To the people of Suawan District,

Table of Contents

I.Introduction XX

II. The Practium-Immersion Experience XX

A. The First Visit xx

B. The Final Visit xx

III. The Family Profiles XX

IV. Theological Relfection XX

A. God‟s Presence and Message in the Immersion Area xx

B. God‟s Presence and Message among the Foster Families xx

C. God‟s Presence and Message Through the Immersion Process xx

V. The Practice of Church’s Social Doctrine Principles XX

A. Human Dignity and Equality xx

B. Respect for Life xx

C. Promotion of Human Rights and Responsibliities xx

D. Common Good xx

E. Association and Participation xx

F. Subsidiarity xx

G. Dignity of Human Work xx

H. Universal Destination of Goods xx

I. Preferential Option for the Poor xx

J. Solidarity xx

K. Promotion of Peace xx

VI. Practice of Cardinal Virtues XX

A. Justice xx

B. Temperance xx

C. Prudence xx

D. Fortitude xx

VII. Practice of Class Values XX

VIII. Acknowledgements XX

IX. Annexes XX

I.INTRODUCTION

By: Trishia Magno

Ateneo de Davao University is a Catholic, Jesuit and Filipino institution which aims to build

future leaders who possess the two most important values of the university, Cura Personalis

and Magis. In relation to that, the university has based their student development by giving

emphasis on math and science, humanities and social science, philosophy, and theology.

The university aims to deliver quality education and create excellent future leaders without

compromising their capabilities to serve other people and grow with faith.

There are four (4) undergraduate Theology courses in the university. The last of these four

is Theo 141: Christian Commitment and Solidarity. As the synthesis of all Theology courses,

it is the application of all the learning gained over the years in developing students to grow

in faith, justice and love. Taken this to account, Theo 141 has the Practicum-Immersion

component which mainly aims to create experience based on the Church‟s social doctrine

principles on human dignity and equality, solidarity, association and participation and live by

the university‟s value of being man for others. This immersion encourages the students to

live out the demands of interreligious dialogue, of gender sensitivity and of respect the

diverse cultures among Muslim and Lumad communities of Mindanao, as articulated in our

university‟s mission statement.

The immersion took place in Purok 3, Suawan, Marilog District. Students were paired out

and distributed to different Lumad families where they will be able to experience personally

the family‟s daily living. The immersion happened last August 11 and 18, 2013 both on a

Sunday with the theme of “We build peace through justice and love”. The succeeding pages

present the experiences and insights of the Marketing 4A Class in undergoing the Theo 141

Practicum-Immersion.

II. THE PRACTICUM-IMMERSION EXPERIENCE

Editor: Katrina Gallardo

A. The First Visit

“First Time at Suawan”

First Visit I Aug 11, 2013

By Billy Dayon

When we saw the first sight of Suawan, we were instantly delighted with the green

sceneries, the clean rivers of the place and the fresh breeze of the air. Young boys and girls

welcomed our class while they practiced their cultural dancing. As our class settled down in

the barangay‟s basketball court, our eyes were still exploring the area when we realized that

our phones couldn‟t acquire any signal hence, there wasn‟t any distraction whatsoever for

us to give our full attention to Suwawan and the features that it would offer us in that day.

In just a span of minutes, we could already tell Suawan was a peaceful place that

was full of love and unity. We recognized and appreciated the camaraderie of people in the

area. We can see and feel the compassion in the community. It was further emphasized

when the captain and her colleagues came and greeted with nothing but genuine smiles

and welcome.

After the captain and her colleagues properly talked their plans through, all of us

were distributed to our respective foster families. When we were introduced to our assigned

families, we witnessed a simple yet meaningful living that was honed in by such group of

people. When we shook the father‟s hand for the first time, we noticed that his hands were

very rough, which he could have only gotten from hard labor. As our eyes peered

throughout the environment of their home, our minds was abuzz with trying to come up with

questions to ask. We had to admit, we was still getting used to being in such a new

environment that we found it a little awkward to keep trying to find of ways to talk to them.

A few hours passed by, we decided to help the family with their daily household

chores. Throughout the process, we experienced some difficulty because weren‟t used to

doing these things, but we felt enthusiasm for doing such chores all the same. Such

enthusiasm was driven by the need to experience these things for us to grow and learn.

After helping with their chores, we had a simple lunch with the family. We brought

food for them and they cooked for us so it was a pretty crowded table indeed. We were

touched that our foster family to have the graciousness to cook random strangers a good

lunch. This act was pretty inspiring that it served a new lesson for us. The virtue of sharing

had never been more evident in our lives from that simple yet touching act that they have

instilled upon us.

Another important lesson that we‟ve learned besides the virtue of sharing was the

gift of mother nature. After lunch, we went outside to take a little walk The experience of

fresh air and fresh water felt unreal since we were pretty used to urban life in Davao City.

Seeing such beauty and unkept majesty made us more concerned about the state of nature

noawadays. The people of Suwawan were able to take good care of this blessing thus we

are also capable in taking good care of nature. Could we say the same to Davao?

Overall, the first day was a great learning experience. It was a day full of fun and

enjoyment; a day of sacrifices; a day to give importance to others for their betterment and; a

day to look forward for God‟s grace.

B. The Final Visit

“Goodbye to Suawan”

Final Visit I August 18,2013

By Marie Toni Yap

August 18 marked our final Theology immersion at Suawan, Marilog District. As

expected, it was a day filled with fun and cherished moments. On this day, we continue the

act of giving and sharing to the ones who need it the most.

When we left Ateneo for our journey, Kadayawan was in the air. The jeep was so

crowded because each of us was carrying heaving bags filled with gifts like pails and

grocery items. As for the class, we prepared toiletries, packaged goods, pail and toys for

our foster family. Some pairs brought with them toys that the children of Suawan could

enjoy in their leisure time. When we reached our destination, the kids were waiting for us in

the court to greet and welcome us back. Afterwards, we walked through our foster families

who still welcome us wholeheartedly

As we enter our foster homes, each of us was excited to give our gifts to our

families. We all thought that two days was never enough for the immersion for us to

properly be in the shoes of the Suawan people. We have understand from them that it was

only a glimpse of the reality we were on. It was a reality that we fail to realize because

despite on how blessed we were, we still fail to realize how much good fortune God has

given us. (Revise the last two sentences)

As we walked through the rocky roads and riverbank of Suawan, we see that people

there are needy but contented of what they have. They seem to still be happy with the life

God have given them. While each of the partners initiated the gift giving to their foster

families, the purpose of the name “Atenista” had been justified, that we are persons for

others and we live to give and love our neighbours.

The most moving part of the immersion came. Everyone had finished dining with

their foster families and bid farewell. Gathered in the covered court with our pasalubong, we

then went to the jeepney and had our journey back to the city. Unlike the journey bound to

Suwawan, the jeepney was silent and everyone was tired. Some reviewed their photos with

their foster families, some told stories and some just rested.

For the class, the experience was different and priceless that other people in the

urban areas might never feel. We are also thankful that we were part of this theology

immersion because if not for it, we might not have realized that we were blessed.

III. THE FAMILY PROFILES

Editors: Alex Tulio and Adelaine Chua

ABENOJA FAMILY

(by: Alexandrian Tulio & Lesly Dalisay)

Reynaldo Abenoja Father 39 years old

Annaliza Abenoja Mother 36 years old

Angelica Abenoja Daughter (4th year high school)

Angeli Abenoja Daughter 13 Y.O. (Grade 5)

Angela Abenoja Daughter 9 Y.O. (Grade 2)

Renalde grandchild 5 years old

jhoane Marie grandchild 1 year old

Address: Purok 3, Suawan Proper, Marilog District

History of family’s stay: Mrs. Annaliza already lived here ever since she was born. Their

house is adjacent to her mother‟s, same house but they had a border. Mr. Reynaldo though

was from Los Amigos, somewhere in Toril.

Economic information: Mr. Reynaldo works at the farm on the other side of the river

wherein he earns 100 pesos per day. Mrs. Annaliza however has been paralyzed ever since

she was 29 years old. She isn‟t able to move her hands and her back which doesn‟t enable

her to work or have a job. She keeps up a dose of vitamins and milk to assist her health.

For their water consumption, they have a community well for everyone. Whenever they

needed medical assistance, with the help of the Kapitana, they were given a PhilHealth card

that they could use whenever they go to SPMC for medical help. The Kapitana also assists

them on their daughters‟ education.

Community involvement: She said that she helps on the Barangay‟s activities like

cleaning and assisting.

Family dreams and aspirations:Mrs. Annaliza‟s only dream was for her daughters to finish

school and be college graduates. She said she doesn‟t want them to go through what she

had gone through before with all the hardships in life and most importantly, not finishing

school. She states that it‟s the only thing that she and her husband could offer to them so

she hopes that they would really try and be good at school to have a comfortable life in the

future. She shared a very unfortunate story that she would tell them that they should just go

home instead during recess and lunch breaks so that they won‟t feel envious of what their

classmates are eating. She doesn‟t want them to feel so bad because she was once on

their place wherein she would just look away whenever her classmates are eating. She also

prays that God will still lengthen her life because she wanted to see them grow and get

through the hard life and see them successful.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: She said that they didn‟t receive any

assistance form the Josefa Segovia Foundation. It was the first time that the AdDU theology

program has come to their area. Instead she shared that they have the SOS program which

gives them monetary assistance every once in a while. Mrs. Annaliza said that the

Barangay Captain has been an angel for them because whenever she needs something like

illnesses or NSO problems, she goes to Kapitana for help. The Brgy. Captain selflessly

helps them to get through the tough times. Not minding the amount of money that she could

spend, a true public servant, we thought.

AGBU FAMILY

(by: Michelle Prudente & Dean Sabella)

Felix Agbu Father 79

Rosenda Agbu Mother 61

Address: Purok 3 Suawan Proper, Marilog District

History of family’s stay: AlingRosenda and Mang Felix were living in Suawanmore than

30 years. They originally came from Bukidnon. They just transferred in Suawan because of

the land opportunities they have seen in the place. AlingRosenda and Mang Felix had 11

children. At present their youngest son, Lexter, who is living with them is the only one who

is still studying.

