October 16, 2018, Asian Institute of Management – It was on a Tuesday when I first heard and learned the meaning behind Paradigm Shift. The cartoon on the left represents my initial reaction when I first knew what it was. Paradigm Shift is the change of the usual or accepted way of thinking or doing something. And like the chick on the cartoon, I also came out of my shell when the development talks at AIM sank inside me. The messages of the four honorable speakers seemed like an eye opener that I should be a part of changing the world for the better.
MR. PAULO BURRO
"Zero Waste Philippines"
The talk about Zero Waste Philippines started as the word "bayanihan" was presented on screen. The word means "collective heroism," as stated by Mr. Paulo Burro. It's a spirit of unity and cooperation among Filipinos to accomplish a difficult task. For us to solve the problems that our country and the world has been facing, such as climate change, we need to come together and find a common solution.
Before the Philippines was colonialized, the Filipinos were happy with their families. They didn't care about money and were contented with what they have. But when the Spaniards came, they taught us that in order to be happy, we need to have a lot of material things. That's when we started taking from the environment. Little by little, until we abused the nature. That was called as "progress" by the people. They believed that the more material things a person has, the more that the life of that person develops. Where in fact, as people became materialistic, and as people became wealthy of material things, the environment stopped progressing as it should be. And nothing else can be blamed aside from us humans. We take what we can't give back. The worse thing is some don't even realize that what they're doing is destructive to the environment and some are even apathetic to these issues.
One example is the first day of the reopening of Aklan's Boracay Beach. A few hours after the dry run, plastic bottles and plastic was already seen at the beach front.
The government has already done their part by rehabilitating the Boracay Beach. Clearly, some Filipinos just don't have discipline and respect for the environment.
"IS THIS THE FUTURE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE?"
The generations that live on this Earth today are lucky enough to witness the beauty of nature. The blue ocean dances right before our eyes. The green lands that we run spring flowers and the trees serve as our shade from the hot sun.
In fact, the nature has helped our economy grow simply by its wonders that are visited by the tourists. It also provided us resources to produce our necessities that we consume and trade. A lot of people are given jobs and a living through the nature. It united the people through trade and industry, business corporations, innovations and by giving us a home to build families and relationships with people. We exist as individuals because of the air that we breathe from nature. We are all able to interact with each other because of the food we get from it. The environment is basically the reason why we survive. It's essential to our existence since if it dies, it will surely have a negative impact to mankind.
Based from experience, littering has been one of my negative habits when I was in 10th grade. I used to tease my friend as a janitress when she cleaned our table every after meals. My friends also tell me to pick up my trash because I throw it anywhere I wanted. I then realized that I'm a hypocrite because I have the guts to write about environmental awareness when I don't even practice it. Since then, I avoided littering. To add up to that, Mr. Paulo Burro's talk also influenced me to recycle my waste. This is where the Paradigm Shift enters. If it was possible for me to change my negative views and actions towards nature, then it can also happen to everyone. It's time not just to be aware of the environmental issues that we are facing right now, but to step up in solving it.
In fact, the nature has helped our economy grow simply by its wonders that are visited by the tourists. It also provided us resources to produce our necessities that we consume and trade. A lot of people are given jobs and a living through the nature. It united the people through trade and industry, business corporations, innovations and by giving us a home to build families and relationships with people. We exist as individuals because of the air that we breathe from nature. We are all able to interact with each other because of the food we get from it. The environment is basically the reason why we survive. It's essential to our existence since if it dies, it will surely have a negative impact to mankind.
Based from experience, littering has been one of my negative habits when I was in 10th grade. I used to tease my friend as a janitress when she cleaned our table every after meals. My friends also tell me to pick up my trash because I throw it anywhere I wanted. I then realized that I'm a hypocrite because I have the guts to write about environmental awareness when I don't even practice it. Since then, I avoided littering. To add up to that, Mr. Paulo Burro's talk also influenced me to recycle my waste. This is where the Paradigm Shift enters. If it was possible for me to change my negative views and actions towards nature, then it can also happen to everyone. It's time not just to be aware of the environmental issues that we are facing right now, but to step up in solving it.
Zero Waste Philippines can possibly be achieved especially that we live in an innovative society. Aside from doing the three basic steps namely tree planting, 3Rs and garbage segregation, we can produce environment friendly materials instead of those that have harmful repercussions to the environment. Metal straws started trending as a replacement to straws made of plastic. Plastic bags are no longer used in grocery stores since they use paper bags and boxes instead, whereas other people bring their own bag. Bamboo toothbrushes have also evolved as well as other things that promote saving the environment.
