If San Juan produces little waste, recycles materials, has renewable energy, then San Juan is safe. Safe from the immediate effects of pollution, lack of water and food, too much trash and etc. San Juan is sustainable when, it can produce electricity, clean water, and food without relying on arge corporate companies to provide them with these necessities. San Juan is strong when everyone in the community can unite and work together towards one common goal. All these are measured through observation. Observation of how clean the streets are, how much clean energy they produce, how much water they can filter for themselves and etc. Once in the Barangay we also have to note how people interact with each other weather there is an atmosphere of trust or distrust amongst neighbors. Some of the things I wish to ask the kagawad are what they are doing to help the environment and the people in their community, what type of projects do they have or want to have and etc, weather the local government has made efforts to implement clean energy or if the residents are taking initiative to use/create clean energy.
In order to find the project I want to do I need to discern what is it I truly want to do, what I want my contribution to the community to be, and also what would God want me to tackle and try to fix/implement. I think a good project would be something that is significant to me like being able to provide everyone with cheap clean water. This is because anything that one does that does not involve God or is not back by the wisdom of God will eventually fail and fall apart. By having a project that is significant to me will make me want to properly work on it because it is what I really want. My two dominant feelings when the task was handed to me were excitement and fear. I was excited to be able to make a possible change in the community by trying to make a plan to help the environment and presenting it to government officials. Sadly while there was excitement there was also fear. I was scared that I might waste this opportunity to make a change for the better, I was scared to mess up in front of officials effectively hurting my and the school’s reputation, and my project not being impactful enough to event turn heads.
The Barangay I went to was Barangay Santa Lucia which was around 2-5 minutes from Xavier. Upon arriving at the Barangay I instantly notice how quite and seemingly peaceful the place was, while there was noisy construction there wasn’t a lot of trash lying around, no negative atmosphere, people were just jolly. I noticed how where ever I turned I would see buildings and the occasional tree or plant. Then when I was in the Barangay hall I was able to get a higher perspective of the are and I barely saw any plants. The area was littered with buildings and cars, plants were scarce, but I saw the people interacting. The old were joking with the elderly as well as helping them out, the middle aged were laughing while working on setting up tents and posters, the community looked so united and joyful. I believe that the cause of present condition in the Barangay is over population and effective modes of transportation. Over poplutation increased the need of land causing people to tear down trees for extra land for buildings as well a materials, but due to land being scarce now neighbors live so closely together that they form bonds and make the community more united. The effective modes of transportation lets people move from place to place increasing the residents of Sta.Lucia. I think that the present condition if Sta.Lucia is a fruit of prudent decision making. This is because the government officials didn’t make projects like their weekly classes for different occupations and community gardens not for them but rather for the betterment of their community and its members. The government let this much infrastructure be built so that its residents might have home, although they could have done it better the delicious they make are not biased and they somewhat take into account the future that their acts may bring. I think the main concern of the place is about renewable resources like energy, water and food. This is because San Juan wont be sustainable if the energy and resource they use aren’t. San Juan is also not safe due to the pollution produced by food processing plants, as well as water purification and electricity generating plants. San Juan isn’t strong if the people of San Juan compete against each other for cheaper resources because instead of sharing they compete for it. I believe with the situation the because project would be something that tackles renewable resources.
In the task my two dominant feelings were happiness and fear. Happiness because I’m taking one step to help make San Juan eco friendly and fear that I mess up and get a low grade. Wile doing the task discernment was helpful in trying to decide what type of project God and I would want to cover. Prudence was helpful in making unbiased decisions like decision of labor within the group, and decisions regarding peer evaluations. Discernment was useful in trying to figure out what type of project I would be covering because at first I was torn between covering rainwater filtration systems or small scattered community vegetable gardens. Through evaluating my reason for wanting each topic and asking/praying to God for wisdom on what project it best for me and the community I got rainwater filtration. Prudence was helpful in getting the work done by making unbiased decisions of labor everyone got the assignment that he had the capability to do and we got the work done on time. My understanding of these concepts were deepened because I was able to experience it in real life.
In my opinion, the proposals my group gave are relevant to real-world problems. The rainwater filtration systems can provide places with accessable water if the community lives far from clean water. The gardening proposals will help in populating the areas without much food or plant life with both. The rainwater filtration system will save the residents of Sta.Lucia about 2-3 months of water bills per year and the gardening will provide them with food. This advocacy is of prudent judgement because it not only thinks of me but of others and it wil impact the future heavily. These projects will lead to prudential judgment in the community because the community will have to use prudence in the allocation of resources.
In this project I have learned more about how I need Godin making the right decisions and also about the problems right next to me. I’ve helped my group mates make the website and the difference papers and I have hindered them when I gave my edited video late. The most challenging moment was when I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do. It was hard because it was due in 2 days and I was torn. The most powerful learning moment was when I consulted God for it opened my eyes to how much I needed God in decision making. If ever I need to make decions in the future I know I can rely on God to help me out.
KalikaSAN JUAN 