by Karen “Kaye” N. Quiñones

I arrived at Ateneo de Davao thirty-minutes passed eight in the morning. I was apprehensive because the program was to start by that time. (Being late on schedule is something that I am not fond of. I would rather be the one waiting than the one arriving late. ) With a bulky backpack and a heavy handbag, I asked the guard at the Roxas Avenue gate where the Davao Writers Workshop  venue was. He told me that there was a workshop on the seventh floor, but he was not sure if that was the one I was referring to. He suggested that I use the elevator.

I reached the venue at almost nine o’ clock. I got lost inside the campus because I was not aware that there was a change of venue. Something was wrong with my cellphone so I opted to leave it at home. I went from the seventh floor down to the fifth floor, where the AVR is. The AVR was the initial meeting place. Inquiring from the people I passed by was no help since they were giving me wrong directions. I went from one empty room to another. The clock was ticking; I became more worried. I cannot be late. I remembered pausing for a while. I dropped my things due to exhaustion and decided not to attend the workshop anymore. Just by looking at the tall buildings in Ateneo, I thought to myself that there was no way I could locate the exact venue. I even presumed that the venue was transferred to Ponce Suites. Thoughts of going back home were so strong at that moment. I won the battle against myself when I enumerated my reasons why I should attend the workshop — first, not everyone was given this kind of opportunity; second, I need help in writing; third, I was waiting for this kind of workshop.

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Only a black man could say this ….

This man deserves the Nobel Prize in the ‘Common Sense’ category.

‘They’re standing on the corner and they can’t speak English.

I can’t even talk the way these people talk:

Why you ain’t,

Where you is,
What he drive,
Where he stay,
Where he work,
Who you be…

And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk.

And then I heard the father talk.

Everybody knows it’s important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can’t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth.

In fact you will never get any kind of job making a decent living.

People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an Education, and now we’ve got these knuckleheads walking around.

The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal.

These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids.

$500 sneakers for what?

And they won’t spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics..

I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit.

Where were you when he was 2?

Where were you when he was 12?

Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn’t know that he had a pistol?

And where is the father? Or who is his father?

People putting their clothes on backward:
Isn’t that a sign of something gone wrong?

People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn’t that a sign of something?

Isn’t it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles [piercing] going through her body?

What part of Africa did this come from??

We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don’t know a thing about Africa …..

I say this all of the time.  It would be like white people saying they are  European-American.  That is totally stupid.

I was born here, and so were my parents and grand parents and, very likely my great grandparents.  I don’t have any connection to Africa, no more than white Americans have to Wales , Germany , France ,  Scotland , England , Ireland , or the Netherlands .. The same applies to 99 percent of all the black Americans as regards to Africa .  So stop,  already! ! !

With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap ……… And all of them are in jail.

Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person’s problem.

We have got to take the neighbourhood back.

People used to be ashamed. Today a woman has eight children with eight different ‘husbands’ — or men or whatever you call them now.

We have millionaire football players who cannot read.

We have million-dollar basketball players who can’t write two paragraphs. We, as black folks have to do a better job.

Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us.

We have to start holding each other to a higher standard.

We cannot blame the white people any longer.’

Dr. William Henry ‘Bill’ Cosby, Jr., Ed.D.

WELL SAID, BILL

It’s NOT about colour…

It’s about behaviour!!!

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“Big things come from small beginnings.”

By Alfred P. Mercene, 17 years old, Youth Coordinator, Pinoy Family Foundation Inc.

The BAYANIHAN YOUTH CAMP  has been one of the events that I’m certain will fulfill the Lord’s glory in the land of the Philippines. This result oriented event was held in the city of Calamba, Laguna around the green haven of The Lord’s Garden (Looc, Calamba Laguna).  Otherwise called the “Building shared vision (BSV)” youth camp, the event supports the brilliant and eloquent minds of the youth, molding them to become more responsible, socially aware citizens of the country.  The event organizers (On Eagle’s Wings Foundation, OEWF and CSRSME Asia) are called to equip more and more young leaders that will revolutionize and emphasize the growth of solidarity economy in our beloved homeland, the Philippines. There is no doubt that behind this fruitfull event, CHANGE will come and the hand of the Almighty God will amazingly boost the emergence of more  servant leaders in the land of Juan. Through intensive and realistic approach of the BSV facilitators, these young brains and purpose driven minds will surely develop their gifts, talents and prowess to the benefit of the community. The Bayanihan Youth Camp exposes participants to the opportunities and privileges of becoming young servant leaders of our respective communities, and maybe in the near future, the world.

