There is no age bracket on helping others. This was exemplified by the webinar I attended last May 14, 2021. Organized by a group of senior high school students, Project Pisara in collaboration with Gawad Kalinga (GK) Foundation showed that quality education is attainable if we will all do our parts and unite.
Project Pisara (Chalkboard in English) is just one of the several E-Service Learning Projects conducted by the Lasallian students in partial fulfillment of their subject (Christian Living). This particular project aims to provide GK Aya students of Paranaque City valuable tips on their adulting journey. GK Aya is one of the poor communities that is being empowered through a holistic development process initiated by GK to proactively solve poverty in the Philippines.
Thereby, Project Pisara provided a revolutionary type of lectures outside the boundaries of social status and classroom. They hosted a two-day interactive webinar that includes three major segments:
It was such a great experience to be invited as one of the guest speakers for this project because I witnessed students’ two wonderful dimensions – the generous givers (DLSU-SHS-STEM 12K) and enthusiastic receivers (GK Aya Village Students).
As a guest speaker, I was inspired and impressed because of the following:
1. The invitation sent to us was professionally and meticulously written. All the necessary details that the guest speaker would like to know was indicated in the letter. Aside from that, the invite was sent last April 26, 2021 which gave us enough time to prepare content and materials.
2. A google drive was created for guest speakers’ information sheet. This was used as the bio-note presented before our talks, for creating the certificates, and giving of tokens.
3. Primer, virtual background, final program flow, and email reminders were sent ahead of time to make sure that we were guided accordingly.
4. During the webinar proper, the program was methodically followed that made everything smooth and easy to understand.
5. The flow of the program considered audience’s engagement strategies – games, short break, Q & A portion, and the like.
6. The hosts (Ms. Kristen Ona and Mr. Mac John Bautista) brimmed over with vivacity and charm.
7. The event’s theme and concept were tied all together that even to the smallest detail like the PowerPoint presentation was Gen Z appealing.
By and large, their attention to details and seamless execution of their plans made me think that they have been organizing and hosting webinars all their lives.
The Project Pisara Heads, Ms. Leah Cabrera and Ms. Daniella Cueto, definitely played significant roles in the synergy of everybody involved in this advocacy.
On account of all these, the remarkable supervision of Mr. Kenneth Lagera (The Subject Adviser) is absolutely worth complimenting.
Indeed, Project Pisara is a beautiful cause to be emulated by other young webinar organizers because everybody seemed to have played their roles conscientiously. Hence, with strong conviction, I can say that so far they are the youngest, coolest, and brightest webinar team I have met.
As per the discussions, among the four invited speakers, Mr. Roland Madrigal and I were assigned to deliver our talks during the first day. While, Ms. Anna Garduque (another STEM 12K student) also joined the roster to speak about the scholarship grants that GK Aya Village students can avail.
Mr. Madrigal, in his presentation, guided students on how to assess the right tracks and strands for them. He asked questions that can highlight their strengths, interests, and values. This kind of guidance is very essential so that GK Aya students can contemplate and correctly choose their strands or course.
After realizing the best strand or course for them, Ms. Garduque suggested several scholarship grants that can financially support their education:
1. Private Sectors
2. Known Universities
3. Skills-based
4. Need-based
5. Merit-based
6. Government Agencies
7. Local and National Government
As Ms. Garduque enumerated these, she also discussed all the details such as the qualifications, requirements, benefits, application procedure, and contact information that can make their opportunities even wider and bigger.
Lastly, in order for them to pass their admission interview or entrance examination essay, it is important for them to be reminded of their communication skills. Therefore, given this particular task, I specifically titled my segment “Sustainable Communication Strategies”. I ventured on a timeless and ubiquitous topic by covering their awareness of the 3 Vs - vocabulary, verbosity, and values. For the detailed discussion on this, please visit my next article.
After my 45-minute presentation, I took a selfie – a photo to extend a congratulatory mark for a job well done. Kudos to STEM 12K!
Congratulations to everyone involved in this prosperous project! May we unceasingly help more Filipinos towards a better Philippines! One small but thoughtful step at a time!
May this article remind us that every time we give, we must always give our very best! Let’s maximize our privileges to help others who are in need! Animo! 💚