Promotion of the Charter of Human Responsibilities, (...)

Each of us has an experience that changed our lives forever.

I am a social development worker. I am engaged in work that seeks to change society so that our world will be a better place for humanity. Sometimes I try to trace the influences in my life. The life-changing moment. Was it the love and concern I received in a Methodist Sunday school that made me want to return that love and concern to society ? Was it my exposure to poor communities as a growing-up kid as my politician-father showed me their homes ? Or was it my integration with a poor indigenous people’s group during my college days as a member of a Catholic organization ?

As I think of these life-changing moments, I wondered whether the Celebration of Girl Children’s Day – Rights and Responsibilities would have any impact on the one hundred participants. Girls aged 10-14 years old, mostly from public schools and coming from poor communities were invited to this whole day event. The event was co-sponsored by four organizations – the Center for Positive Futures, a high school for economically disadvantaged children, the Buklod Tao (in English, Unity of Peoples) Foundation, a community organization involved in disaster management and environmental advocacy, the Christian Foundation for Children and the Aging, and the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural and United World Philippine Charter Facilitation Team.

The event started with a presentation and participative interaction on the rights of children and on human responsibilities. The concept of responsibility was presented both as responsibilities of society to children and the responsibilities of children. It took off from the Charter of Human Responsibilities but focused on environmental responsibility and on respect for cultural diversity.

The discussion of children’s rights was guided by a book published by the United Nations featuring Kermit the Frog. It is entitled ‘ For Every Child, a Better World’. It begins with the statement, ‘Every child needs food to eat, but sometimes, there isn’t enough to go around’. It ends with the statement, ‘All over the world, people are working to see that every child gets what every child needs. This will mean a better world for all of us. And every child needs a better world.’

The responsibilities of society to children were thus presented as how society should ensure that children’s rights are enjoyed by all children.

The responsibilities of children focused on children’s responsibility to the earth, and their responsibility in respecting diversity.

A number of activities were conducted to make children visualize their responsibility to the earth.

Following the idea of the Brazilian team in presenting the concept of responsibility to street passers-by, I presented a globe to the whole group to symbolize the earth. The globe was used to show that the whole world was interconnected. That whatever happens in one part of the globe has an effect on the other parts of earth. We live in one earth, and that earth has to be cared for by everyone. It is really surprising to see the children actively participating in the discussion.

Three other activities presented to 25 children at a time tried to increase the awareness of the children on Mother Earth.

Noli Abinales of Buklod Tao Foundation brought a three-dimentional map of the municipality of San Mateo, where the children live. Here they saw the mountains in a different light, almost depleted of trees. They saw the river and the creeks, almost drying during summer months and overflowing during typhoons. They remembered the disaster that occured last December, before the tsunami, where back-to-back typhoons caused so much destruction, killing three people in a nearby town, washing away a number of towns east of Manila, along the China Sea, and causing families living near the creek in San Mateo to seek temporary shelter in higher ground, the public elementary school. Mary Ann Pagadoan said ‘the activity made me aware of illegal logging and I learned a lot about my immediate environment’.

Leo Tadena of KAALAGAD, a group engaged in the advocacy against plastics and styrofoam, presented an interactive exhibit that showed how these harmful substances are being used and irresponsibly disposed in a nearby shopping compex. It showed how these substances harm the environment and how schoolchildren can help in waste reduction from their own homes and in their own communities. Leo noted that ‘the students were interested and receptive in learning new things on how to take care of the environment. I can readily notice it by the way they ask questions and express their comments. I also take special mention of the school’s thrust in nurturing the environment. The school lived up to its commitment for a positive future especially to the youth of today.’

Finally, a group of five high schoolers led by Marjorie Abela presented a vermiculture project. Vermiculture is the culturing of earthworms, feeding them dried leaves, and harvesting compost from the waste of earthworms. The kids demonstrated that this is a way to use dried leaves, and it is a natural way of producing organic fertilizers. At first the other kids were icky about handling the earthworms. But they became very interested in the project. Karen Joy Nasinopa said that ‘what I learned most during the activity was how earthworms are used to make fertilizers using dried leaves. Before dried leaves are something that should be thrown away. I it is a resource.’

As to the presentation on diversity, a number of dolls representing different races were presented. This, together with their location in the globe, was presented to show that diverse peoples have something in common – taking care of the earth. And that therefore, there should be respect for each other. And that peace should prevail. Zooming from the macro concept of diversity to diversity even within peoples in San Mateo, Jhonaliza Navarro said : ‘Each person is different unique, but we have to respect each other and work with one another.’

Later, to further visualize the diversity, each child participant was asked to print their palm in a big board. This art work also signifies the one-ness of experience which the 100 kids felt for a day of learning and celebration.

The second half of the day was a dramatization by the children participants on children’s rights and responsibilities. Children were organized into groups of five. Each one chose one right or one responsibility to present. They were given one hour to prepare for their presentation.

