A story about people-first

It's Friday afternoon at the end of a long work week and I am getting ready to head home. As I am about to leave I take a quick glance across my desk to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. My eyes fall on the EWB Charter which is conveniently displayed at my cubicle to remind me why I'm in the Philippines and keep me connected to what development is all about. I read through the first principle: EWB volunteers use a people-first approach.

My mind impulsively goes back to last week when I traveled to Ifugao to visit the Computer Livelihood Training Centre we set-up with our partner.

When I arrived in Ifugao, the first person I met was a social worker named Virginia. Virginia is responsible for managing the overall operations of the Ifugao Computer Livelihood Training Centre. Virgina's mission is to develop the employable skills of underprivileged youth through basic computer literacy training, build their self-confidence and connect them with valuable community agencies and resources. To accomplish this mission, she dedicates much of her time to securing funds for the centre which go towards screening and selecting the youth for training, supervising computer trainers, maintaining the centre and teaching self-awareness and goal setting skills to the youth.

Virginia's passion for the youth and dedication to the project became apparent as she toured me through the centre and introduced me to the 15 youth who before the training were unemployed, not in school and had limited employment opportunities. While we watched the youth practice typing, Virginia described her plans to start-up a livelihood project which would employ the youth, providing an opportunity for them to offer valuable computer services to the community. She understands that the centre as it is provides the youth with needed skills, but she is challenging herself to advance it even further so as to address the challenges they will surely confront upon completion of the training.

Virginia is someone we call a champion. When faced with challenges, she doesn't look to others for easy answers; she is taking the situation in Ifugao, where opportunities and resources are few, and is focusing on transforming challenges into opportunities. During my visit it became apparent that without champions who put people first, a Computer Livelihood Training Centre is only a concept. A champion drives the concept to create change - change that is helping Filipino youth improve their lives.

Development is about these exceptional people who humble me because unlike myself, they are not on a one-year placement; they have chosen a profession dedicated to development. They are champions who demonstrate passion and have a vision for youth in the Philippines. They employ creativity and resourcefulness in their unrelenting efforts to ensure the project is sustainable.

Understanding that development is about people has helped me to concentrate my energy where it is most effective - at the national office of the DSWD where I rarely get to see the direct results of the Computer Livelihood Training Centres. The passion and determination of champions like Virginia fuel my enthusiasm as a project coordinator for a program that has now reached a national scale and is having impact throughout the country.

The impact of cultural integration

I have done everything possible to integrate into the Filipino culture. I am living in a one room flat, I have just enough money each day to travel to work and eat three healthy meals. Every evening I enjoy listening to Filipino radio and eating rice with my hands. My Tagalog (the language spoken by most Filipinos) has improved dramatically and I am able to converse with people on a very basic level. I own a Nokia cell phone and download the latest ring tones. Yet no matter how hard I try I am not a Filipino. I am still a Canadian pretending to be a Filipino.

The point is not to become a Filipino, but to understand what it's like to live in the Philippines. It is to build trust by demonstrating that I want to be here and have respect for the culture.

For the past five months I have been in the Philippines working on the Scala Computer Livelihood Training project. The project is currently being carried out in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). My role is to drive the next stage of the project by focusing on building the capacity of the DSWD so that it will be able to manage and expand the program over time without the supporting role of EWB - to work myself out of a job.

This task has suddenly become much easier in the last few months. My actions have gone much further than words. As I have continued to demonstrate my commitment to the project and to living in the Philippines, I have been more and more able to gain the trust necessary to help the DSWD.

Back in November, when I first arrived in the Philippines, I struggled to work with the DSWD. They seemed to have little time for me or the project, and our communication was weak at best. Although I expressed my desire to help them develop their human resources and my commitment to carry out the required tasks, my words passed right by them. After many proposals, meetings and discussions I left the Philippines in mid-January feeling extremely frustrated that I had made little progress during my first two months.

I returned in mid-February refreshed and ready to try again. But this time I didn't need to work too hard. It seems as though my words were not what mattered, but it was my approach over an extended period of time that carried weight. I was thanked for helping on various projects during the busy Christmas season; they requested me to teach computer skills to the staff; and they were pleasantly surprised with my Tagalog and choice of Filipino foods.

I was able to get the proposal for the year's activities and funds for Scala approved with little hassle. When I asked my officemate why she didn't thoroughly discuss the proposal with me she responded: "Because we trust you."

Taking the time and effort to integrate proved an effective approach to build the trust of the people I work with at the DSWD. Having developed this foundation of trust, I was brought one step closer to building the necessary capacity and human resources at the DSWD that will ensure the Scala program continues to expand and have a positive impact for the communities it serves.