Serivive Learning Project

Chapter 01. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT OF THE SERVICE LEARNING ACTIVITY

1. Service Learning Activity

Service Learning Activity is an experimental or action learning as well as a method by which people learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that:

 meets actual community needs,

 in collaboration with the school and community,

 provides structured time for a person to think, talk, and write about what we did and saw during the actual service activity,

 provides people the opportunities to use newly acquired academic skills and knowledge in real life situations in their own communities,

 Enhances what is taught in school by extending student learning beyond the class.

Experiencing this activity, we are enabled to foster the development of a sense of caring for others. It is necessary for us to combine personal insight, social issue which we have understood, and skills which we have learned to tackle this activity.

RVR COB Code of Ethics states that Lasallian leaders' purpose is to lead people and manage resources to promote human development and the common good and to create value that no single individual can create alone, and also states that Lasallian leaders' decision affects the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and tomorrow. Accordingly, we have the code of ethics that:

 I will respect the human rights and dignity of all people affected by my enterprise, and I will oppose discrimination and exploitation,

 I will respect the right of future generations to advance their standard of living and enjoy a healthy planet.

In this class, we have learned several concepts of ethics and decision-making method. So we understood the main objective of this service learning activity is to exemplify what we have learned, and what we have acquired through the class by engaging actual occasion where we can/have to serve to meet actual community needs.

2. Philippine Jesuit Prison Service (PJPS)

PJPS is associated in the same park of New Bilibid Prison to support the families of inmates. They have a mission that: 1) Rebuild Lives, 2) Rekindle Hope, and a vision of "A community of Jesuit and Volunteers who share in the mission of Christ through prison ministry imbued with Integration Spirituality. PJPS' mission and goals focus on Rebuilding Lives and Rekindling Hope, something easy to relate to in general, but in relation to their prison service, it is to promote prison awareness, advocate active involvement of the free society, provide sustainable programs that assist in the total rehabilitation of the inmates and their families, build a community of spirituality mature volunteers, collaborators and benefactors, and gather development and judicious administration of resources. Besides, they have 100+ scholars, have helped 40,000+ prisoners and have collaborated with more than 20,000 volunteers, something that should be continuing, as they are more people out there asking for assistance and help, and more people blessed enough to be able to help.

3. Manifestations / Issues seen includes:

1. Lack of education of the wives and their families especially on the financial aspect.

2. Lack of enough sources of income

4. Proposed Activity and Objectives:

Our proposal was about livelihood, which aims to help families of inmates to acquire new concept to enhance their existing business. It is also a means practical application of knowledge learned from the other activities rendered by the other teams, such as Capital Budgeting, Financial Management and Marketing. We proposed two alternatives, from which they could make use of and start from themselves with a small amount of capital. One is how to make Japanese desert 'Shiratama", something that is a unique form of “meryenda” or snacks, easy to make and could be adjusted to cater to Filipino taste buds. Another is bracelet making, which also could be done from a small capital, and creativity is all they would need.

Chapter 02. STORIES AND OUTCOMES

1. Conscious Experience

The group chose the Philippine Jesuit Prison Service or PJPS because we felt that the activities we were tasked to prepare were of paramount importance to our beneficiaries which were mostly the wives of inmates of the National Bilibid Prison. Due to the present circumstances of their husbands, these wives were now considered the breadwinners of their respective families. They engage and rely on various livelihood initiatives where they source their meager income.

Our group was tasked to teach them new sources of livelihood to help augment what they already have while our other classmates thought of ways to teach them on how to source capital, how to properly market their products and very important concepts in financial literacy.

We taught them how to make a very popular Japanese dessert called “Shiratama” and how to make beautiful bead bracelets. Both initiatives promise to give them additional income ranging from P700 to P1000 with very minimal amount of initial capital needed. Aside from teaching them these very helpful livelihood tips, we also gave them some ideas on who can be their customers, where to buy their ingredients and materials, where to sell such items and how to effectively sell them to their chosen target market.

Both our livelihood proposals were warmly accepted by the participants. They listened intently and we could see their enthusiasm as we proceeded to teach them how to prepare the Japanese delicacy and how to assemble the decorative bracelets. We even gave them time to participate in the activities which they gamely did. It was really satisfying to see them enjoying themselves but more importantly, we were able to impart something which they can use to fend for themselves. It was also satisfying to hear their assurances that they will adopt what they have learned to earn more.

The group was very appreciative of the experience because it made us realize and gave us deep a understanding of the social realities

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