Giving is good

WHEN I was just a young and precocious kid, I was treated to stories at home and in some of our parents’ friends’ houses about brave and intrepid young men and women who went on medical and aid missions to countries in war-torn Indochina. There were pictures of doctors and nurses treating wounded and sick victims of both poverty and the seemingly unending conflicts that seem to have plagued Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam in those days. My father told me of some volunteers who gave their lives heroically in countries other than their own, in pursuit of personal or other ideals. They had a name for this project: Operation Brotherhood.

The idea remained fixed in my mind for quite some time. I quickly volunteered for a summer job in a local version of OB when they set up shop in a squatter relocation area to minister to the needs of disenfranchised families adjusting to a new and hostile environment. There was a program aimed at teaching crafts to some mothers and children. (Guess who was tasked to go to the metropolis to sell the finished products consisting of bags and fans made from native materials?) We had to work the pump in a nearby well for water to drink and bathe in. Then, there was that late night when I was roused from a sound sleep to help in the delivery of a baby — something I was totally ignorant about — and got to simply hold a flashlight in place so the midwife could do her thing. All in all, a heady and enervating experience for a city-slicker used to having househelp cater to every need or whim.

This and a few other adventures of a similar nature opened up a whole new world of service to the less fortunate that, for a few years, found expression in a series of leftist excursions. But common sense prevailed and it did not take long for this desire to help others to seek a new battleground in the warrens of the corporate world. It has never been easy to do charity work in the corporate context, and this is still probably true to a certain extent to this day. Admittedly, more people are aware of the need to work to uplift their fellowmen by providing better opportunities for self-improvement, whether these be in the form of palliatives or in terms of deep-seated and long-term programs. We are not here to judge such efforts, but to express gladness at the increasing number of executives aware of the need to get involved in socially uplifting projects.

There are many ways one can get involved. At one time in the past I dared the institution I worked with to adopt a very poor community and look for ways to help its members to advance by way of economic and social opportunities. The project envisioned the provision of certain skills that could be used to produce items that could be sold to our company or our clients. No hand-outs here… just a chance for economically-deprived people to rise above the muck without denting their self-image and pride of self. This would be over and above the usual projects aimed at answering shelter, health, and other needs.

Well, the concept failed to excite the imaginations of my superiors then. But later on, I found out that my former staff dusted off the same proposal and got someone to godfather it through the usual bureaucracy corporations are famous for. To make a long story short, it eventually won the Grand Anvil award. Naturally, I was happy to learn of this even if I was not around to marshal it from start to finish. What is a pity, though, is that the project failed to implement the longer-term aspect of the proposal when it was originally put forward: that it be institutionalized and the subject depressed area be converted into a trainor-organization to help do the same for another marginalized area.

A little less than 20 years ago, the country’s bilateral and multilateral donors and creditors attempted to funnel all aid and long-term development loans through a new government agency. Like many such noble efforts, this one also failed in the medium term because its main proponent had to leave after barely a year in office because of health problems. But there is an interesting side story to this short-lived adventure that opened up opportunities in other areas.

The chairman of this agency realized the difficulty of channeling all aid and loan programs through government since studies had shown that there was a problem in “absorption capacity.” Even worse was the realization that a bigger problem lay in the loss of funds along the way due to corruption and bureaucratic waste. I suggested that we consider working through non-governmental organizations or NGOs. He gave me a quizzical look and asked plainly, “What are NGOs?” It seems that the brave world of NGOs were not so well known yet to the corporate world in a formal sense even if many of them had been creating and working with foundations and social projects for many a year. To break the ice, I met with Gasty Ortigas, then dean of the Asian Institute of Management, and requested him to arrange a meeting between my boss and NGOs. Gasty simply asked if we could have a broad spectrum — from left to right — represented, and I agreed. Needless to say, the first meeting was awkward and testy at the beginning, especially since many of the true NGOs in the field were suspicious of both government and the corporate world, both of which my chairman represented. I addressed the group and told them of our plan to channel more foreign funds more directly to projects through the NGO network, and they reluctantly agreed to our proposal. It helped that the executive director then of PBSP, now a professor at AIM, Ernie Garilao, helped organize the meeting and fully supported our endeavor.

Because of this, we were able to point certain aid agencies like CIDA of the Canadians and GTZ of the Germans toward certain regions like Negros and Mindanao where they could work with new or existing NGOs. We also tested the air and were able to help implement the first Debt for Nature program which sought to funnel reforestation funds through NGOs. Since then, more and more development funds have found their way into the NGO network.

It is not uncommon to find more and more corporations supporting their own foundations or any of a wide spectrum of NGOs in the field. Some do both. When an NGO proves itself in the field, it becomes a magnet for companies looking for credible outlets to park their development funds in. Not surprisingly, more and more companies find expression in their desire to provide shelter for the homeless by plugging into the existing programs of the Gawad Kalinga (GK) organization. While similar to Habitat for Humanity in concept, the homegrown GK goes beyond the task of house-building to the building of communities and the augmentation of spiritual and moral values. GK communities are not abandoned after the building stage is over, and the process of building continues in the hearts, minds, and souls of the inhabitants. The concept has caught fire even with Filipino and other overseas communities. (This author would like to venture further that the concept is so solid that it will weather current doctrinal issues with its supposedly parent organization, so long as the process remains transparent and focused.)

There are so many other areas that need to be looked into, all of which can help in the job of nation- and people-building. Global warming issues should probably spur more companies and individuals to look into ways to bring down greenhouse emissions: tree planting and habitat development; proper waste disposal; the use of the Rs in building and living (reuse, recycle, remanufacture, rebuild, etc); learning to lessen personal and corporate carbon footprints; and so forth. The spectacle of poverty so evident in the country’s many urban and rural squatter colonies should encourage more projects like GK, probably by having more companies and rich individuals sponsor the creation of entire new communities. The problems associated with food production and inadequate diets can probably be mitigated if more entities got involved with or supported foundations like the Family Farm Schools that teach rural boys and girls how to make the most of their existing land, coupled with a rich dose of spiritual formation. The lack of educational opportunities at all levels should make companies seek out the best way to educate and form a whole generation of children who have little or no access to knowledge. There are non-conventional ways to do this: the creation of more public and private libraries with strong IT foundations so that online learning and knowledge building can be done; the development of more online learning centers which would help alleviate the lack of classrooms and probably facilitate home-school programs; and the sponsorship of bright and bushy-tailed youngsters all the way from their formative years, through college and graduate studies.

There are so many opportunities that exist for one to give vent to a desire to help and to give. One only needs to take the first step.

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