Kyn D. Vargas Mr.

Padrelanan

B.A Political Science April 24,

2021

MIDTERM EXAMINATION IN BASIC COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND DEVELOPMENT

1. Social Justice are connected to community organizing and to other task-oriented groups and
it is the major life aspect that is really need by the individuals. Thru the process of the collective
action by the community organizing it can generate the requisite power that result to overcome
the unjust social relations and to achieve some changes that entails the human rights,
participatory democracy and the distributive justice. Social Justice have a five distinct dimension
to be understand and these are the multicultural integration, naivete, empowerment, liberatory
critical consciousness and social justice advocacy. In the Multicultural Integration there is a two
way process on the mutual accommodation by the individuals and the society that result to
balance between the rights and obligations of the migrants. The state will be actively seek to
mitigate the disadvantages that are present in the socio-economic and to the socio-cultural
domains. In the naivete they are the person who are lack to the experience or wisdom that if we
connect to the reality these are the part of the poor community. In the process of community
organizing we need to empower all the individual we met to enlighten them to make change and
something new for their life. While in the Liberatory consciousness is the part of the action that
motivate the individual to live his/her life in the institution and oppressive systems by having
awareness and clean intentionality. Lastly, the Social Justice Advocacy is organized effort
process that are aiming for the influencing of the public attitudes, laws and policies to create
more socially just society wherein everybody is guided by the vision of the human rights and to
be protected in terms of the socio-economic inequities, protection to the racial identity as part of
the social rights.

The most vulnerable and exploited sectors in the Philippine Society is the children wherein they
are the one who belong to the poor families. According on the Philippine Static Office (n.p) by
the year 2015, almost 31.4% of the children belong to the poor families in Philippines. In
consequence, there is a need to be look after their survival and also the living conditions, their
health and education as these children major rights, proper welfare and development are been
in the core of country’s social development goals. Based from the report of the UNICEF that
almost 60,000 to 100,000 children are commonly trafficked for exploitation for the sex trade
which is very alarming because due to poverty they are intended to the things that is not
particularly good to do of one children and be involve in the prostitution rings. According to the
International Labour Organization (ILO), the Philippines have a tally about one million Filipino
Men and women that are leaving the country to work overseas every year and a total of 10
million Filipinos are working abroad and living our country. This high significant numbers of
these Filipino overseas workers result to trafficked and subjected to servitude, force labour and
debt bondage in the number of industries, including in the agricultural, construction,
manufacturing, seafaring, fishing and the service sector and domestic work in the Asia and
commonly in the Middle east wherein most of the Filipino women workers are there for the
domestic work.

2. a. Human Dignity- the human dignity is the concept of belief of all the people who hold and
gave a special value that tied solely to the humanity. It is our main privileged that no one could
invade it to us with regards to help other people which is very natural to us to give help for the
others.

b. Subsidiarity – it is a process wherein our ability to make our own initiative and efforts as
persona into our life like for example is creating an organization that will help to increase the
mobility of the urban community to correspond in any health issues like for example on how to
avoid the dengue, should not be taken away to us by someone who are part of the higher
authority which means let us do our part without taking away our ability to help for that particular
community.

c. Solidarity – it is a process on how do we appreciate and recognize other people as our own
brother and sister no matter what race they are and actively respect and love them thru a good
initiative action for their good. In this process it can build a solidarity relationship to other people
by knowing what life they have that are differ from others that would connect to our humanity.

d. Care for God’s Creation – we gave our fullest respect and love to the creator by our
stewardship of creation which is God. We value everything that we have in our life that he
provide since from the start after he save and forgive us from our sin and make us as his son
and daughter by his own. We do gave a full of value to care for the other people, for the
environment, animals life and for living our faith relationship we build up to him personally.
e. Call to Family, Community and Participation – we are not just only a sacred person but
also we are social in the aspect of family, community and participation. For the family our main
goal is to be married in the right age and right time and we build our own central social
institutions which is the family we have and give our full support and strengthen it no matter how
hard the situation it is. For the Community, we start to be part of organization that build up in
one society where do we belong and help to organize the said society and maintain the order
we want for the good of the society, this will tackle the economics, politics and in law and policy
which is directly affect our human dignity and the capacity of one individual to grow in the
community. And as part of Participation we have the right, obligation and responsibility as our
main obligation to participate in the society and do the things that will result for the common
goods of the well-being of all.

f. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable- it means that god gave us the natural care for the other
people that invite us on how to work on it and show of a good result in helping those people in
need. Same with community organizing we don’t let the other community suffer in one issue that
will result to lose on their solidarity and humanity because they think that no one could help
them in their community to assert their problem especially regards to poverty.

g. Rights and Responsibilities- if the persons have a good human rights protection and met all
the responsibilities this will result to good human dignity and healthy community because it is a
major cause of positivism aspect of our life particularly in our rights and responsibilities. And
these rights and responsibilities correspond to our families and one another and to the larger
society where we belong.

h. Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers- the value and the dignity of work and right of the
workers is very important aspect because it is the only pride we have and no one could invade it
on us. The workers is the key to the growth of the economy and if the human dignity of work is
to be protected and not abuse by the higher authority then their basic rights must be respected.
And in relation to the community organizing, we as the social worker that are part of the
organization we must have the rights also for the right to productive work, decent and fair
wages, joining unions, private property and to the economic initiative.

3. The meaning of the song is all about the struggles and sacrifices of one political activist that
which means is to love to one’s country and the price for it has needed to pay for the serving
this cause. While listening to the song there is a six expression you will feel to it and it is the
Love, Sadness, Aggression, anger, humor and wit that reflected to the song and its own lyrics.
Granada make his own style and way about the kind of organic-ness that is highly appropriate
for a true alternative ethos, towards on the aesthetics of poverty foregrounding his folk music
inspired the Christian socialist poeticizing, accusing nationalism, and Marxist environmentalism.
Granada also pointed out this suspicion which opposite mean is laos-ergon refers to the mass
action. In connection to the commitment to pursue to community organizing work it help us to
pursue and give us the spirit and perseverance for why are we helping and fighting for them and
why we need to do this kind of community organizing among these vulnerable and exploited
sectors of Philippine society. It is a connection also to the struggles that we are facing every day
and reflect on the action that we are doing to the society.

4. The primary struggles of Sister Stella in the movie is at first she could not decide on how to
integrate with her idea on labor, politics, and religion and on how to help and fight for the poor
and the working class in her own way and her congregation. Because Sister Stella has
something to do with herself that she could be used to help and voice out for the poor and it is
her ability to voice out for what is right and wrong when she has not been participating to the
Labor Strike on the Barrio Aguho. On the movie while watching, Sister Stella tells about her role
on the church as a nun and how do they help to the community same also with her namesake
Sister Stella, a nun who is actively in participating to help the poor by voicing out on what is right
and wrong and able to join the strike. To look on Sister Stella Legaspi she is a nonpartisan
religious who is challenged by the reality and by herself on how to do something new that could
create and long last significance to everyone particularly for the poor. To relate the power
relations, if we see the voice of power from the oil factory workers whose in the strike and to the
nun there is utilitarian stage gradually develop into a new deep relationship with Sister Stella
and the workers. Wherein Sister Stella begins to think that she is a worker and learn to identify
with their cause and even the way of speaking too when she started to join in the workers strike
to help them and result to leave the convent for this important issue. The presence of concerned
journalist Nick Fajardo his ex-boyfriend help through also in voicing out and publishing the issue
happen in the Barrio Aguho. In connection to the community we can relate to their struggles on
showing the struggles of inequality of the treatment of society to the people based on their life
status. And if we put a theory on this issues facing by Sister Stella this will be under the
Marxism Theory which argues about the conflict within the society specifically between the rich
and poor or the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

To reflect on the view point of Church in helping the workers strikes to support them, it is literally
shown that even the community development worker are having problem in pursuing sectoral
struggles and empowerment the Church will always be there on their side to support the
community to lessen and provide for the needs of one community which result to a good action
brought by the guidance of the church no matter how hard the situation it is.