Economic information: The family plant crops like banana, cocoa, coffee beans, coconut

and some vegetables in their lot uphill in the community. They also sells “tuba” in their little

store and AlingRosenda cooks “puto” every day except Sunday and sells it also in their

store. The family also owns a videoke machine and used it as an additional income.

Community involvement: Last barangay elections AlingRosenda ran as a Barangay

Kagawad but unfortunately she lose. But now on the upcoming Barangay Election she plans

to run again as Barangay Kagawad.

Family dreams and aspirations: As an ordinary citizens, they always dreamed to get rich

and live comfortably, but time and fate has not favored them. They just wish that their

youngest son could enter college and finish his desired course.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: AlingRosenda and Mang Felix were in the

foundation for almost 5 years since 2008. The foundationhad helped them by providing

trainings and seminars on regarding their crops.

ALGUANZA FAMILY

(by Mary Jane S. Rivera &Dexter John P. Pejo)

Cresenciana Alguanza Mother 51

Carlcris Alguanza Son 32

Ed Alguanza Son 27

Suzette Alguanza Daughter 25

Aiza Alguanza Daughter 23

Aicel Alguanza Daughter 21

Rizelle Alguanza Daughter 20

Dave Alguanza Son 15

Angel Mae Alguanza Daughter 13

Address: Purok 3 Brgy. Suawan Proper Marilog District., Davao City

History of family’s stay The Alguanza‟s were originally from Maragaa, Kiblawan Davao del

Sur. They came to Suawan about four years ago. They decided to stay in Suawan because

Mrs.Alguanza‟s eldest son had a lot in Suawan and made a house. The son is an Overseas

Filipino Worker in Japan, and has a son which Mrs.Alguanza is taking care of aside from

her other children.

Economic information: The family‟s source of income is mainly from the allowance that

the eldest son gives to Mrs. Alguanza every month, about 2,000 Php Monthly. Also they

earn from making basket cases of so called “bayong” a coarse sack of woven strips, and in

their case, its plastic strips which they buy from excess materials from a not-named factory.

However they only lend it to someone they know that sells it in Calinan and other

communities near Marilog District, and they get paid of what that certain someone can only

sell. They can sell a “bayong” for about 150 Php which they can make for about a day and

other smaller versions of it for less. They also earn extra income from her other son which

does sideline by conducting for jeepneys, but it‟s not that much and often.

Community involvement: As what Mrs.Alguanza told us, they are not much involved in the

community, however they join religious crusades from time to time.

Family dreams and aspirations: Mrs.Alguanza‟s dreams and aspirations for her family is

to be able to live happy and for her two youngest to finish schooling and maybe go to

college.

Assistance from Josefa Segovia Foundation; Mrs.Alguanza is not familiar with Josefa

Segovia Foundation; however she is very thankful for the joint efforts of AdDU and JSF for

them.

ALOGAN FAMILY

(by Edward Enriquez & Jenny Grande)

Alogan, Reynante Father 38 y.o.

Alogan, Rose Mother 36 y.o.

Alogan, Plong2x Son (Eldest) 9 y.o.

Alogan, Glaizy Mae Daughter 8 y.o.

Alogan, Gian Son 6 y.o.

Alogan, Griezzle Daughter 5 y.o.

Alogan, Grianna Daughter (Youngest) 3 y.o.

Address: Suawan, Marilog District

History of family’s stay: Actually they just moved last summer from Magpet, North

CotabatoKidapawan City because the mother lives there. They moved to Suawan because

of his Husband ReynanteAlogan whose relatives lived in Marilog. They decided to live here

since the relatives of the husband are already here as well.

Economic information: The family's economic status is that they have crops like the

vegetables, they also grow a pig, and they have woods for sale (for fire /other kind of

making a food out of fire).

Community involvement: They all have 5 children, and those children are schooling also.

They help the other community/people near from their house for other necessities like

(selling the woods for fire) and they also sell vegetables if they have many supplies of it.

Family dreams and aspirations: When I ask the mother what are her dreams and

aspirations in life are that she wanted her children to finish schooling even if it is only high

school as long as they graduated. She also wanted to have a good daily living for her

family, and to finish the bathroom because they don't have a bathroom yet. Lastly, they

wanted to improve their roof because the roof is full of holes, and they are worried if when

the rain comes. Their aspirations are their children and also the family itself. They want to

have a healthy family and give it gives them to live longer as long as their family are all

there supporting each other.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: In going to the Suawan, Marilog District we

visited the Almacen where there is someone from the Josefa Segovia Foundation who will

be instructing us and giving us the advice of what family we are assigned of. They help us

to be social active and involve in the place assigned to us which is the Suawan, Marilog

District. My partner and I are very thankful for their time even though they are busy to other

things being scheduled in that day. They give us assistance to where/what family is

assigned to us, and they help us to go to the place. I am very glad and thankful cause

without them, this emersion will not be done accordingly in running this kind of foundation.

AMOY FAMILY

(by: Janine Binobo & Lloyd Oppus)

Mr. Loreto Amoy Father 54 years old

Mrs. Nene Amoy Mother 57 years old

Tiffany Faith Amoy Grandchild 7 years old

Janicarl Amoy Grandchild 6 years old

Anne CristineTongco- Amoy Daughter-in-law 29 years old

Address: Purok 3 BaranggaySuwawanMarilog District.

Economic Information:The family earns around P60, 000 monthly. That includes the

honorarium of Mrs. Amoy as a baranggay captain, the monthly allowances their children

from abroad giving to them and the salary of Mr. Amoy who had just came home from

Japan. The children of Mr and Mrs. Amoy are ones who give money to the scholars for their

school fees and it is Mrs. Amoy who gives them allowances.

History of Family’s stay:They have been living there since 1962. The lot is a compound

residence. It was Mr. Loreto Amoy‟s parents who had been living there for a very long time.

Actually, his father‟s house is just next door.

Dreams and Aspirations:The family‟s dream is to be able to save enough money for their

family and could be able to invest their money. Especially to Ms. Anne and her husband as

newlywed couples they wanted to have their family of their own like to have children, to

have their house on their own and somehow could be able to work abroad. Ms. Anne is still

supporting her siblings. So more likely, she wants to support first her siblings and eventually

start her own family.

Community Involvement:Mrs. Amoy is the barangay captain of Suawan and Anne is one

of the SK people there.

Josefa Segovia Foundation’s assistance:As we interviewed Ms. Anne, she told us that

as far as she hardly remembers the only assistance they benefited from the Josefa Segovia

Foundation is in their school. She remembered that the foundation gave the

“BangangPinoy” which a water reservoir and they had Adopt-a-School before which gives

scholarship to children. The family is generous enough to help a lot of people in their

community. They really extend their hands especially to the five scholars. Also Mrs. Nene

Amoy and her children and grandchildren are Buddhists.

AMOY FAMILY

(by: Kristine Maghuyop & Ralph Tsunashima)

Sakai Koichi/ Constancio Amoy Father 86

Teresita Lumbayan Mother 76

Koichi N. Amoy Grandchild 7

Address: Suawan, Marilog District

History of family’s stay: The family first lived in the area of Toril. Constancio Amoy‟s

brother-in-law offered him to take care of his rice mill in Suawan, Marilog District in the year

1958. During that time, Suawan was considered to be a hiding place of the Japanese

descendants because they were afraid that the guerrillas will come after them. From then,

the family stayed at the barangay up to the present date.

Economic information: The family‟s source of income came from the support of their

children that works abroad. Koichi‟s (grandchild) parents are the ones that continually

support the old couple since the kid is staying with them. In the past, Constancio used to

rent a land to farm. But when a typhoon struck the Mindanao area, Barangay Suawan was

one of the local areas that were greatly affected. The farm land that the family used to get

their source of income was needed to be returned to the owner since they could no longer

push through in utilizing the farm because of the expenses they might incur in recovering

the land.

Community involvement: As of the present date, the family has no community

involvement since they are now legally considered as the first generation of Japanese

descendants. In the earlier days of Mr.Amoy, he used to be the congressman of the

barangay that also inspired his family to run as well. In the barangay, most of the Amoys are

politicians. It is because, according to Mr. Amoy, people trust them in what they do in the

community.

Family dreams and aspirations: Constancio Amoy and his wife are very old already.

When we ask them on what are their dreams and aspirations in life, he said: “Tigulangna

mi, quintadagkona pod among mgaanak, naanasilaymgatrabaho. Tama na to para saamo.”

The couple are already satisfied enough because they were able to provide what their

children needed and was able to witness their success.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: The father, Mr.Constancio said that he has

not yet received any assistance from the Josefa Segovia Foundation. Although he knows

the certain foundation, they have not yet experienced to receive any assistance coming

from them.

ANGAC FAMILY

(by: John Aguiling & Katrina Gallardo)

Address: Purok 3 SuwawanMarilog District Davao City

History of family’s stay:The whole family where born and raised there. They have been

there since the 1950's.

Economic Information: The family are farmers. Mr.Angac harvest crops like banana,

cacao, corn and others. Ms.Angac sell some crops at Bankerohan. Also, Mr.Angac is a

kagawad in Suawan.

Community Involvement:The family usually earns 1000 a week but they are still contented

with it. Also, every blessing that they have received they will share it to the community.

Moreover, they are one of the small number of Catholics in Suawan.

Dreams and Aspirations:They are contented living a simple life. They just want to see

their kids graduate. They're eldest son wants to be a seaman and they're daughter wants to

be a teacher.

Josefa Segovia Foundation’s assistance: Livelihood farm animals

Father Ruperto Angac Age not stated

Mother Lorenza Angac Age not stated

Son Christian Angac Eldest Son

Son Loyd Rupert Angac 3rd

Son

Daughter Charlene Angac Eldest Daughter

Son Jolo Angac Youngest Son

CALIMPAS FAMILY

(by: Keidy Longyapon & John Rufino)

Fresco Calimpas Father 52

Lolita Calimpas Mother 45

MaricelCalimpas Daughter-in-law 26

Livy “bambi” Calimpas Son 22

Baby Jane Calimpas Daughter 3

Lucy Mae Calimpas Grandchild 1

Address: Suawan, Marilog District

History of family’s stay: The family owns a land in a small village they call “Apo”, it‟s an

hour walk from Suawan. That is where the family was originated. Eventually they moved to

Suawan because it is more accessible to the city since they already started letting their

children to study in the city.

