Daily Archives: November 19, 2018

Sikhay Lingkod: A Summit on Cultivating the Spirit of Volunteerism was held at the School of Economics Auditorium in the University of the Philippines Diliman on November 19, 2018. There were two sessions held: the AM session which began at 09:00 in the morning and ended at 12:00 noon, and the PM session which began at 02:00 in the afternoon and ended at 05:00 in the afternoon. Prof. Arlyn Macapinlac, Director of NSTP Diliman Office, through her welcome remarks explained the meaning of the word “sikhay” which is zeal. Mayroong pananabik,” she further said. “Kaya nung nakita ko ‘yung kanyang kahulugan, sabi ko, maganda ‘to.” There were six organizations from the civil society and a government agency, the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA), who attended the Summit as speakers. They talked about volunteerism and their advocacies for the underserved communities. They also presented a variety of civic engagement strategies that UP students may venture into. Mr. Kenneth C. Siruelo of PNVSCA began with a discussion focused on the substantial impact that volunteerism poses to the society and community. He also gave an introduction on the work of PNVSCA as an office under the National Economic and Development Authority and insights on the provision stipulated under the Volunteer Act of 2007. “When you’re one of these marginalized kids, you’d think na… ‘Nakalimutan na ‘kong mundo or probably nakalimutan na ‘kong gobyerno, nakalimutan na ‘kong lipunan, pero every time na may mga taong nagri-reach out sa’kin sa lugar ko, what do you think that will make them feel?” This is how Ms. Florence Paguagan explained the motivating force behind the founding of Rainbow Confetti, Inc., an organization that seeks to empower kids through giving them the opportunity to celebrate even the smallest milestones in life. Also present during the program were, Ms. Ruthie Maye Padilla, Project Officer, and Ms. Kimberly Anne Marcelo, Environmental Education Officer, of World Wide Fund for Nature or WWF who shared their organization’s main tenets: to conserve biodiversity and to reduce the human footprint. They requested the students to take part in WWF’s Ayoko ng Plastic […]