Service Learning - 2nd Visit

We had our second visit to the community last March 18, 2016. After our eager ocular during our first visit, we decided we wanted to focus on regulating trash through the 3Rs - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We observed that there wasn’t much trash or garbage in the vicinity of the Barangay for they have a systemized way of collecting garbage. And for us, this kind of discipline may be put to good use. Since they had no problem with collecting trash, we thought of a project that will help them regulate these garbage items and be put to better use.

The project we decided to conduct is a teaching session for the children of the barangay and we agreed on a lesson plan which tackles reducing, reusing and recycling trash.

It was a great experience to bond with the kids and at the same time, be a teacher to them. In that half of a day that we spent together, I got to know them, their way of living, their willingness to learn and how participative they are in our session. During our activity which we conducted to asses them, if and what they have learned, we grouped them and let them use the materials given (e.g. clay) to make or formulate different items they normally find in the barangay that they can either reduce, reuse or recycle. We were surprised with the creativity they showed us. We were expecting figures of papers, plastics and such common things but they went beyond what we expected and gave us spontaneous designs and items they find at home – from the wood used for the bed frame, the cooking materials made of plastic to appliances that can be benefited from in the long run.

It made me realize that we tend to stereotype these families, associating them to being unfortunate. But for me, they are not. They are only mismanaged by the local government, or on a wide-scale, the central government. These children have such potential in them but with the lack of proper education and family care, it is not developed.

Through this community service session, I was able to teach them for they learned something from our group but at the same time, I also learned something from them. I learned how to look at the brighter side of the situation. I learned how to be optimistic despite my life going downhill. I’ve become so fragile coming from a well off family that I forget how to “live.” I get to caught up in dealing with what I perceive as the “real world” that I forget to observe what’s around me and take everything in. I get so uptight because of my parents’ expectations of me that I forget how to live as a 19-year old. It was good to see how carefree these children are, they made me realize the essence of learning – why we’re in school in the first place. I tend to neglect the blessings given to me but I really should truly be happy for what I have and my way of giving back would be through these community services.

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