Economic information:The family‟s source of income is solely from the labor and fruits of

their farm. They plant variety of fruits, such as Durian, Coffee, Cacao and more. With this

farm they were able to send their five children in college (they have six; the youngest is still

three years old).

Community involvement: Even though the brother of Fresco Calimpas is involved in

politics in the community, he is not really interested with it, thus their family is not directly

involve with any activities in the community.

Family dreams and aspirations: Since the five children of Mr. and Mrs.Calimpas has their

own family and are happily living in the city, the only thing they want is for their youngest

child to finish college and live a happy life like her siblings.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: The family has no idea what Josefa Segovia

Foundation is, and what it can do for them.

CUSTODIO FAMILY

(by: Rhenelyn Recabe & Jon Soriano)

Romel Custodio Father 40

Genlyn Custodio Mother 40

Jenel Custodio 1st son 15

Jonard Custodio 2nd

son 14

Analyn Princess Nellas Adopted Daughter 10

Address: Purok 3, Suawan Proper, Marilog District

History of family’s stay: Mr.Custodio is originally from Surigao while his wife Mrs.Genlyn

is from Agusan. They told us that there is no particular reason why they settled at Brgy.

Suawan, Marilog. When they got married, they have decided to stay there since it is more

convenient for them to live in that place for a certain reason that Mrs.Genlyn‟s father owns a

small banana plantation there. They live there for almost 17 years already.

Economic information: When Mr.Alugan died, his daughter Genlyn together with her other

siblings took charge on their farm. There, they continued to plant bananas and some couple

of crops like coconut where they extract a coconut wine or “Tuba” to sustain for their daily

life. They also sell fruits from their farm at Bankerohan. On the other hand, Mr.Custodio is

also working as a laborer at DPWH. He also told us that his estimated monthly salary is

around 8 thousand pesos but it is not accurate income because it only depends on the

project that he is assigned.

Community involvement: Their family has no specific involvement in their community

because they focused more on their family. They are just normal citizens in their

community.

Family dreams and aspirations: Their family is very simple, Mr. and Mrs.Custodio‟s

dream is just they want their children to finish their studies and meet their children‟s dreams

and goals. They just want to be able to support their children until they graduate college.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: We asked them on how much help they

received from the foundation then they answered it is still their first time receiving help from

JSF and they are thankful for it.

GUBAT FAMILY

(by: Billy Dayon & Karla Martinez)

Marc Gubat Father 47

MarilouGubat Mother 36

Mark Louie Gubat Son 8

NorvinceGubat Son 3

Address: Marilog, Suawan along the Highway.

History of family’s stay: MarilouGubat is in the community of Suawan since she was born.

She grows and get married in Suawan. Both her parents are already living there before she

was even born. Her husband came from the native community of their place which is from

the community of Bagobo. After they get married, they build their own house in Suawan and

stay there until this time. Unfortunately, we never met the father because he is driving

jeepney from morning until afternoon 5pm even in a picture frame we never see him.

Economic information: Marc Gubat is the bread winner of the family. He drives the

jeepney that is owned by the parents of his wife Marilou. His income is their only source of

income. He drives everyday from morning until night to sustain the needs of his family

specially his wife who have maintenance for her highblood pressure.

Community involvement: MarilouGubat is a member of their GKK. She attends meetings

that was held every month and participate on any activities they have. She was also a

volunteer teacher in a kindergarten school located on Suawan.Their family is a dedicated

Roman Catholics.

Family dreams and aspirations: The couple, Marc and Marilou, just like other married

couple has only one dream for their children which is they can finish their studies and have

a college degree someday.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: Basically we ask if they are part of the

Josefa Segovia foundation and unfortunately, they aren‟t part of the Josefa Segovia

Foundation. And we never ask about the reasons why they‟re not part of this foundation.

LADAO FAMILY

(by: Ching Garay & Emmanuel Sumatra)

Jocelyn Ladao Mother 37 y.o.

Salvador Ladao Jr. Father 37 y.o.

Syrel Jade Ladao Daughter 7 y.o.

Jan Kerbe Ladao Son 5 y.o

Address: Purok 3, Barangay Suwawan, Marilog District

History of family’s stay: They have been staying in Suwawan for 3years now. Currelty,

they are living in one of the Chieftain‟s small houses because the father is working under

the chieftain‟s administration.

Economic information: The father is working in the City Engineers office as a road-

roller(pison) operator in Marilog and currently working on the destroy road of the city

proper. And their other source of income is that the husband is taking side jobs as the

official driver of the chieftain.

Community involvement:Ladao family is involve in all community activities. They are

encouraged to participate because they have been helping the community to improve and

as to their family also.

Family dreams and aspirations: Their dreams and aspirations is to build their own house

for their small family.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: The family is not a part or a member of the

Josefa Segovia Foundation.

NAONG FAMILY

(by Trishia Magno & Adrian Resma)

ArmindaNaong Mother 58

Mary Jane Naong Daughter 18

Kelvin Naong Son 13

Address: Purok 3, Suawan Proper, Marilog District

History of family’s stay: NanayArminda‟s parents originally stayed in Balete, a little bit far

from Suawan. When nanay got married, she and her family transferred in Suawan to start a

new life. The couple originally have 12 kids, one died, 9 are already married, leaving only

her 2 kids under her care.

Economic information: Nanay‟s husband died about 3 years ago and it‟s only her who

works for her family. She said to be working for an engineer for three years having only 100

pesos as her daily income.

Community involvement:NanayArminda said that they participated only few of the

community activities. One of which she mentioned is something that involves deeply on

women. She was not able to state the exact activity thus she remembers only how it

focuses on their needs. They also get involve on religious activities but not always since

their church is a far walk from their home.

Family dreams and aspirations: The family has a little home. When nanay‟s husband

died, they were not able to put any improvements on their home. She wishes to have a

better and safer home for her family since they live on the river side and they usually

experience flooding. She also wants to give her family a better life, her children a better

education and be able to provide them their needs.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: We asked nanay about how much help they

got from the foundation but she said it was the first. Then when we asked her about being

able to participate on any activities the foundation had, she said more of the women welfare

activities. She then told us that she sees Josefa Segovia as a foundation that will bring

peace and help to them.

NOVAL FAMILY

(by: Garret Aguilar & Katrina Jaca)

Mr. Rolando Noval Father 57 years old

Mrs. Emily Noval Mother 32 years old

Errol Noval Son 2 years old

Heart Noval Daghter 6 months old

Address:Purok – 3 Barangay Suawan, Marilog District, Davao City

History of family’s stay:Mrs. Emily said that she does not know how long have been they

are staying in Suawan. All she can recall is she and her family have been in the community

ever since.

Economic information:Mrs. Emily‟s Work: housewife, Mr. Rolando‟s work: farmer, and

their income is 6000/month.

Community involvement:Member of Buddhist

Family dreams and aspirations:Mr. Ronaldo and Emily want o have stable job. Mr

Rolando said that he wants to have complete tools for farming. Lastly, they want their

children to be able to go to school.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation:None

ORDENIZA FAMILY

(by: Park Garrett & Shahara Jaine Suleik)

Jarnel Ordeniza Father 29

Venus Ordeniza Mother 28

Jerlen Gayle Ordeniza Daughter 5

Jaszmin Gwen Ordeniza Daughter 3

Jessel Grace Ordeniza Daughter 8 mos.

Address:Purok 3 SuawanMarilog District Davao city

History Of Family’s Stay: The family is living in Suawan for 4 years .It started in the year

2009.They decided to live in the said area because of localization. Venus is living in

Suawan since birth while his husband is from Kidapawan city. They decided to stay in the

place because Venus‟ family is also staying there.

Economic Information: Venus is a teacher applicant in the local area, while

JarnelOrdeniza is a motor mechanic. At the moment they do not own any agricultural land.

The average monthly income of the family is around 12,000.

Community Involvement: Venus Ordeniza is the secretary of the Purok 3,SuawanMarilog

District Davao city secretary.

Family dreams and aspirations: From we have discovered, the biggest goal of the family

is to be able to save enough money to invest in a peice of farm land.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: Many families, like ours has benefited from

the projects of the Josefa Segovia foundation. To list a few, the water system, the paved

town road, and not to mention the other livelihood projects the JSF has set up over the

years.

PLONA FAMILY

(by Margarette Poe & Jaydee Laorden)

Enrique Plona Father 71 y.o.

DesideriaPlona Mother 80 y.o.

Ellen Templanza Daughter 36 y.o.

Address: Purok 3 brgySuawan, MarilogDistict Davao city

History of family’s stay: Enrique Plona used to live in Bagyo district Davao city. He

decided to move to brgySuawan because he belive that his fortune would be better. The

place he used to live was not that develop to provide his needs financially and mentally. He

aims to be of valuable to others. He meet his wife DesideriaPlona in brgySuawan and

decided to start a family there as well and live there up until now.

Economic information: Enrique Plona use to be a government employee and his wife a

teacher both now have retired and receives pension every month. The have put up a little

store that sells basic need and necessity. Their daughter would send money from Davao

city where she lives and work. They also have 5 hectare of land 2 kilometers away from

brgy. SuawanMarilog district Davao city.

Community involvement: Enrique Plona used to be a barangay secretary for 10 years.

After serving the community as a barangay secretary he believe he can do more for them

he decided to run as kagawad and his term lasted for 6 years. After being a kagawad he

served more people in the government but not as a politician up to the time he retired.

Family dreams and aspirations:They said if only they were younger and agile they would

want to enjoy life more and not just work. Sir Enrique Plona wanted to be a lawyer before

but lacking financial and time due to work and family being a lawyer is too much of a

burden. They said their dreams are too difficult to reach now they only hope now that their

grandchild won‟t be like them and that he would achieve his dreams, and won‟t let time pass

him by without having the chance to try.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: The Plona family does not recognize the

Josefa Segovia Foundation. They have not received any assistance of any kind from the

foundation.