If people became united through getting resources from the environment, then it's better if we unite to save it. We'll not only prevent climate change and lessen pollution, but we'll also practice the concept of "bayanihan" once again. Filipinos will unite to achieve a goal, and that is to have a zero waste Philippines.
MS. KARLA DELGADO
"Kai Farms"
Kai Farms promote a healing work for Mother Earth as well as provide access to communities to have good quality food. Organic farming is one of their methods to apply nature-based farming. Aside from avoiding the use of pesticides to protect the Earth, organic farming also have the goal to make organic food more accessible to people and reconnect us to the nature that sustains us.
Personally, I love the positivity of their goal to reconnect us with the environment because I believe that we can only genuinely care for something or someone if we have a deep relationship with it. Nature makes me find inner peace and I seem to drift away from reality when I'm alone with it.
How can we feed our cities?
⥤ Now here's something interesting! ⥢
One thing that stuck in my mind is that we need to feed ourselves by growing our own food. In that way, traffic in the cities will be reduced since the crops harvested from the provinces will not anymore be transported to the cities. People would also save money since they wouldn't have to buy food from the market. They can assure that it's safe since they're the ones who grew it. Aside from that, having plants in the backyard can make the environment around us fresher and healthier. I think people would develop the value of responsibility because taking care of plants is a hard work and it requires effort.
"Plant a seed and give it to your neighbor," was something Ms. Karla Delgado said on her talk. In that way, we can feed our city and there wouldn't be any food shortage. It can also affect the way we interact with our neighbors by developing a better relationship with them. And knowing the society, if one person does an action, then they'll also conform. It only takes one act of kindness for the world to be kind.
MS. JUANA YUPANGCO
"Mesa ni Misis"
“We speak to the women of the house, as they decide how a family eats and is nourished. We learn from other ‘Misises’ and in turn share our knowledge about healthy cooking and nutrition. We believe in eating and cooking local, as our produce is nutritious and doing so helps support our Filipino farmers.” – Ms. Juana Yupangco
As a student of Humanities and Social Sciences, the only part that I didn't like on her talk was the idea, "We speak to the women of the house, as they decide how a family eats and is nourished." Like seriously? It's year 2018 and everyone should STOP assigning gender roles. Coming from a family where my dad is the one who does the cooking (my mom cooks too but cooking doesn't like her), I totally oppose to the idea that women are always supposed to be in the kitchen. Men can cook too! Everyone in the family actually can. So if I'll be given a chance to revise the name of the organization, I'd name it, "Mesa ng Pamilya." In that way, it'll be open for all the members of the family. Sounds better right?
Anyway, Mesa ni Misis is a non-profit organization that teaches healthy cooking and nutrition using local and sustainable food sources. Basically, its goal is to provide recipes that are healthy and affordable to the non-upper class families. Usually, those who get enough nutrition are from the middle class families and above. The reason for malnutrition is that families can't afford buying all the needed supplements to get enough nutrition that their bodies need. In Mesa ni Misis, they are teaching women recipes that may be lower than a hundred pesos. Also, they teach what kind of vegetables to buy for healthier cooking. Knowing that children could be picky, Mesa ni Misis have designed menus that are eye-catching to the kids' eyes. They have a way to make children eat their greens.
Mesa ni Misis have their official website which makes the recipes more accessible at home and to the public: mesanimisis.com
If I was a mother, I'd really appreciate the Mesa ni Misis because I won't have to think of a meal anymore to fill in my family's stomach that they'll surely like. The ingredients and steps are already written in the website and they're very easy to follow.
Here are some of the finished products of Mesa ni Misis:
Patola and White Bean Soup
Adobong Takway
Pinoy Harvest Bowl
All these food may look extravagant, but the only fancy thing here is how nutritious they are and not the cost of all those ingredients. It's just a matter of food presentation. Eating healthy food has such a good impact to the environment and the society. It's good for the environment because the more that people demand, the more supply that is needed to be planted. The Philippines would be in need of greens and it would be better for us to have a lot of plants for a healthier environment. There would also be a reduction with sickness and malnutrition. The healthier the people are, the more functional and productive the society can be.
