As I walk away from the Manila Study Abraod Program and write this impact analysis, many ideas, pharases, words, and images come to my mind. The Manila Study Abroad Progras has given me the unique opportunity to rebuild notions about strategies and methodologies for poverty alleviation. I coud spend hours discussing how the Vincentian Center for Social Responsibility (VCSR) establishes a strong foundation in the community throughout the values formation program, or how they increase civic engagement, rights awareness, and good governance through participation, empowerement, and servant-leadership. Nevertheless, I would like to discuss how VCSR shifts the social construction of the Southville community, positioning it in a different way in front of public officials, the media, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the community itself.
According to Schneider and Ingram in the Social Construction of Target Populations (1993), the social construction of a target population refers to the recognition of the shared characteristics that distinguis a target populations as a socailly menaningful, and the atribution of specific, valence-oriented values, symbols, and images to the characteristics.
I believe that this shift in the stereotypes of the relocated communities quitely influences policy makers to apply an asset-based approach in their anaylis and decision making process. This positive picture of the community sets a different agenda, behavior, and methodology among the various stakeholders who will look at the Southville community in a positive and strong category, rather than in a negative and weak group.
The idea began when Father Nonong Fajardo, Director of the Adamson University Integrated Community Services (ICES), shared in his opening speech that their most important learning when they first approached the community was that "people living in poverty were already organized, highly participatory, and entrepreneurs," shifting VCSR paradigm and approach for the implementation of the program. VCSR, staff and volunteers, realized that contributions would come from both sides VCSR and the community. At the same time, it motivated the community to shift the way they engaged in the initiative and looked at themselves as contributors. The community moved from merely expecting financial support to see, and reach, their own potential, individually and collectively, building a strategy to improve the community as a whole.
The most powerful moment I experienced was when VCSR facilitators led an activity where participants had to write down their goals. This activity caused commotion among the participants who were fearful because they felt they did not have the menas to achieve their dreams. The facilitators masterly handled the situation, explaining that only a small percent of the world population know what they want, write it down, and work towards it. They also added that failing was an opportunity for grow and it was responsibility of the entire community to support each other for their individual and collective goals. This moment gave participants the oppotunity to look at themselves as part of a selective and privilege group.
Finally, representatives of the National Housing Authority (NHA) recognized that VCSR influenced urban planning policies. Therefore, they incorporated a participatory approach in their planning. This policy reallocates resources differently to fill the gaps and needs identified by the commiunity and not by public officials alone.
This initiative is reaching its goal by constructing a positive image of the community and building an asset-based apporach across stakeholders, providing the community the oppotunity to influence policies, methodologies and therefore reducing inequality in the Philippines.
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