Personally, given the privilege to be a delegate in this building shared vision event, I couldn’t help but be struck by the broad and more vast world of society that I have been living in but never been socially aware of nor associated with. I never thought for even just a second that there is really a need of solidarity in the economy at this present state of JUAN. Different ideas, different battle cries,  and elusive goals bombarded our eyes, but the question is ,  What do we really fight for? Do we have a vision? And do we have what it takes to achieve this vision, make it happen? These mind boggling questions really occupied my mind the minute I arrived at the first session of this BSV camp. It is really disturbing to see, feel and admit that this land is still drowned asnd polluted by corruption. Corruption that takes away not only our riches, but our own identity. The true Filipino blood that once delivered us from the clutches of colonialism by foreign invaders and now we are penalizing our country by our own actions! – by not commiting ourselves to what really is JUST.  I learned in this event to revitalize my vision, to make it more profitable not only to myself but my beloved fellows. I stand for strengthening the unity of shared vision, to make it happen, promote and get it concretized for our beloved country. Together we the participants of the OEWF-CSRSME Asia Bayanihan Youth Camp strongly believe in our vision that this country, our Philippines will be a God Centered country when a character revolution will occur as a result of collective implementation of shared visions. We believe that we can surpass this ever changing times through the guidance of the Almighty God and with the strength of solidarity among ourselves!

Being a volunteer and a participant of the Asian Forum for Solidarity Economy 2007 has enlarged my perspective. I have learned a new initiative called SOLIDARITY ECONOMY and that is what I’d like to tell you about. Not because I am a niece of Mr. Ben R. Quiñones, the event organizer, that automatically means I am widely informed about this topic. (Embarrassing as it seems, it’s quite the contrary). Since I learned to develop a hunger for knowledge, I kept an open mind to the discussions and whatever information that was available.

During the Asian Forum Stakeholders Assembly on October 20 2007, the last day of the Asian Forum, the delegates were asked how they understood Solidarity Economy. Though I am still a neophyte in this matter, and it seems to be a new concept in the field of economics, I would like to share with you how I understood Solidarity Economy and the role played by the Asian Forum in advancing it in this nation.

Solidarity Economy is an alternative economy which seeks to serve the greater good of the people. Market-oriented economy is “PROFIT-centered”, while Solidarity Economy is PEOPLE-centered. This contrast was amplified by former DILG Sec. Joey Lina during one of the Asian Forum sessions I attended.

Economics teaches us that stakeholders in an economy can be typified into four major groups – the investors, the producers, the service providers and the consumers. Since each group wants to obtain profit for itself, there exists a conflict of interests between them. The investor wants to lend money at a higher interest rate, but the producer would want to borrow at a lower interest rate. In turn, the producer wants to sell his produce at a high price while the consumer would haggle for a lower price. Self-interest oriented and profit-centered, it truly is.

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By Emil Samson, University of Caloocan City <gudboy_emil22@yahoo.com>

I am so happy that I was invited and became a participant in the recently concluded  Bayanihan Youth Camp with the theme “Building Shared Vision”. This was held at the Lord’s Grace Garden in Looc, Calamba, Laguna.

It was a wonderful experience for me.  To be a part of this life changing seminar was a great privilege because of the learning and knowledge  that I got from all the activities and workshops I went through.

The workshop helped me love God love even more as well as the country that I belong with. This is because of the personal vision that I constructed during the  valuable workshops and fun-filled activities that I participated in. I learned to have a selfless vision and how to make it happen in small steps.

Vision is important to every man because it urges him to continue living even in the world of restlessness and one’s immediate environment of hopelessness. We need vision because it makes us keep standing still for a better and brighter tomorrow.

I will never forget this wonderful experience. It really changed me a lot. I will share this experience to all my neighbors,  relatives,  friends and of course to my family.

For years we are looking for someone who will stand and fight for our rights like a patriot, a hero, a leader who seeks justice and promotes equality among the people. But throughout our journey we find ourselves prostrated, exploited and abused by these leaders.

