Community Engagement Action Plan for Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) Students

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

This Community Engagement Program Action Plan aims to provide the integrative experience for HUMSS students as required in the course Community Engagement, Solidarity and Citizenship. It also intends to foster Grade 12 HUMSS students' sense of shared identity and altruistic effort to help attain the common good of the community. Furthermore, it aims to enable students to be actively involved in community-action initiatives as guided by the "core values of human rights, social justice, empowerment and advocacy, gender equality and participatory development". These goals are based on the Community Engagement, Solidarity and Citizenship curriculum guide of the Department of Education.

METHODS

The Community Engagement Teacher and her co-coordinator requested the Barangay Captain and other officials of Bual Sur, Midsayap, Cotabato to let the Grade 12 HUMSS students of Dilangalen National High School implement their Community Engagement Program. Then, they requested the assistance of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) and the local police officers to help secure the students’ safety as they will be billeted in the barangay hall. Next, they created the action plan, presented it to the school administration, and conducted an orientation to Grade 12 HUMSS students and their parents. Funds and in-kind donations were solicited from generous individuals to defray costs for the community engagement program.

RESULTS

The Grade 12 HUMSS students were able to do cleaning and community enhancement with herbal gardening, planting of malunggay, proper waste segregation, home visitation for the sick and the aged, and barangay profiling of 730 household members in the 7 puroks. They had a Zumba fitness program in the morning. They had a feeding program, gift giving, and literacy program for the Daycare pupils. They played with Criminology interns in the Palarong Pulis. For the evening sessions, they conducted a symposium on family education, EID awareness, GAD advocacy, anti-bullying, rights of a child, the 5 mandates of PRRD and Simula ng Pag-asa (SIPAG) program for 21 invited drug surrenderers. However, they were unable to implement the children's health program as well as the livelihood skills and first aid training.

DISCUSSIONS

Proper coordination with the right people and solicitation of donations contributed to the success of the program. However, the Community Engagement teacher and co-coordinator, the school, and the community must retain best practices and improve coordination to address the setbacks encountered.