In the movie there are two community organizing present in the movie and it is the Helping the
Convent Community in Caritas due to their poverty in their community. Her role is a part of
Guidance counselor for the people there who have a problem just like Gigi an unwed mother. In
the Barrio Caritas I discern that was a simple problem that is easily to solve but it takes time.
Sister Stella life there was good and normal, she can eat 3-5x a day as said in the movie and
can sleep in the right time, soft bed and good bedroom with a descent ambiance. While in the
second Christian Community is in the depressed area in Barrio Aguho a local oil factory wherein
the movie it is the center of the community organizing that lean on helping the workers about
their main problem and issue within the unfair labor practices. In movie you can the real pain of
the workers just for the few amount of incentive they want for their salary. The only way to
sustain their family needs is to work because if you don’t work they could not earn money for
short no work no pay. While watching the movie I observed a lot thru the actions they initiate in
that strike and the participation of Sister Stella. Sister Stella find’s out that the community of
Barrio Aguho facing the real problem that make her to realize on the real problem and what she
can contribute. The union are build-up of the workers from the oil company and we can see
through the one goal for their strike they learn to be solid just for they want to their rights which
is to have a good salary and benefits as the part of their rights since the workers are the keys to
success of the said oil factory company.

Life in Christ Church of the Foursquare Gospel in Pasig City

a. Principles – the main principle of these organization is to help those people in the different
community with in a way of sharing the word of god. They are aiming particularly for those
people who have turn to wrong decision in life just like those people without a good moral to
his/her self and doesn’t know what to do into his/her life which is absolutely presence in one
depressed community. And they want to change the life of these people just like Gigi in the
movie an unwed mother that doesn’t know what to do with her child without a parent and try to
abort it wherein she always asking and seeking for advice to Sister Stella about her situation.

b. Programs/Projects- the program they have is by having a food feeding program for the kids
and bible study program in the different community, wherein they want to share to the other
people the word of god. But now they are here in our community in Pasig where they are
originated and started. Before, I experience their community organizing that enable to help the
families in kids here in our community regards with the poverty. In the bible study and life
sharing we enlighten them to not give even that they are experiencing those kind of sacrifices in
their life.

c. Actual Results- the Actual result is excellent because there’s a change happening in those
life of the family that they help to enlighten about life and life perspective with the guidance of
God wisdom. As I observe here in our community I will honestly say that it is hard to help those
teenager that belong to the poor family wherein they only want to hangout every day and spend
a lot of their time in the street via drinking alcoholic beverages, taking illegal drugs, and so on.
Gladly to say that half of the kids and teenager go to church every Sunday mass and I’m glad
with the result that those family before who are in hard situation are now in a good life situation.
One of them interview and ask “how was the feeling when we share the word of god to you and
to your family?” and the father of the family said that “I thought that God doesn’t want to change
our lives and I thought that we would never change our life situation from being a vendor on the
streets before to be an owner of the Mini Grocery now”. He also add that “I’m happy when you
are the one who reach for us. because I only knew that if you are poor you are not important to
the community” and after I heard those word from the Father of that family the pastor said that
“how I wish that every father like you or any member of the family are willing to accept the word
of God and start to have a positive mindset and always remember that poor is not always poor
and we are all rich that you and all of you need to remember that”. To conclude in the result and
as part of them, if the time has come that you think your life don’t have a good direction you
need to change that perspective because once you start to listen to word of God nothing is
impossible no matter how hard the situation it is.
Reference:

Call to Family Community and Participation (n.d). Retrieved from

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believed-/catholic-social-
teaching/call-to-family-community-and-participation

Children in the Philippines (n.d). Retrieved from

https://psa.gov.ph/statistics/children Visited on April 21, 2021

Factsheet: Child Trafficking in the Philippines- UNICEF (n.d). Retrieved from

https://www.unicef.org/spanish/protection/files/ipulocaltrafficking.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiupu

ilsl_wAhWNypQKHZmoDhMQFjANNegQIAxAG&usg=AOVaw1hr0_DZIUruhYFTUzkw-

EJ Visited on April 21, 2021

Labour Exploitation Accountability hub (n.d). Retrieved from

https://accountability.org/country/philippines/ Visited on April 20, 2021

What is Social Justice? (n.d) Retrieved from

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/social-justice