhoons, earthquakes and lahar overflows (volcanic landslides). Two resettlement areas have been established for lahar victims, one in San Isidro, Isabela, and the other at Camp O'Donnell, Tarlac.

   To increase environmental awareness of students, groups and organizations, the Ecology Camp Program of the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod mobilizes volunteers for seedling collection, nursery, and planting of hardwood and fruitbearing trees. These activities enhance linkages with various organizations for an exchange of ideas and resources. Currently the Eco Campers are working with the indigenous people, the Aeta communities in Pampanga.

   The short-term missions with the communities include the investigation and control of carabao (water buffalo) deaths, locust and tungro infestations in farming communities.

8. Pilot Testing of a New Technology or Concept/Volunteer Consultancy The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod/Oblation Corps assist small enterprises, non-government organizations and local government units in the formulation of projects that are effective, efficient and socially useful. Consultations have been conducted to identify the agricultural and fisheries technologies that may be introduced in certain communities. Some members of the faculty have offered consultancy services on physical planning, coastal resource management, cooperative development, food processing, and have assisted in the development for project proposals for socio-economic endeavours.

9. Volunteer work towards educational institution building The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod sends faculty, staff, graduates and retirees to other educational institutions to support them in teacher renewal, teacher training, development of courses, and other activities that would promote strong and effective academic institutions in the country. The Ugnayan has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the University of Southern Philippines and Quezon City Polytechnic. Two volunteer teachers to the Quezon Polytechnic College have been absorbed into the faculty of QCPC.

   The enhancement of skills and capabilities of secondary teachers in depressed provinces is an objective of the Affirmative Action Program. In addition to preparing the graduate students for university life, AAP aims to assist teachers so that instruction in the secondary level may be improved.

10. Volunteerism as a Field of Academic Study and Research The UP/OC encourages colleges in the university to make voluntary service part of the curriculum or academic courses and as a field of study. The colleges are invited to extend services to areas where their field of specialization is needed.

    This is performed through service learning which provides feedback on the effectiveness of the course itself as students analyze the usefulness of the course in the field and provide suggestions on how the course may be improved. The students from the College of Social Work and Community Development have undertaken fieldwork in the Aeta communities and resettlement areas in Pampanga. The College of Home Economics has adopted an urban poor community in Pook Libis, Quezon City, for research and extension services. The UP Visayas Community Development students have also undertaken their fieldwork in the communities of Guimaras and Leganes. The UP College of Human Kinetics has organized a Sports Outreach Program for the youth. The Accounting classes of UP Visayas have volunteered with BIDANI to train grassroots cooperatives on bookkeeping.

Volunteerism preserves and transmits the values of pakikipagkapwa (compassion) by giving the students, faculty and graduates a chance to help and learn from the people they are unlikely to meet in a university setting. The interaction of volunteers with the survivors of disasters leaves them with nothing but admiration for the strength of persons who have lost everything except their will to start a new life. One insight drawn from a diary of a person who worked with abused children is the realization that they are persons rather than victims. Volunteers learn to understand the spirituality of Filipinos in their response to natural and human-made calamities. Not surprisingly, it is the same spirituality that seems to drive volunteers to our fold: Most sharing sessions with volunteers left us with the impression that the decision to be a pahinungod has come from a deep need to find meaning as a person and to serve one's nation.

* a Christian term which comes from offering the bread and the wine of the Eucharist to God and which has come to mean any offering made for religious or charitable purposes.