Creative Social Outreach: Learning in Giving

Learning certainly does not only happen in the four walls of the classroom.

Some 60 students and teachers from MIT International School (MITIS), through the school’s Creative Social Outreach (CSO) Program,  extended their learning experience outside the campus and proved that there is so much to learn, discover and understand even in areas deprived of riches.

On October 22, 2011, MITIS volunteers successfully conducted their first CSO activity for the year in Barangay Sucat, Muntinlupa City. Through the donations from the school, the teachers and the students themselves, and with the help of the Muntinlupa Youth and Sports Development Office, MITIS volunteers were able to provide porridge, bread, juice, and candies to more than 100 children in the area. More than the food distribution, the activity was made memorable by the interaction among the volunteers, the barangay youth leaders and the residents. Games, songs and dance numbers also added to the  fun and excitement of the half-day event.

“Feeding the community with breakfast for a day is definitely not a big help, but spending our weekend with them is truly fulfilling. Through this activity, we, the teachers and the students, hope to make the community feel that we care. We hope to make them feel that we are one and the same regardless of our social status,” said  Ms. Lei Pangilinan, MITIS Student Activity Coordinator.  “All our volunteers learned a lot from this experience. The realization that our students have imbibed as they mingle with the residents is truly worth the visit. We are looking at conducting our annual gift-giving activity in December in the same community so that our students can visit the children and the residents again,” added Ms. Pangilinan.

MITIS CSO is part of the school’s community service and social responsibility that aims to engage its students to activities outside the school to make them become active and collaborative global citizens. This highlights the Expected School-wide Learning Results (ESLRs) that the school purposefully instills in all its academic and extra-curricular programs.

Photos:

Barangay Captain Mamerto Sevilla delivered a short speech to welcome the MITIS volunteers in their community and to express his deep appreciation of the activity. 

 

MITIS student-volunteers served the community with porridge for breakfast prior to the program proper.

With the help of the community’s youth leaders, MITIS student-volunteers also distributed some bread, juice, and candies to the children.

Some students even went beyond the distribution of food by taking care of the children.

MITIS student-volunteers took the opportunity to interact not only with the children in the community but also with the adults to learn about their way of living.

After everyone had had their meals, games were facilitated for the children.  

MITIS student-volunteers also performed a dance number for the community.

Of course, the community got talents to showcase, too. Children from Barangay Sucat performed a dance number as their way of thanking MITIS for the fun and memorable CSO Activity.