SUAM FAMILY

(by Carl Bolo & Irene Soberano)

Arnesia F. Suam Mother 70 years old

Address:Purok 3 SuawanMarilog District 3, Davao city

History of family’s stay: The parents of ManangArnesia decided to live in Suawan in 1959

because of the job of her father. When ManangArnesia reached the age of 17; she met her

husband (Mr. Ricardo Suam Sr. – deceased) and they decide to get married. They choose

to stay in Suawan Proper and they had 10 children.

Economic information: ManangArnesia is a sewer. She gathered all sizes of fabric and

started to make a rag. Sometimes her children gave her money and foods. She also plants

vegetables in her backyard.

Community involvement:ManangArnesia is a senior citizen and she is the seniors‟

treasurer in their barangay. The senior citizen in their barangay held once in a month

meeting.

Family dreams and aspirations: ManangArnesia is a widowed she had 10 children. All of

her children are already married. The only thing she wants is to eat three times a day and to

spend some of her time with her grandchildren/s.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: ManangArnesia said that the Josefa Segovia

Foundation manages to give seminars to the people in the barangay. But ManangArnesia

hasn‟t received any assistance from JSF.

SUMALIDAY FAMILY

(by: Gene Tesoro & Marie Toni Yap)

Miguela Sumaliday grandmother 64 years old

JM grandchild 9 years old

Rico James grandchild 8 years old

Biance Nicole grandchild 8 years old

Gian Andres grandchild 7 years old

Renalde grandchild 5 years old

jhoane Marie grandchild 1 year old

Address: Suawan, Marilog district

History of family’s stay: Miguela Sumaliday formerly from Negros Oriental, married his

husband who passed away 2 years ago. Her husband was original home owner of their land

in Suawan, Marilog. She admitted that the land was from the Bagobo. They were living in

Suawan for a long time with 3 children, eventually with grandchildren. All three of them

migrated to manila to work for their living and for their children.

Economic information: They have one television in their living room and are travelling

throughout Mindanao for few activities to earn money. Participates Kadayawan and is active

in their baranggay for pageants and beauty searches around the area. Miguela Sumaliday

works as a Tailor for the community before but never had her own sewing machine.

Community involvement:Their family is actively connected with the current baranggay

captain and Mrs. Miguela had ran in the previous elections. Few of Mrs. Miguela‟s peers

transferred to Buddhism which eventually led her and her grandchildren to participate in

Buddhism religious activities.

Family dreams and aspirations: Mrs. Miguela stated that her main dream, together with

her husband was to make all their children graduate college and have a happy family that

could eat 3 times a day. She said that yes they could eat 3 times a day but only 1 out of her

3 children graduated.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: Mrs. Sumaliday was unaware of the

immersion from Ateneo and admitted that she currently was not active with the Josefa

Segovia foundation. She honestly said that she is not participating seminars from the JSF

lately and is surprised of our coming. Yet recently their family have been receiving gifts

from JSF as what her neighbours are receiving.

SUSING FAMILY

(by: Adelaine Chua & Jan Ocampo)

Prescila Susing Grandmother 61

Address: Purok 3, Suawan, Marilog, Davao City

History of family’s stay: Since 2003, she stayed in Marilog because her daughter got

married and decided to stay in Marilog to be stable. She‟s been staying in Marilog for more

almost 10 years.

Economic information: She has no job but she plants vegetable to eat, and delivers food

to the school canteen from time to time.

Community involvement: She is not involved in any activity, she is not involved in the

Church, Barangay, or whatnot.

Family dreams and aspirations:Before she stayed in Marilog, she dreamt of being rich,

but it wasn‟t that attainable and specific. Now, she only dreams of eating at least 3 times a

day.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: She doesn‟t know what the Josefa Segovia

Foundation is all about, like what they do for and to the community. But she hopes that

she‟ll learn more about them soon.

ALOY FAMILY

(by: Christine Sanguer & Laurence Yap)

Mr. Geraldo Aloy Father 42

Mrs. Theresa Aloy Mother 41

Charry May Aloy Daughter 22

June Allan Aloy Son 21

Leggy Jean Aloy Daughter 19

Kevin Aloy Son 17

Alvin Aloy Son 14

Honey Joy Aloy Daughter 5

Geral Aloy Son 2

Address: Sitio Suawan, Marilog District, Davao City, Davao Region

History of family’s stay: The Aloy family have stayed in their present residence for 20

years, since 1993. The lot which the family has build their home is owned by Mr. Geraldo

Aloy‟s family. Another information we have discovered from our poster parents is that Mrs.

Theresa has a Waray blood Mr. Geraldo is a pure Lumad.

Economic information: Mr. Geraldo Aloywork‟s as a farmer in the school garden near their

house, he maintains the plants that are planted in the school garden. While, his fourth child

Kevin work‟s in Calinan, Davao City to help the family. They also sell native sweets

delicacies (kakanin) and vegetables as another source of income.

Community involvement: Based on the conversation Mr. Geraldo is a former barangay

police which help maintain the peace and order of their barangay, he is also a utility worker

in the nearby school barangay.

Family dreams and aspirations: Basically Mr. and Mrs.Aloy‟s family aspirations is to see

their children finish their studies like every parents dreams for their children.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: We have ask Mrs.Aloy we their family have

received any assistance, or familiar with the Josefa Segovia Foundation, but, she said no,

and never heard about it.

CALIMPAS FAMILY

(by: Faith Chae & Benrich Tan)

Mr. Ireneo Ramos Calimpas Father 51 years old

Mrs.LeonorfaRefesadaCalimpas Mother 40 years old

Christine Joy Refesada Daughter 20 years old

Claudine May RefesadaCalimpas Daughter 18 years old

Reno John Refesada Calimpas Son 15 years old

Address: Purok 3, Barangay SuwawanMarilog District, Davao City

History of family’s stay: Both Mr. and Mrs.Calimpas were born in Marilog and have stayed

in the area eversince. In her early years, Mrs.Calimpas lived in Unapan, which is also

situated near Marilog district.

Economic information: The household has three sources of income. The first is that they

currently have an established sari-sari store within the area. The second is that they have a

farming business, where their main products are cacao, bananas, vegetables and coffee

beans. The third source is the salary of Mr. and Mrs.Calimpas, as Mr.Calimpas works as a

barangay official with a monthly salary of P7,500.00, while Mrs.Calimpas works as a

Barangay Health Worker with a monthly income of P1,000.00

Community involvement: The Calimpas family‟s religion is New Apostolic. According to

the family, their religion is a Christian denomination which is most similar to

Catholicism.Their church is named as “New Apostolic Church”. The family attends mass

every Sunday for one hour. Supposedly, they should attend mass every Wednesday, but no

priest is available in their area every Wednesday. Occasionally, the family attends a church

event held in Tagum.

Family dreams and aspirations: The main dream that is shared by the family is to make

sure that the children will receive and complete their education. Mr. and Mrs.Calimpas want

to ensure a good future for their children, where they can be financially sustainable enough

to handle their own families. In turn, the children want to be financially stable in order for

them to give back to their parents, for all the love and support that they have bestowed

upon them throughout the years.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: The only assistance that they are currently

receiving from the organization is the BANGA Pinoy. BANGA Pinoy provides funds and

support for the reconstruction of schools in the area. The assistance supplements their

aspirations for the children to have a bright future.

NAMANG FAMILY

(by: Dulay & Bessadel)

Hilario Namang Jr. Father 40 years old

Lucia Davis Namang Mother 32 years old

John Lester Namang Son 10 years old

John Lawrence Namang Son 9 years old

Lara Jane Namang Daughter 5 years old

Antonio Fuentes Boarder 13 years old

Address: Campo Santos, Marilog District, Davao City

History of family’s stay: Mr. Hilario Namang, Jr. studied at Holy Cross of Calinan and was

a former seminarian in St. Francis. He left the seminary because he encountered some

health issues and when he got better he saw an opportunity to work at a company, Pryce

Gas. When he left his job, he went back to his family and took care of the lands he inherited

from his parents. He started to till the three hectare land given to him last 1986 when he

was still a single man. He met his wife and they decided to build their house near their farm.

They have been living in the area for 5 years now.

Economic information: Sources of Income

Sari-sari Store; they sell Tuba

Farming (Their products are usually harvested on the average of 2 months)

Cooperative Funds; Interest

Farm Products

Cacao

Bananas

Vegetables (e.g. eggplants, cabbages, string beans, squash)

Coffee Beans

Lanzones

Rambutan

Pig; Chickens;Poultry

Tuba

Income Earners (Occupations and Average Monthly Income)

Mr. Hilario is the bread winner of the family. He is a farmer while his wife stays at

home and takes care of the household chores and the children. Their minimum

monthly income is Php 7,000 to Php 10,000.

Community involvement: Since they are new in the area, Mr. Hilario and Mrs. Lucia are

not yet involved with their community but when asked if they want to be involved and are

planning to be involved, they said yes.

Family dreams and aspirations: Mr. Hilario wants to engage into a Buy and Sell business

aside from farming. He also wants to expand his farming area. Like any good father, he

dreams that his children will graduate with a fine course and build a family of their own.

Assistance for Josefa Segovia Foundation: They did not benefit directly from the

foundation but when asked if they know the said foundation, they said “yes”. They said that

the foundation gave out seedlings and fish products to the neighborhood and helped the

people around the area.

IV. THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

Editor: Lesly Dalisay

A. “God's Presence and Message Through the Practicum-Immersion Process”

by Karla Martinez

In our day to day life, doing things according to the law and will of God can bring us

happiness. Setting our plans and goals according to His will and law not only give us

happiness, but also success. By doing this, God guidesand protect us in all the things that

we do..

We can feel God's presence during the preparation and process of the immersion.

He guides and helps our teacher in the preparation of the immersion, such as searching for

the right location or the right barangay and the right people to coordinate with. God's

presence is also there in dealing with the jeepney drivers that drove us to our immersion

area. He is always with us while we are travelling going to Suawan, even though it was very

far and there are roads that are rough, because we can His presence is there when we

didn‟t experience any casualties along the way. He guided the jeepney drivers to bring us

safe to Suawan and meet and help our foster family.

