This Christmas season, the Arrupe Office of Social Formation, formerly the Social Involvement Coordinating Office (SICO), through its Student Servant Leadership Program (SSLP)—in partnership with the University Community Engagement & Advocacy Council (UCEAC), and in close coordination with partner offices and student organizations, such as the Community Engagement Team, the First Year Development Program (FYDP), and the National Service Training Program (NSTP) of the Arrupe Office; Campus Clubs Organization (CCO), the SAMAHAN Central Board, the Social Work Department, the Grade School Unit, the Engineering and Architecture Student Executive Committee (EASEC) and the Adecor Elementary School—once again launched the Pagbabahagi Pasko 2014 on 1st December 2014 at the Open Field. The Pagbabahagi is an annual Christmas outreach project which focuses on responding to the varied concerns and needs among different sectors and communities in Davao City, and even beyond.
This year, the Pagbabahagi will be directed to the pupils and teachers of the Adecor Elementary School, in Brgy. Adecor, Kaputian, in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS). The pupils (numbering around 298, predominantly belonging to the Muslim Sama tribe), and teachers (around 10) are identified in this project as the fitting recipients of this year’s annual Christmas gift-giving and sharing. In the last two Christmases of 2012 and 2013, the Pagbabahagi assisted calamities-affected communities in Monkayo (due to Super Typhoon Pablo), as well as survivors from Leyte who took refuge in Davao City after the devastation wrought havoc by Super Typhoon Yolanda, respectively.
As part of the process of the implementation of this project, the corps of Arrupe Vols will be gathering funds and donations from generous sectors of the university community (students, offices, alumni, among others), and from external organizations and companies that support the objectives of the program. The proceeds of this fund-raising drive will be used to provide the pupils and teachers of Adecor Elementary School with Christmas gift packages worth PhP 500.00 each (toys will be part of the gifts, especially for the pupils). These gift packages will then be given to the community in a special Christmas Program on Sunday, 14th of December 2014 at the Adecor Elementary School.
After the launching, a fund-raising campaign and collection of donations will officially kick off. This will be done by distributing letters to the different offices and units in the university. All donations will be directed to the Finance Office through this account: DCB-SICO 7501-7562 (Particulars: Pagbabahagi). The money collected will be used to buy items contained in the Christmas gift packages. The Arrupe Vols will then be repacking these gift packages before the actual distribution on 14th December.
This Pagbabahagi is annually observed in the university, especially during Christmastime, as an avenue for social formation not only for students but the whole university community. This project aims to provide a concrete expression of service, of ‘giving without counting the cost’, and of enlivening the passion to be ‘men and women for and with others’ as individuals and as a community. Overall, the Pagbabahagi offers a venue for pooling together resources toward a singular energy of fund-raising efforts directed to assist the university’s partner communities in Davao and beyond. (By Noriel R. Rogon of Student Servant Leadership Program, & M. Isabel S. Actub, Arrupe Office of Social Formation)