For the adult organizers and the adult participants, this part was an emotional one, seeing how children presented their rights and responsibilities. Malou Navio of the Children’s Foundation for Children and the Aging was in tears as children dramatized how to assume responsibilities in the home, towards the environment, and for the community. She said, ‘children exhibit very great sensitivity on problems in the home, in the community and in the environment. We should all work together to tap and nurture this sensitivity so that they would grow to be committed and responsible adults.’

The day ended by the children forming an organization called the Youth for the Future. The organization leader is Marjorie Abela. The organization was grouped according to their proximity to each other’s residentces. Each group vowed to conduct a weekly clean-up in their communities, plan to replant trees or reproduce plants, and to hold a monthly general assembly every Saturday. Marojorie said that the organization ‘will make children aware of our responsibility in clearing up garbage and in cleaning the community, and in helping and supporting each other as children.’

Leo Tadena, who spoke on the Church-based Campaign against Styrofoam and Plastics made an over-all assessment, ‘ I especially remember that the main theme of the activity was Girl Child’s Day. It had no direct relation to the objective of my particular activity. However, thru reflection, I realized that much of the talk on ecology always refer to a motherly trait – mapang-alaga (caring) and maaruga (nurturing), thus the coinage of the Inang Kalikasan (mother Earth, as reference to Nature as caring or nurturing to the whole created sphere of Dakilang Maylikha (Great Creator). The idea of gathering students for any cause, much so, awareness of social issues is very relevant to the times. Developing the awareness of girl children on their rights and responsibilities at a young age is a big step in improving healthy relationship within and outside the family. It will also make girl children aware of how they should be treated in the family and in society, and in turn, what their responsibilities to the family and the society should be.’

The activity was not just an eye-opener for the students but for the teachers as well. Rey Collantes, the officer-in-charge of the high school said, ‘it is only now that I fully realize the extent of the rights of children and our responsibilities as adults and as teachers to the children. It is also very important to involve children in sharing responsibility in caring for the community and the environment. They can easily understand the concepts and I hope that they will be inspired to act.’

Another teacher, Regina Bahum, said that ‘preparing for the activity was a big responsibility in itself. It took a number of meetings to prepare the program, to ensure that the details of the big day are in order, to invite the participants. The success of the activity depended on the participation and support of the different sponsoring organizations. Each organization assumed a responsibility to make the day meaningful to the children participants. Holding the Girl Children’s Day activities that involved our own girl students as well as girls from the community surrounding the school was a big challenge and was borne from a commitment to exercise responsibilty. The Charter of Human Responsibility which the school adheres to is an inspiration towards this direction.’

Following up on the Charter, Noli Abinales of the community organization Buklod Tao Foundation said that ‘the Charter of Human Responsibilities serve as a guide that can be used by different sectors of society – by educators, by community leaders, by children. It is a fitting complement to the Charter of Human Rights. It is a consciousness-raising tool.’

The day was a very tiring one especially for the organizers. But I hope that the day would be a special one for the children involved. It is very seldom that children of economically disadvantaged families are treated with great respect and are entrusted with responsibilities like facilitating a group discussion, collectively planning and dramatizing concepts, listening to BIG things like rights and responsibilities. I am sure that it would be a special day for many, if not most of the children who attended. They are very young, with age range from 10-14, and it is this youth and their innocence that would make the experience meaningful to them. Maybe it would take time for them to put meaning to the experience. But I am sure that for at least a few, it would be one of their life-changing moments.

The Girl Children’s Day activity was an exercise in increasing interactive projects between the school and the larger community. A school is only part of the community. And the school will only be relevant if it addresses the needs of the community. The community should also be ‘educated’ to work with each other, not just to live as isolated individual family units.
So the Women’s Month was one opportunity for the school and the community to work together, and to demonstrate how responsibility can be exercised. Planning the event was a responsibility in itself. Each participating organization performed a role in preparing for the event and in implementing the event, from ensuring there is food, the exhibit materials are set up, the participants are informed and will come inspite of the rain early in the day, etc.
It was also an opportunity to present the Charter of Human Responsibilities to the children, to the partner organizations, and to the school teachers. The activity became both a direct way to present the Charter and also a way to promote the value and practice of responsibility. It became a venue to present the Charter in the context of and in complementation to the United Nations Charter of Human Rights.
However, the presentation of responsibilities focused on two important issues – responsibility towards the environment and cultural diversity, but primarily on the first issue.
Finally, the great bonus of the activity was that the children organized themselves and agreed to do concrete projects for the community in relation to the environment. Malou Navio of the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging helped in facilitating the activity and her experience in dealing with children made the activity lively.

Useful addresses – Contacts
Center for Positive Futures, Rey Collantes
Buklod Tao Foundation, Noli Abinales
Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, Malou Navio
Alliance for a Responsible, Plural and United World
Charter Facilitation Team – Pinky Cupino
KAALAGAD, Leo Tadena

Promotion of the Charter of Human Responsibilities, Philippines - The Girl Children’s Day

Rights and responsibilities