He gives us wisdom in preparing for the stuff that we bring for our foster family.

God's presence is there the whole time because He wanted our immersion to be

successful. His presence is there and He always help us because we do not meet them to

become our new friends but we experience in becoming one of their family members. God

wanted to tell all of us that He is always there to guide and help us in all of the things that

we are doing, especially if we do things to help other people and also doing things that will

not break His will.

B. “God's Presence and Message among the Foster Families”

By Keidy Longyapon

Hospitality is a known common trait of a Filipino family, and during the immersion

this trait was very obvious. Even though some family didn‟t have enough resources to go

by, they still welcomed the students wholeheartedly. Even the children of the foster families

treated Ateneans like their own older brother and sister with the way they played and talked

with them. Hospitality was not the only characteristic the foster families showed in relation to

the presence and message of God. They also shown that no matter how different they were

from us, we are all the same in the eyes of God.

The moment we arrived in our foster family‟s home, it was really apparent that we

had a big difference with them in many aspects in life. Yet, they welcomed us and

abandoned any differences. This was why the foster family made us realized that even in

our differences, we found our similarities. The way they welcomed us made us want to

know them more without any prejudice from their life status. They made us look at things

around us that was beyond seeing, to understand before concluding and to think before

acting.

C. “God’s Presence and Message in the Immersion Area”

By Katrina Jaca

Elizabeth Gilbert once wrote,“There‟s a reason they call God a presence- because

God is right here, right now.” God is with us wherever and whenever we are. Although He is

not visible around us, God‟s presence in the immersion area has always been with us.

From going to school, while traveling to the area, being in the area, and leaving the

area, He was with us. We had prayers before going to the community. In these moments we

feel God‟s presence. We feel guided and protection, which may be the reason why we feel

safe in the immersion area because we feel that God is watching us and protecting us from

any harm. In the immersion area, God is also with us. Everything we see in the area, the

trees, the river, the people, there is a presence of God in each of them. From each family

interviewed, every story each family has to share, we recognized the presence of God in

their lives. Every decision that we make in the area was guided by God. Acknowledging

God‟s presence in the immersion area was important because it is what leads us to making

good decisions in the area, and it gives us a certain confident because we feel safe and

protected by Him.

God‟s message would be for us to be grateful and thankful for all the things that we

possess. It reminded ourselves that as Ateneans, we have responsibilities to fulfill, and that

is “to be men and women for others”. We must bring this in the immersion area and show

compassion for our fellow citizens. It also taught us to be more understanding to our fellow

citizens and patient while immersing ourselves in the area, as well as using the immersion

as the opportunity to explore different horizons, to know different people, and most

importantly, to strengthen our faith and spirituality. Lastly, this experience made us learn to

not forget to pray, in order for us to be always guided in our actions and our decisions.

V. THE PRACTICE OF CHURCH’S SOCIAL DOCTRINE PRINCIPLES

Editors: John Aguiling and Kristine Maghuyop

A. Human Dignity and Equality

“A Strong Bond”

By Jon Soriano

The people at Suawan lived with pride and dignity. They lived in Suawan peacefully

that they are not even considering the possibilities of harm in their place for the reason that

they trust the people in their community. The people in Sityo Suwawan are not ashamed

about the kind of life they have and the place they live in.

They are very proud of the fact that they are living in place that is very resourceful

that almost everything in their area can be used for something important. They didn‟t even

felt different from other people because they think that we are all brothers and sisters. The

people in Suawan are kind and all of them are welcoming.

The people in their barangay have a strong bond that almost all of them treat each

other as a family. They help each other within their capacities and we‟ve never felt the “Crab

mentality” kind of attitude in their place.

B. Respect for Life

“A Place Where Everyone Knows Your Name”

By Jan Wenzel Ocampo

Each and every one of us have different lifestyles. We sometimes question others on

why they live such a lifestyle. In our case, we live in a very comfortable life. We can eat

more than 3 times a day. We can go to the malls any time we want. We can eat at

restaurants or fast food chains. Given this life that we are comfortable of living, we tend to

disrespect other people who doesn‟t have the same lifestyle as ours. For example, when

someone in school wears clothes that looks so cheap, we automatically degrade that

person in our mind. We don‟t like to be friends with them because we think that it is so

unnatural for us. Another example is outside of school, when someone begs us for money,

we do not entertain that person and we sometimes says some bad stuff about them.

However, when we arrived in Suawan, everything has changed.

During our immersion in Suawan, we experienced different kinds of people. Some

are hospitable and some are not. Some are generous and some are not. Some are smelly

and some smells good. Some wear good clothes while others wear torn clothes. If we didn‟t

practice our respect for life, maybe we wouldn‟t entertain those people in Suawan. All of us

experienced a great sacrifice during our immersion. We even woke up before 5am just for

us to arrive at our meeting place on time. We‟ve done this because we respect the time of

our foster family. We wanted to give more service for them even if we knew that we must

degrade our lifestyle for a while.

We practiced our respect for life through the small amount of time that we have to

adjust our lifestyle. Most of our batch have nannies in the house, this means that we don‟t

usually wash our dishes nor our clothes. But in Suawan, most of us did some chores that is

really not natural for us. Some of us washed dishes. Some washed the clothes of their

foster family. Some play with the children from different foster families. Some helped in

cleaning the house. We value these things because we have set our mind to do things for

them.

The good thing that the immersion have given to us in terms of respect for life is that

we now value people from the outside of our lifestyle. We now understand why beggars

beg. We now understand why people wear such clothes. We now understand why people

lived the way they lived. The respect for life that we practiced in Suawan was indeed a

blessing in disguise. This value has gone to its next level, which is to apply it in our personal

lives and not just during the times of immersion. With all these being said, respect for life

gave us the realization that we are brought here in this world to value the life of each and

single one of us.

C. Promotion of Human Rights and Responsibilities

“Taking Actions”

By: Rafhael Aguiling

First of all, our immersion led us to the path of knowing and understanding other people with

different social class. During our immersion, we were able to talk to them and share our

thoughts and ideas despite the fact that it‟s quite hard for us to understand them since we

have different points of view and way of living.

However, through our immersion we were able to promote human rights. Talking and

sharing ideas with them is a great example since it shows that despite the fact that they are

living in a rural area and living life with poverty they can still manage to voice out their

feelings. It simply means that it doesn‟t really matter what social class are you into because

we are all equal in the eyes of God even in our law.

With all of these things being said, it is our duty as a citizen of our country to make a

change by helping them even in a tiny possible way.

D. Common Good

“A Bird’s Eye View of Suawan”

By Park Garett

During our stay at Brgy. Suawan, we‟d noticed that a decent amount people showed

an ample amount of care for the common good of the community. Such care were

composed into three characteristics. The first was one charity. A good indication for this was

that we saw an elderly lady give a hungry young boy money, so that he can buy the food

that he wanted to eat at the sari-sari store.

The second was collaboration between members of the community. As we quietly

sat down and observed the surroundings around us, we noticed throughout the day a lot of

people talked to each other. Not just talking, but helped each other in simple tasks such as

distribution of water, to more complicated tasks involving the local government.

The third was the aura of sharing and responsibility within the community. Everyone

had their own little way to which they could contribute to the community. We saw a pair of

neighbors that lent each other their own belongings, with the mere promise of making sure

that they would return it. It was indeed touching to see how these people could have lived

their lives so peacefully in this quite area.

E. Association and Participation

“United, We Stand”

By Edward Enriquez

We really had a great time in the immersion that we had in Suawan,not only because

we got to help other people, but also because we felt that our class really became united

through helping those who were in need. As a class, we all felt the same passion and

dedication to make those people happy, even just for a short period of time.

Being there and seeing those people smile while we interact with them made that

trip worth it. Not only that, but also in that trip we met a lot of new people and we can say

that meeting those new people made us more responsible. It was like they taught us a

lesson that any problem can be solved if we just think positive.

Lastly, that trip made our class closer to each other. Before the immersion, some of

us didn‟t even know our classmates in this subject. When we were in school, we just

attended the class and we don‟t even interact or talk to each other. But because of that

immersion, we communicated a lot more. Thanks to the people in our community, they

made us a class a lot more closer, as well as that they gave us he passion to participate in

activities such as the immersion.

F. Subsidiarity

“Experience Is The Best Teacher”

By Ralph Tsunashima

In the Catholic social teaching and social doctrines under subsidiarity, we know that

it is impossible to promote the dignity of the other person or group without showing it to

them. To care means not just to give help but to care and show them through actions. We

all belong to a society, everywhere we go we see a number of society we a barely know

each one.

During the immersion, we were sent out to a community we barely know of. We were

left for couple of hours to be with the foster family we were assigned. We could have called

it a province if compared to Davao because it‟s deserted and doesn‟t have much things to

see, just a small community in it with small number of people living.

Showing our care and respect for the people in the area is what we did. We could

say deeply in our hearts that we somewhat helped in the family not financially or materially,

but emotionally as well. We‟re very sure that the people living the area are close because

it‟s a small place and they respect each other, just like how they respected us during our

immersion.

We learned a lot just having to stay for the area for a couple of hours. The learning

we got cannot be compensated by the learnings we get in school or in books. Truly,

experience is the best teacher for an individual.

G. Dignity of Human Work or Labor

“Dignity of Human Work or Labor”

by Mary Bessadel B. Dulay

According to the encyclical letter entitled Laborem Exercens (On Human Work)

written by Pope John Paul II, “Work means any activity by man, whether manual or

intellectual, whatever its nature or circumstance; it means any human activity that can and

must be recognized as work, in the midst of all the many activities of which man is capable

and to which he is predisposed by his very nature, by virtue of humanity itself." The gift of

work has been part of humanity‟s existence since the beginning of time. It has been said in

the books of Genesis that man, as an image and likeness of God, is to “be fruitful and

multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it." Work, therefore, is the dimension of man‟s

existence on earth. The human person is the measure of the dignity of work. The objective

dimension of work, productivity, should not be the focus but rather the subjective sense of

work, the dignity of the human person.