MR. JATON ZULUETA
"AHA! Learning Center"
Mr. Jaton Zulueta greeted our class with a warm smile as he approached us to ask what strand we're taking. When he found out that we were students of Humanities and Social Sciences, he was happy to say that he also took that course way back in college.True to his words, we got to know him throughout the talk as a person who has the heart in helping people, especially the children. He is the founder of AHA! Learning Center, the first free tutoring center for public school kids in the Philippines. Led by AHA, 4WD is a multi-sectoral volunteer program that is interested in a results-based volunteering initiatives.
Every year, there are complaints that public schools are disorganized; teachers are bad, classrooms are crowded and books are limited. AHA! Learning Center have been to public schools and confirmed that the teachers and schools are excellent, they just simply needed support. They aim not to replace the public schools, but to help them grow.
In AHA! Learning Center, the answer is both. They teach public school children English, Math and improve their writing and speaking skills. They also help boost the children's confidence and mold their mindset as they grow up. Of course, values and real life skills are also being taught so that when the children go out they'll be competitive and be able to serve others. Their goal is to let the young ones know their capacity and help them explore it. Commitment is the most important value that they teach their kids. Mr. Jaton Zulueta prefers to call it as "faith in action." He believes that if you really are determined to something then you must show it through your actions. The children in the learning center show their commitment by not being late, and it turns to something bigger.
Every year, there are complaints that public schools are disorganized; teachers are bad, classrooms are crowded and books are limited. AHA! Learning Center have been to public schools and confirmed that the teachers and schools are excellent, they just simply needed support. They aim not to replace the public schools, but to help them grow.
"Is it more important to choose the life you want or have the opportunity to choose?" That question made me realize how blessed I am with my life. I am privileged enough to choose a good quality school as well as take a path that I desire. When I heard that other children don't even have the means to choose their own career or even attend school, I'm more determined to strive for success to be able to help those people in need, especially those who are passionate but are unable to reach their dreams.
In AHA! Learning Center, the answer is both. They teach public school children English, Math and improve their writing and speaking skills. They also help boost the children's confidence and mold their mindset as they grow up. Of course, values and real life skills are also being taught so that when the children go out they'll be competitive and be able to serve others. Their goal is to let the young ones know their capacity and help them explore it. Commitment is the most important value that they teach their kids. Mr. Jaton Zulueta prefers to call it as "faith in action." He believes that if you really are determined to something then you must show it through your actions. The children in the learning center show their commitment by not being late, and it turns to something bigger. 
This high end learning center was established because Mr. Zulueta believes that education is supposed to be accessible for everyone. Those children who enjoy extra hours of learning are those who belong in privileged families, while some children are ignored in a class of sixty. Every children deserve to learn that's why he made the learning center for free. He did it because of his passion for teaching. Started from teaching on a cemetery, now he's here offering children an opportunity to learn.
S U M M A R Y
Notice that the concepts of the organizations are related with each other?
First, the Zero Waste Philippines discussed the key to achieve a zero waste country. Then Kai Farms supported this by stating that growing our own food can be good for the environment. Mesa ni Misis seconded that vegetables are beneficial to our health by teaching people healthy green recipes. Teaching is also common to AHA! Learning Center but the difference is just that instead of focusing on the wives of the house, they educate public school children.
These organizations may have different visions and missions, but they have one thing in common, and that is to walk to a better world. As a person who's very passionate to restore humanity and make the world a better place, I feel proud of these people who have the heart to serve and lead. They truly are the heroes of our time. If each of us has an advocacy to stand for, I believe that our world will be better.
Symbolic Interaction
is present during the development talks since each of the speakers interact the way they do because they have perspectives of their own which are influenced by interactions with other people and the society. One perfect example would be Mr. Jaton Zulueta, who interacted with public schools to know their issues. Now that he is aware of the issues in that part of the community, he interacted with volunteers to help him build a learning center to help educate the children. The people there are volunteering, speaking and listening because of the influence of the society and because they interpret their visions as something that can help address the issues of the society. The speakers communicate their message to the people through the talks.The sources used in this blog are as follows:
for Zero Waste Philippines,
1john417.wordpress.com
themixedculture.com
cnnphilippines.com
zestbooks.net
for Kai Farms,
mypope.com.ph
www.encognitive.com
www.kaifarms.ph
for Mesa ni Misis,
www.nicoleortega.ph
mesanimisis.com
for AHA Learning Center,
lifestyle.inquirer.net
ahalearningcenter.com
deskgram.net
pictame.com
for summary,
facebook.com/ahalearningcenter
twitter.com