The National Service Training Program-Civic Welfare Training Service (NSTP-CWTS) of the Arrupe Office of Social Formation (formerly the Social Involvement Coordinating Office [SICO]) conducted a series of area assessments among its roster of 181 partner communities. The assessment period commenced in May until July of 2013, covering the different areas of Sasa, Pampanga, Tibungco, Barangay 31-D of Boulevard, Ma-a, Magtuod, Matina Pangi, Talomo, part of Mintal, Toril, and Langub of Diversion Road in Ma-a.
The purpose of these series of area assessments was to rationalize the number of partner communities relative to the number of NSTP classes that will be deployed in these identified areas during the fieldwork of NSTP-CWTS students both in the 1st and 2nd semesters of the School Year (SY) 2013-2014. These area assessments answered the need to strategize the area assignment of students from four (4) puroks for each NSTP/CWTS class (as per the practice of previous semesters in the last few years), to two (2) puroks. Given that there are forty-eight (48) NSTP/CWTS classes this SY, the end result of the series of area assessments, therefore, has reduced the number of partner communities to a more manageable number of ninety-six (96).
The assessment team consisted of the following personnel of the Arrupe Office, headed by Ms. Agnes Sagaral, the newly appointed program coordinator of the NSTP/CWTS, Ms. Maria Teresa Isidor, the former NSTP/CWTS coordinator, Mr. Karl Anthony Ebol, Arrupe’s Community Engagement Office (CEO), and other personnel such as Ms. Eufemia Faller, Ms. Janice Camanan, Ms. Gina Villagonzalo, and Mr. Noriel Rogon.
A special assessment tool was crafted and formulated for this purpose inorder to gauge the partner communities in the following areas: Accessibility, safety and security, peace and order, community participation, presence of basic social issues (such as prevalent incidence of poverty, environmental threats and presence of marginalized and vulnerable sectors), as well as the absence of other NSTP implementers.
The final deliberation of the assessment team was conducted on 10th July 2013. The areas that were chosen and retained after the deliberation now form part of the partner communities of the NSTP for this new SY. For this semester, the fieldwork of students covers the following dates: August 24 and 31, and September 7. (by M. Isabel S. Actub, Arrupe Communications & Advocacy)