In the rural areas of Marilog District, we have seen the simple living of our foster

families and their neighbors. Apart from the vast majestic beauty of nature, we have also

witnessed how our foster families worked for a living, their lands, homes and properties. We

had a glimpse of their modest and peaceful work and surroundings. It was unlike the daily

hectic scenarios we see in the city. They are in no hurry to go to their work station, nor are

they in a constant race to catch the latest jeepney or taxi so as not to be late to their

meetings and endeavors. They don‟t look constantly at their wristwatches. Instead, they

look at the position of the sun in order to determine the time of the day. Unlike us who live in

the mainstream, they have their own pace in doing their work in the field, their household

chores and in taking care of their family. Whenever they become tired from tilling their land

and in completing their daily routine, they indulge themselves in the prospect of relaxation,

something which cannot be afforded by the people in the city who are repeatedly catching

up to the demands of their studies, careers and professions.

Whoever has seen this scenario would surely agree that what we have seen in our

Theology immersion is a life changing experience that helped us open our minds and hearts

to what work or labor truly means. We have seen the pureness and essence of the work

through their determination and perseverance. It can be observed that they rely solely on

their own skills and hard work and whatever it is that they already have in order to make

ends meet. While it‟s true that they do earn less in comparison to those who live the urban

areas, the work that they do is nonetheless commendable and it is not inferior because as

human beings they are entitled to their own work no matter how small or big it is.

There is a definitive affirmation that God has given man the absolute dominion of the

earth; that man has to subdue it. However, nowadays the contrary has transpired. The earth

has subdued man. It appears that work has not been good for man and for the whole

humanity since it did not become a catalyst for man to further develop his being. Work has

evolved into something that is essential for survival as well as the physical and material

aspect of human life, and in the process it does not value the dignity of the human person,

his satisfactions and contentment. In our fast-paced world and with all the promising works

brought about by the continuing advancement of science and technology, it is evident that

at times work gets the better end and man becomes merely an instrument of production.

This should not be so for although man and work are inseparable, work should not be used

to enslave man.

During our Theology practicum, we have adapted to the ways of our foster families

and in turn it led us to familiarizing their view point towards work or labor. Our foster families

in the Marilog district showed us that work truly is a human good, a basic human right and

an essential expression of the person for with work we acquire great satisfaction, creativity

and purpose. As a class, we personified the principle of the dignity of work by whole

heartedly taking part and embracing work for what it is. We let ourselves go by becoming

the type of persons who instinctively uphold the real essence of work as an expression of

ourselves and development of our talents for our own good and for the good of other

people. We used our own talents and skills to relate with our foster families, lighten up their

work, and bring smiles to their faces. With our presence, passion and great effort, we

believe that we somehow have contributed to the betterment of the communities in Marilog

District. Although we have been in the area for quite a small amount of time, we have

undoubtedly gone beyond the false precepts of labor and we have transformed ourselves

into individuals who creatively and purposely contribute to our society and environment

using our own efforts and earnest passion for work and for the people.

We college students sometimes forget to enjoy whatever is that we do, be it going to

school, studying for an exam, doing our community service, attending club activities, and

performing work all together because it is expected of us to do so. Man should always strive

to achieve fulfillment as a human being at every possible moment through doing hard work

and labor so that in the long run he will become more of himself, more of a human being.

Our experience in our Theology practicum will forever teach us the wonders and perks of

this unquestionable verity. We will always remember to aspire and achieve true satisfaction

in doing our work in whatever environment we are in, whoever we will be mingling with, and

in whatever imaginable time it would be. We will strive to be more human and not be

blinded by the ever-changing realities of the world we live in.

H. Universal Destination of Goods

“You Share, I Share”

By Edsel Yap

The universal destination of goods is the universal right of each individual to use the

goods of the earth. Each person must have access to the level of well being necessary for

his full development for God gave the earth to the whole human race for the sustenance of

all its members without excluding or favoring anyone.

This principle is manifested during the first day of immersion when the class arrived

at the Brgy. Suawan, bringing food for them to share with their assigned families. During the

second day, this principle is also manifested when students share their food with one

another, which shows unity and camaraderie.

Brgy. Suawan is also blessed with natural resources which they used for their

everyday living. Raising farm animals, planting vegetables, and selling coffee are some of

their livelihood. The rivers that surrounds them also serves as their playground, bathing and

laundry place, and the source of their drinking water. The entire place is an entire cycle of

sharing for everyone to use.

I. Preferential Option for the Poor

“Reach out”

By: Kristine Maghuyop

The practicum-immersion has been an avenue for the class to extend our hands to

our marginalized brothers and sisters. The experience was enlightening for the class.

Before the day of the immersion, the class was already informed that we will be assigned

toBrgy. Suawan. As we were assigned to our foster families, the class was able to have a

glimpse of what was it like living in their shoes even in a small span of time. Through the

interviews, the class had the chance to know their assigned foster family.

The community was an example of how the marginalized get by each day. The

residents of Brgy.Suawan were living simply during the time of our stay in the area. Some

residents grow their own crops for their own consumption as well as their source of income.

Others also utilize the nearby creek in the area which is a part of the watershed of Davao

City to wash their clothes even though it was prohibited. The experience was an opportunity

for the class to somehow have a different perception of how to live simply. Wherein,

gadgets were something that is for emergency use only since majority of the class didn‟t get

the chance to have a signal in the area. Social networking sites did not even matter since

the class was busy getting to know each of their foster families.

When the second day of the practicum-immersion arrived, everyone in the class was

very prepared on how to give back to the families that welcomed us into their homes. The

jeepneys that were assigned felt like it was too small because of the goods, and the gifts

that we wanted to give them. A sharing within the assigned foster family has also been

prepared as part of thanking them. The opportunity of being immersed in the area was very

surreal. It was like we were back to our childhood where gadgets were very minimal.

Children are playing outside the house running and knowing other kids in the area. An

overwhelming experience indeed for the class because everyone brought their own stories

on how it felt different to stay in such area as we went back to the city proper.

J. Solidarity

“Imagine”

By Adrian Resma

The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the

human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. In the aspect of solidarity, we

are taught that we belong to one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic,

economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers and sisters keepers, wherever

they may be. Loving our neighbor is basically the root aspect that would summarize all of

these. However, at the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace.

Pope Paul VI taught that if you want peace, work for justice. The Gospel calls us to be

peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a

world surrounded by violence and conflict.

Barangay Suawan is a small barangay located far south from Davao City. They are

not that influenced with modern technology and are basically living and depending on

natural resources. They don‟t have abundant supply of gadgets and technology that would

be able to do things easier for them. However they prefer on the old fashion way of doing

things. One example would be the reliance on the river for washing of their clothes and

dishes.

Their community is composed of people from the most lumad in that area to the

latest batch that originally came from other parts of the region. They also have a diverse

religion. Some of them are Roman Catholic, some belong to the Islam and others are part of

other religious alliance. Nevertheless they still harmonize in the same society. They respect

each other‟s religious practices even though they don‟t have a thorough knowledge about

the importance of each other‟s practices.

The difference in their social status in their community is not that far. However, we

can see that some houses has certain things that other houses would long or wish to have.

Nevertheless, these houses don‟t have gates in them. we bet that it is because they trust

their neighbors to respect their possession and won‟t do anything that would break that

trust. Finally, to close this article I would like to site a verse from Psalms 72 that said “Living

in right relationship with others brings peace.” As a class, we do believe that their

community is a perfect manifestation for this psalm.

K. Promotion of Peace

“Giving and Sharing”

By Gene Tesoro

Peace has always been among humanity's highest values. The most

disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war. We all wanted to have peace in our

lives. We give peace as we give love to our neighbors. We mean love to them as we give

unity to one another. In our immersion we have seen difference amongst us and other

people. We have seen gratefulness in their eyes as we share our time and happiness to

them. We generate satisfaction in short time with them in our immersion.

We were brought there to see how life was not the same as ours in the city. The

River, the tall trees and other things that are not usual that can be seen in our daily lives.

We were assigned to families that are part in Suawan, Marilog District. They are very

welcoming and generous as they serve us water and food for us to be energized from our

travel. We students from section 4 MK-A exchange their gratitude to us by helping them in

their chores and even feeding their pets. Peace is not for us humans only but also in nature

and in animals. Giving peace is like giving life to them.

We promote peace by following the rules and regulation of our teacher and of the

small community in Marilog. We asked advices on how we approach people and if we can

explore in a particular place in their place. Developing relationship creates peace as we

make friends with our fellow neighbors. We adapt how they live and get used on how they

act to keep mutual understanding from one another. We respect the people and give

importance in everything they said to us about their past lives and dreams for the future.

As an Atenean we promote peace by giving what we have and share it to others. We

build the foundation of love and unity to have peace in our nation. We start as a students

and finish it outside, in reality. Freedom is peace where love, joy and unity are abundant.

VI. PRACTICE OF CARDINAL VIRTUES

Editor: Emmanuel Joseph B. Sumatra

Introduction:

Richert (2013) defined cardinal virtues as the four primary moral virtues. These four

cardinal virtues are not the only virtues, but they are the cardes, the "hinges", on which all

the other virtues turn. These cardinal virtues are:

Prudence - Aristotle defined prudence as recta ratio agibilium, "right reason applied

to practice." It is the virtue that allows us to judge correctly what is right and what is

wrong in any given situation.

Justice - Justice, according to Saint Thomas, is the second cardinal virtue, because

it is concerned with the will. As Fr. John A. Hardon notes in his Modern Catholic

Dictionary, it is "the constant and permanent determination to give everyone his or

her rightful due." We say that "justice is blind," because it should not matter what we

think of a particular person. If we owe him a debt, we must repay exactly what we

owe.

Fortitude or Courage - Fortitude allows us to overcome fear and to remain steady in

our will in the face of obstacles, but it is always reasoned and reasonable; the

person exercising fortitude does not seek danger for danger's sake.

Temperance or Restraint - Temperance, Saint Thomas declared, is the fourth and

final cardinal virtue. While fortitude is concerned with the restraint of fear so that we

can act, temperance is the restraint of our desires or passions.

