[Leaders of partner institutions from the city government, barangay local government units, XU offices and civil society organizations sign the memorandum of agreement, sealing their commitment in the formation of Ateneans to become “men and women for others” through the National Service Training Program.]
By Stephen J Pedroza
The National Service Training Program (NSTP) of Xavier University strengthened its partnership with the different communities and institutions in Cagayan de Oro City through the signing of a memorandum of agreement and contract of engagement.
“Xavier considers its partners very important in the social formation of our students,” XU-NSTP director Dennise Edwina Gonzales said in her message to the attendees of the MOA signing ceremony Friday, August 14.
“You [our partners] have been there for our students’ formation so they can fulfill their roles in nation building and you have given your time in mentoring them every Saturday,” Gonzales added.
Leading the MOA signing were CDO Archbishop Antonio J Ledesma SJ DD, XU president Fr Roberto C Yap SJ, CDO schools division superintendent Dr Elena M Borcillo, Oro Integrated Cooperative (OIC) chief executive officer Floriano R Hilot and City Welfare and Development (CSWD) officer Teddy Sabuga-a, together with the representatives of partner institutions from the city government, barangay local government units, XU offices and civil society organizations, among others.
Most of these CDO communities and institutions have been partners of XU since 2002, the year NSTP was implemented.
Gonzales also expressed her gratitude to the partners for keeping XU students “safe and secured” while conducting their community projects in their respective areas.
“Our partners have been there to secure our students, to make them feel at home and for that, we are very grateful,” she said.
Community projects
As part of the university’s mission on “greater societal engagements,” the community projects to be conducted in partner barangays for this school year will center on addressing different social issues.
In barangays Carmen and Lapasan, XU-NSTP students will run information education campaigns on solid waste management in line with RA 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act) and the Green Campus Agenda of the university, and on voters’ education in preparation for the 2016 national elections in partnership with the Kristohanong Katilingban sa Pagpakabana – Social Involvement Office (KKP-SIO).
The partnership with the city government for its Hapsay Dalan campaign and proper management of waste disposal has been renewed for this year.
For the riverside communities of CDO (barangays 13, 15, 17 and Consolacion), NSTP projects will zero in on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM).
School- and home-based tutorial sessions will also be conducted in Iponan, Macasandig, Xavier Ecoville and various public elementary schools in the city in partnership with the Niña Maria Learning Center and Ateneo Rover Circle on the basics of scouting.
Aimed at cultivating the young’s consciousness in Filipino culture and the arts, XU-NSTP students will be sharing their talents and skills to elementary pupils with the support of Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts (XCCA) and its arts companies.
In partnership with the XU-Sustainable Sanitation Center (SuSan), anti-dengue campaigns will also be launched in Camaman-an where there is a high incidence of dengue influx. A 2014 report of the Department of Health showed CDO had the most number of dengue-stricken patients for the said year in Northern Mindanao. Besides Camaman-an, the barangays with reported high cases of dengue incidents included Carmen, Balulang, Bugo, Kauswagan, Bulua, Iponan, Macasandig, Patag, Gusa, Canitoan, Tablon and Lapasan.
In collaboration with the XU-McKeough Marine Center (MMC), NSTP students will embark on marine ecology conservation projects as part of the ridge-to reef approach on environmental protection.
To inculcate the value of savings among the young, XU-NSTP and OIC are partnering to teach children ways to save and budget their school allowances. One of which is to open a kid’s savings account in a cooperative.
Lastly, XU-NSTP has collaborated with the Archidiocese of Cagayan de Oro to push for sustainable agriculture. A vacant lot at the San Jose Seminary will be converted into a model organic farm, which other parishes can follow.
NSTP at Xavier
This MOA signing was considered a significant activity for the XU-NSTP team and its partners for it sealed their commitment in the formation of Ateneans to become “men and women for others.”
NSTP is a major component of the service learning programs of Jesuit universities such as XU.
In his message, the XU president emphasized the value of reflection as a way to process the students’ experiences and learning in a community engagement.
“We can give our students a lot of experiences but if it lacks the reflection component, service learning is not complete,” Yap said.
NSTP is a one-year formative process which adopts a two-pronged approach: classroom sessions with reflection sessions and area work experience. NSTP has three components: the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), the Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) and the Literacy Training Service (LTS).
“We teach our students the theories of social development in the classrooms but to actually form the whole person — head, heart and mind — we need you, our partners, so they can have contact with the communities, to learn from them and to understand what it really means to be a ‘person for others.’”
At the outset, the partnership has a clear orientation and a goal to mobilize the communities where the students will be fielded to implement their own community development projects, thereby giving their own share in the barangay development processes.
“I cannot thank you enough for receiving our students to your communities and organizations and for helping them grow,” Yap said.
[XU president Fr Roberto C Yap SJ and Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio J Ledesma SJ DD lead the XU-NSTP MOA singing ceremony Friday, August 14.]