We are once a dreamer, visionary and advocate for we mainly seek the welfare of our country and its people but then again the rise of corruption, immorality and injustice among the people had made us blind for what is right and what is wrong.

Who will stop these things from happening?

See this video and find out that the answer to your question:

Ako Mismo is a campaign started by DDB Cares, the corporate social responsibility arm of the DDB Group in the Philippines.

AKO MISMO is a movement to energize and rejuvenate young Filipinos and move them to action.

As an advocacy, it is anchored on the following fundamental beliefs:

1) There is an inherent desire in every Filipino to effect positive change in the country. This is a tremendous force for change.

2) Social Change is possible when individuals commit to a concrete actionable behavior that results to positive change

3) The power of the collective force of individuals who believe in making a difference will be the driving force for a sustainable transformation of Philippine society.

It is our collective desire that the action arising from our individual commitments as AKO MISMO advocates will mobilize a groundswell of change contributing to a bright future for our beloved Philippines. We all proclaim — change starts with me! AKO MISMO!

By Yzabel Lesa M. Quinones, VisionQ Team, 1st year, Philippine Science High School, Davao city

The Bayanihan Youth Camp was absolutely great. It provided fun activities so that we would not get bored. Even our co-participants were fun to be with. But best of all were the lessons that we learned.

The camp, we learned from our mentors, was sponsored by On Eagle’s Wings Foundation (OEWF) in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. It  taught us many lessons about surviving this world of business. And one of the great ways to do so is social enterpreneurship. To create wealth and know what to do with it for the benefit of our community was what we talked about. Everyone, even the youth, could be social enterpreneurs, as long as one possessed the passion and effort.

The next great thing that we learned was about the learning organization. Learning organizations are important because each member may learn from each other. You may develop new skills, and even unlearn learning disabilities.

Learning disabilities, what are they? These are the obstacles that hinder us from learning new knowledge and skills. There are seven of them, which are:

• I am my position
• The enemy is out there
• Illusion of taking charge
• Fixation on events
• The parable of the boiled frog
• Delusion of learning from experience
• The myth of the management team

Yes, everyone has learning disabilities. However, do not fret, as these problems have solutions:

• Practice whole-system thinking
• Use a longer lever
• Out-of-the-box thinking
• Create paradigm shift in mental models
• Learn to see slow gradual processes

I learned many more. I know these lessons will be very useful in my life and surely I will be able to use them. This experience changed my life and I am glad that I joined this camp.

by Jeannet Borrega, Carmelite Bayanihan Center

Hi, folks!

I learned so many things in our BAYANIHAN  YOUTH CAMP . I learned from our first workshop about  the importance of one’s personal vision for a better Philippines.

What’s my personal vision? My vision is free education for poor youth.

I know that education is the way to success.

I also learned how to respect other people’s opinion.

How about you? Do you want a country better than what you have now?

by Jezza Luz Sioson, University of Caloocan City

April 3, 2009, the day when I first met the different participants of the workshop entitled “Building Shared Vision” (BSV) conducted at the Institute of Small Scale Industries, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon city.

I learned why vision is very important, not only in our business, not only for ourselves, but also for our society.  If you have no vision in life, you don’t know where you will be going to.

I also learned that in developing your vision, don’t only plan for yourself. Plan for the benefits of others also.  God is always with us. If we praise Him, if we believe in Him, all will be possible.

By Jezza Luz Sioson, University of Caloocan City

On May 13, 2009, the third day of the Bayanihan Youth Camp in Looc, Calamba, Laguna, we visited a social enterprise owned and operated by Patrick Evangelista, a young entrepreneur. Patrick has two different types of  business, the SVL (Super Vitamin Lugaw) & Pat”s burger.

SVL & Pat’s Burger can be classified as social enterprises because these enterprises are not meant to generate income and profit for its owner only, but also for the purpose of helping low income people.  It is a kind of business that is socially responsible.  It does not aim only for the success of the business owners and co-owners; it also seeks to provide other people a better future by enabling them to put up their own business using their own small savings as start up capital.

While SVL & Pat’s Burger gain profit, they continue to help others. They are willing to support small groups/organizations of low income people who want to have operate the SVL & Pat Burger business as their own enterprise. Patrick allows these people to own the business through low-cost franchising.