A. “Justice”

By: Christine Sanguer

Cardinal virtue is composed of 4 virtues that are moral virtues one of it is justice a virtue

that can be practiced by anyone. We know that cardinal virtues can be perfected through

continuous practice and eventually become a habit, we Christians are bound to practice

such virtue because of our natural rights and obligations not just to being humane but as

children of God. But, because of the rampant injustice and poverty that our society is facing

today other people tend to abuse and forget what justice is really is about, or what the

cardinal virtue really means of justice as virtue. Similar to the philosophical point of view

justice is not charity, thus it maybe provoked through charity, to render someone what is

rightfully for them. Thus, justice always requires proper precision in giving someone what is

really for them. The aim of this virtue is for good or positive.

We can really say that justice is indeed a very important virtue to be practice. Although

we know about justice and how to practice it morally by nature, the four (4) theology classes

we have taken in college have enlighten minds on how to properly practice justice in

rendering service to others and properly evaluate our act of justice for others not to abuse

what we will be rendering to them.

In the past two Sundays of our immersion we as a class have observed that most the

families living in Brgy. Suawan leave in the poverty line. The fact, that most of the families

have many children, and sometimes it is hard for them to provide even their physiological

needs, e.g. Food with proper nutrients, even education. We could say that justice is not

equally distributed in this community or the heads of the families was not properly oriented

or educated by the local government or NGO‟s on family planning and how manage little

amount of money to a big family. Although, is it not the duty of others to teach them how to

budget time and money, but it is also a form of helping and rendering service to our fellow

men. In these little ways we can serve or practice justice, there is an old saying that “Give a

man a fish, and you feed for a day; show him how to catch a fish, and you feed him for a

lifetime.” We as individuals need not to give money or anything that is convenient to those

who are need, but the knowledge, skills and support that we as a class or as a student have

to share to help them grow is what they really need that‟s how justice works.

B. “Temperance”

By: J

aine Suleik

Temperance is one of the cardinal virtue which refers to the act of restraining, the

control of one‟s desire and can be practice by anyone. As for our Theology Immersion,

during our classroom discussion our teacher provides us with the guidelines so that we

could be able to do the right things and avoid those unnecessary things that could make us

bad in the image of others. As a class we were being divided into two‟s in dealing with the

different families.

The two days of Immersion held at Purok 3, Suawan, Marilog District, Davao City is

said to be an experience of self-control. All of us students are there to be men and women

for others. But when the first visit in the place came, there was pair who were assigned to a

family who sells “tuba”. The family‟s house was near the barangay secretary‟s house. After

hours of talking, the grandfather of the family drank tuba, but in a controlled manner. This

act of him shows that he really controlled himself from temptation in order to obey the rules

that was being instructed to us and balance things according to situations. Moreover, these

simple acts that most of our classmates did made an impact during our visit in the place

because it did not make a bad record.

2 Peter 1:5-7 states, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your

faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with

endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with

love. This passage explains that on what we think is right we should do it right. We should

control ourselves from doing such things that is against to the will of God.”

C. “Prudence”

By: Rhen Recabe

According to Fr. John A. Hardon notes in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, Prudence

is the "Correct knowledge about things to be done or, more broadly, the knowledge of

things that ought to be done and of thing that ought to be avoided." Like the other three

cardinal virtue, it is a virtue that can be practiced by anyone. It is also the virtue of senses

and the outmost action of the inward life.

In our two days immersion in Suawan Marilog District, even with the time constraint,

we have already shared and experienced the daily living of the community in the area. The

community is really great that we were able to live out their simplicity in living life. The whole

class spent the day with their respective foster family where we learned new things about

life, how practicality and being wise in life matters.

We have experienced life living in an urban area and it is much more different in a

rural area. We cannot judge them on why they‟ve decided to live and settle their.

Furthermore, even if it is in an urban area or a rural area, what is more important is that we

are with our family and loved ones living happily and contented.

Prudence requires us to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. We

should carefully evaluate the counsel we receive from others and we must always keep in

mind that the definition of prudence requires us to judge correctly.

D. “Fortitude”

By: John Rufino

Fortitude is a cardinal virtue wherein it allows us to overcome fear and to remain

steady in our will in the face of obstacles. It gives us the courage to face our fear and

challenges and be able to conquer it.

As college students, it is our challenge to add another day in our week to work and

serve people who are not related to us. It will be a challenge for everyone to prepare for the

immersion and to wake up early every morning. But the thought of helping other people,

and be able to serve them despite the great distance, it made us rather excited and happy

to be part of this activity. It made us more emotionally and spiritually satisfied and happy,

even if our bodies are exhausted.

Before we had our immersion, many are still tired and not ready to do this activity.

Others fear that they may get too exhausted that they may not be able to accomplish other

requirements. However, when we were at the area, all of us were happily participating.

Everyone was alive and active to help and do other things with their own family. That is

where our fortitude is present.

VII. PRACTICE OF CLASS VALUES

Editors: Ching Garay and Irene Soberano

RESPECT

By Garret Aguilar

When we say respect, it means a lot of different things for different people. It includes taking

someone‟s feelings, needs, thoughts, ideas, wishes and preferences into consideration. It

also means taking all of these seriously and giving them worth and value.

Giving someone respect seems similar to valuing them and their thoughts, feelings, etc. It

also seems to include acknowledging them, listening to them, being truthful with them, and

accepting their individuality and idiosyncrasies.

During the class immersion, Suawan Village is home to different Lumads and Muslim tribes.

The cultural experience it brings truly amazing that one will wish to stay or to visit again and

again. As a class, we were able to meet and interact with the Lumads and Muslims. We

took a peek of their houses and adopted us like their own children. We learned their daily

living and also taste their simply prepared for us. Through this experience, they were able to

show us their respect.

The community is truly wonderful that we were able to learn their practices and share their

daily living to the students without any hesitations. The class spent the day and immersed

the community and learned their culture. We experienced respect by accepting us not just

like a visitor but their valuable children. Even we had different beliefs; they also respect us

like we treated them. They let us to stay with their houses and having a perfect for bonding

moments with our own perspective families. They showed respect to us by valuing us and

our feelings. They also acknowledge us by giving them simple token as our gratitude

towards them. The community itself were able to listen to us like interviewing them. They

respected the class even it is their first time to encounter us.

The immersion gives the class the opportunity to encounter aspects of Lumads and

Muslims culture through community service, input sessions, experiences and daily

reflection. Through this, as a class, the openness to receive and be enriched by their

respect and y hospitality were able to give the opportunity to every one of us.

HUMILITY

By Jenny Grande

In our first visit last August 11, 2013 in Suawan, Marilog District was worth remembering.

When we arrived at the place, some were happy, nervous, excited, and became uneasy of

the new environment we will be encountering.

When it is the time for us to be in our foster families, the first thing we observed in the field

was on how humble our foster parents to us, the other classmates also did the same as well

as me and my partner Edward. Being humble is another way of giving them the respect and

be understanding in every situation. As we get along with our foster parents we were able to

show that we respect each other and considered that were like children to our foster

parents.

We showed how important the way their living is, we kept in our mind that every single one

of them will be respected and understand own belief and perspective in life. We will always

stay modest in a way they will accept us from being a nuisance for a while because we tend

to ask questions about their lives and the way of living. We do respect and showed them the

best humble way we can to show them that we were sincere by accepting us in their

respective homes.

In our final visit to the place, we were happy and sad because we had a really great time

with them. As our simple thank you, we were able to give them token of appreciation in our

own simple ways.

Over the past 2 days immersion we have anticipated that understanding their situation

would broaden our hearts into opening another culture that would help us in understand on

what real life is.

“Confidence comes from DISCIPLINE and training”

By Jaydee Laorden

Our class immersion experience is related to the quote above. We became confident on our

immersion because of the things that our teacher taught to us on how and what things that

we should do in our immersion. We could not do what our teacher taught to us without

discipline. With discipline and training we handled being with the people in Suawan, Marilog

and made activities that are very memorable as an experience to us.

On our immersion in Suawan, the class was much disciplined. There are no students who

did irresponsible things or actions. Even the students who usually smoke didn't smoke.

There are no students who drank alcoholic drinks. All went so well in our immersion and

every student in the class did well on every activity for the immersion. Except one thing,

there are student who went to the river. The class was not restricted to go to the river but

they just forgot to ask permission to our teacher.

The people in Suawan, Marilog were also very disciplined. They entertained every student

and they welcome then very nicely. The environment was clean and the people might really

clean their place always which is a sign of discipline.

UNITY

“Unison in Mind and Spirit”

By Lloyd Emmanuel Oppus

As a class, we were able to interact with one another harmoniously. We are openly

passionate about how we feel. We did not hide our emotions. With that in mind, we felt that

we were able to communicate better.

Even before our immersion in Suawan, Marilog District. We were already in unison.

It was visible during our class meetings way before the immersion even started. There were

hardly any disagreements and if there was, it was properly dealt with within the class

sessions.

Another instance of the class unity was during our trip going to the immersion site.

Even though the journey was not that ideal, we made it more comfortable by way of

showing our camaraderie like singing in the jeepney and having a few laughs along the

way. Because of that unity, it made the trip for us more memorable and significant. Upon

reaching the immersion site, our unity was once again tested. During the first day, we felt

anxious not knowing what to expect, but by having each other‟s backs, we were able to

somehow find comfort and calmness during those times and it made our first day better

than what we had expected.

Upon the second day of the immersion, the class proved its undivided approach in

dealing with the community. As we saw it, we all practiced respect and courtesy as we were

the visitors of the place. Having established rapport on the first day, we felt more at home

and at ease with the foster homes we were assigned to. We all helped around the houses

in any way we could. By doing so, we were somehow able to show our ways as individuals

and more importantly our identity as a class. As part of this immersion, we felt pride and joy

on what we saw on the field. We could say that without unity, our immersion trip would not

be this successful. Good communication and unity in thought and practice made the trip

easier than we had expected it to be. It only goes to show that Ateneans are men and

women of character and class.

PURITY

By Dexter John Pejo

First of all, what is purity? What comes to our mind when we hear about the word “purity”?

According to Merriam-Webster, it is a quality or state of being pure. In the case of our

immersion in Suawan, Marilog district Davao City, the “purity” there was the idea or purpose

of helping other people. Especially those who are less fortunate compared to us as students

of Ateneo de Davao University, nonetheless, less fortunate in a sense, financially,

psychologically, physically, mentally, emotionally & spiritually.

As a class we really tried our best to establish rapport with our foster family and other foster

families and even to the community as a whole. We woke up early in the morning without

even really enjoying the Kadayawan Festival the day before the last day for the sake of

really going to the immersion on the given Sunday schedule. We as a class sacrificed our

time and to-do‟s during Sundays. However we did it all not just to have our grades in Theo

141 class but to be men and women for others as well. To put into action what we have

been imparted in school, what we have been taught especially in our Theo classes.

In the case of the community that we as a class were assigned to, they were pure in a

sense that they accepted us in their community, and even in their homes. They were pure

enough to answer all our questions without even asking why we are asking such questions.

Some of the questions in the interview were private but still they answered them, knowing

that we are strangers to them but they still trusted us with such information. The “purity” in

the community was that they live a simple life yet still be happy and contented about it. They

may be a part of Davao City but some of the families live like they are not. They don‟t even

know much about the city, they are so simple that they do almost the same things every

day. They are pure because they are free from temptations and from what vitiates, weakens

or pollutes that are often experienced in the City proper.

Even in their environment, it is evident that they are not polluted; they breathe fresh and

clean air. Their water supply may not be that good but they make use of their nearby river

as a means of washing their clothes as well as themselves, and make a leisure time out of it

too. The lack of education and experience of most of the people in Suawan makes them

pure, for they are free from moral fault or guilt. With regards to their ancestry, they are not

pure, because most of them have combined or mixed ancestral blood. Purity with the

immersion experience in Suawan made us realize as a class the value of life and our

education. That we are so blessed not just by being in college but also for being able to help

and gain wisdom from our immersion.

ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY

By Margarette Poe

Days before the immersion everyone were paired to someone. Each of the partners was

responsible to the other. The partners are to rely on each other throughout the immersion if

one needed help the other would be there ready and able. They are to make sure that the

other is well prepared that on the day of the immersion that they won‟t forget to bring the

essentials like money, food, water and others. The partners have to coordinate their time as

not to be late on the immersion, and if one of the pair would be late that pair would have to

inform the other pair and deicide on what to do.

On the day of the immersion most of the class was early, some were waiting for their

partner to arrive and others for the time. Each of them was making sure that their partner

brought the things they were ask to bring. Making sure they have not forgotten anything and

that they are ready for what is to come. On first day of the immersion everyone in class

showed that they are accountable and responsible students. No one missed behave and

disappoint their partner and their foster family. Being responsible is not only shown on how

one can perform their duty or obligation properly but also thru their actions or decisions

made without anyone‟s supervision. Even without the professor or a representative of the

foundation to guide us through the immersion the class was able to accomplish what was

the task in hand and that was to lighten the work of our foster family to know them better

and experience their life.

On the second and final day of the immersion most of the class was still able to show being

accountable and responsible. Some of the class did more than what is expected of them to

do during the immersion. There were also some who could have done better to help their

partner. There were students that should have brought things with them but did not. Some

left all the responsibility to their partner and cause a lot of stress to that partner. Some did

not execute what they and their partners decided to do. There were lapses and as much we

try to avoid those things sometimes we just can‟t, all we can do is learn from them and try

not to do it again.

Overall the class did a good job. Though there things that needs improvement especially

being accountable and responsible to our decisions. A part from that the class was able to

live by the values that were decided on what a person should be like.

GENEROSITY

By Jazmin Faith T. Quibin

Whenever someone mentions the word „generosity‟, one would usually think of the act of

giving or providing the fundamental things in life to the people who are in need of such

things. It is often associated with the word „charity‟ because being generous is a charitable

act. This word is, as people would say, overused because people often say this word

without really understanding it beneath the surface. People often use this word when they

refer to merely giving of things, but what exactly does the word „generosity‟ entail?

According to Merriam-Webster, the word „generosity‟ is defined as an act of unselfishness,

an abundance of giving something in benefit of the other. The word denotes an act of giving

something that will help another person. During the practicum immersion, many students

were seen bringing food and other essential things. One might immediately assume that

these students brought along said items because it is a requirement in their subject. They

are obliged to give whatever they can because they are required to do so. However, it can

also be seen that these students brought more than what is necessary. Not only did these

students bring along certain materials, they brought along very important values during the

practicum immersion: dedication and sincerity of act.

To be generous does not merely mean that one person is charitable because he/she is

willing to give something to the other person. The definition of being generous lies in that

line, but there is more to giving than meets the eye. The intention to give must be present,

and not only the desire of a person to have his/her act recognized by other people. Being

generous means that a person is dedicated to give what he can afford to give to another

person. This dedication also involves the sincerity of one‟s actions because that person

must be willing to give and sacrifice what he has in order to help other people. This type of

dedication must be given by a person whole-heartedly in order for it to be considered

sincere.

The practicum immersion has helped our class in realizing our true potential as persons for

others. The generosity shown by the students of Ateneo de Davao University is founded on

the dedication and sincerity that each student possesses. Being involved with such activities

has helped us realize the significance of being dedicated and authentic in giving what we

can give and in helping other people in need.

PATIENCE

By Mary Jane Rivera

The one skill that most people do not have but would most definitely benefit from would be

patience. It is a value in which some of us are lacking. “Patience is a virtue” as they say. But

when could we say that we are practicing our being patient?

The two-day immersion that our class had was a great experience for all of us. It was a

great opportunity for us to mingle with the people in Brgy. Suawan, Marilog. Despite of the

long hours of travel from Roxas to Marilog, the class never complained about it. In fact, we

were all very excited to meet our foster family and reach out with them. The heat of the sun,

as well as the thirst and hunger that the class felt during the immersion was never a

hindrance for us to reach out in the community. Some of us walk miles away from the gym

where we stand by but upon walking, I saw the eagerness and determination of my

classmates as they whey were on their way to their assigned family. On the second Sunday

of immersion, some of my classmates grilled pork for their lunch with their foster family.

Some were also playing with different children in the community. While some were helping

in doing the household chores and trying to make their foster parents feel good. This only

shows that everybody in the class has good values in them such as PATIENCE.

I could say that through this two-day immersion, the class realized the value of patience

most especially in dealing with other people in the society. We might not know them that

much but through the values that we have, we learned to appreciate them and ride on with

their way of life. I think that having PATIENCE as a value will help us to become a better

Christian.

Honesty

By Carl Noli Bolo

“Honesty is the best policy”. Honesty, by its common definition, refers to a facet of

moral character and connotes positive and virtuosattributes such as integrity, truthfulness,

and straightforwardness, including straightforwardness of conduct, along with the absence

of lying. Also, honesty means being trustworthy, sincere and most importantly, being

truthfull to others.

The practicum- immersion days was a challenge for us. The experience we had

tested our conduct of honesty and integrity. It challenged us on how to associate with the

families assigned to us. It really challenged ourselves. From the experience we had, It

taught us to be honest in all our actions specially in engaging and associating with others

because by extending the virtue of honesty with them, they could also express themselves

positively and critically and help us build relationship and establish intimate connection with

them. On every relationships, honesty is very important because it makes each one to have

mutual feelings with our partners. Also, from the experience we had, we also learned to be

honest with ourselves. To be responsible to our own actions and avoid blaming others when

we commit mistakes. It also taught us to be honest about our feelings, think of the

consequences when we are not truthful and most importantly, when confronted with

situations, we always think of others.

Perseverance

By Sabella

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you

already did (by Newt Gingrich). It is not just by doing hard work, you need to have fun in

order foryoutoget the most positve way with the job that you are assign to do. Working hard

isnotaneasy thing to do,you need to excert more effort to get an effective job and good

result of your hard work. The result of the effort that we put together is a success, with the

combination of all our informaions gathered and information to help the people in barangay

suwawanmarilog.

Waking up early in the morning was the hard part of our practicum, some of us came

from far places and some just sleep late because it is a Saturday. During the dawn of the

Sunday we need to get ready with the things we need to bring during our practicum, and be

ready for the things that are new to us. Some of us were excited and most of us were tired,

because most of us have not sleep well the night before the practicum. We all need to

persevere in order to be positive in the day of the practicum.

On the first day of the practicum, we were all tired upon arriving on the area. When

the JSF staffs assign us to our respectable families, some of us are excited and some are

nervous because, we don‟t know the behaviour and attitude of these families. By the end of

the day of our first day, we were all tired but gladly we got the information and the

experience we need for our practicum.

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and

above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and

that this thing must be attained (by Marie Curie). This proverb explain the experience of our

practicum. It may not be easy but that confidence we have as ateneians were

overwhelming. The confidence that build us was the ATENEO confidence the “proud

atenista” who are ready to be engage in battle and take the challenge and will not

surrender. This confidence was the one the make our practicum fun and easy and to

persevere more, because the purpose of our practicum is not just to pass the THEOLOGY

141 but to help and share the life of the people in barangay suwawanmarilog. With the

combination of all the values that we have, the practicum was a success because, we did

not just attend the practicum just because it was a requirement, because we ateneans just

want to help people that is needed to be help.

VIII. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Editor-in-Chiefs would like to acknowledge:

The people from the Brgy. Suawan, Marilog District. We would like to thank them for being

the key points of our entire experience in the immersion. All the simple talks and insights

about life in general has helped us shape up not just this report, but the aspects in our lives

that we needed to adjust. Their compassion and kindness for us students never went

unnoticed, and their willingness to take the time off just to cater to us still touched our

hearts.

The Jose Segovia Foundation for doing what they can to assist the people of Brgy. Suawan

and collaborating with us with our immersion.

The Ateneo de Davao University for simply making this all happen. Thank you for giving us

another way on how to shape ourselves into being men and women for others, or in other

words, true Ateneans to our society.

Lastly, but certainly not the least, to Maam Dayrit. It still astounds us students to this very

day on how your kindness and patience towards us never went unwaivered. Even during

times of our mischievious ways, you still took the time to set us straight and guide us to

being better students. Our class experience in Theology 141 would have never been this

memorable if it weren‟t for you, maam.

References:

http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/p/Justice.htm

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/give-a-man-a-fish.html