Community Service Center
How it started?
As early as 1980, the Augustinian Fathers
started planning for a venue where all its students, faculty members
and non-academic personnel could share as one their resources and
expertise, as commitment to community development, thus, the creation
of the Community Service Center and the formulation of Tilipunan
Community Development Program (TCDP).
The University through the Center would like to
impart among the Augustinians the true meaning of service through
volunteerism. To ensure full participation of Augustinians, the TCDP
services are captive of all the competencies of the 9 departments of
the university.
The Center's TCDP is guided by the Universitys motto "virtus et scientia"
which means -- the development of the person to enable him to improve
his life. This development would involve the acquisition of basic
skills as well as access to resources and opportunities.
The core
philosophy of TCDP is self-help and it is based on the firm conviction
that the disadvantaged poor, can and do want to help themselves.
The Center's program departs from the traditional
style of welfare and dole-outs to the poor. It utilizes a systematic
and developmental approach to technical, vocational and life skills
training, a distinct management of resources participatory planning and
implementation, monitoring and evaluation in all its projects.
This is possible with the use of management
techniques and methods hand in hand with the social development
theories and approaches. Hence, the development of projects is a
carefully planned process together with the Tilipunan members with
ample consideration of environmental factors, available resources and
institutional competencies.
Our Guiding Principles
The University of San Agustin -- Community
Service Center implements an extension program that is founded on the
following principles:
Addressing Significant Problems
The problem
should be common to a significant number of people and the program
being implemented will have a direct and permanent impact to the target
community.
Working with people
The program is founded
on the belief that development is everyone's concern and above all, the
people's decision and determination. Thus, in the formulation of a
program, the people in the community for always will be the subject and
object of development. In addition, the center works in partnership
with people by respecting their culture, dignity and experience.
Every community development endeavor is a joint
responsibility with community members for problem identification,
prioritization, planning, implementing and evaluation.
Sustainability
The USA-CSC's intervention
is short-term whereas, the development process is continuous.
Therefore, every project should incorporate strategies to maintain and
continue the project beyond its, life, eventually promoting community
initiative.
Fundamental changeThe program should
promote a change in the attitude of the community. at the end of the
program implementation, the people in the community should have greater
control over their lives.
Our Vision
The Community Service Center through the
Tilipunan Community Development Program seeks to attain competence in
development management through program and projects, which promote
innovation, self-reliance and entrepreneurship and also contribute to
community and university development.
Our Goals
The Community Service Center aims to:
- Promote entrepreneurship, self-reliance and innovation in the management of community and human resources;
- Provide community with easy access to productive resources like technology, skilled and basic social services;
- Build and share the Center's capabilities on community service, program and development management.
Program Services
The Community Service Center's Tilipunan is a tripartite program with the following services:
Basic Social Services (BSS)
This program
component seeks to link the community members and their groups to
sources of basic social services. Areas of assistance include health
and nutrition, environmental sanitation, medical and dental, cultural
and education services.
Specially, the BSS will cover the following:
- Educational projects like elementary education
assistance, pre-school development project, reading and community
development information desk.
The Tilipunan Integrated Pre-school Project will be
supported by the Adopt-A-Day-Care-Child Project. Academic
units/departments will provide additional support to the educational
needs of the child. - Health and nutrition projects will have dental and
medical consultation, clinical laboratory tests, immunization,
deworming and barangay water system installation. These projects will
be complemented by information drive campaigns and education on
paramedics, dental health, herbal medicine, drug addiction and natural
family planning. - Environmental Sanitation Projects (ESPs). The
primary component of ESPs will be education and information drive
campaign on waste disposal management and greening activities like tree
planting and vegetable gardening. - Cultural projects include sports and theater arts development among youth and children.
Alternative Community Education Services (ACES)This
program component aims to provide family members with vocational and
technical skills necessary to increase productivity and income, and
life skills which are important in the promotion of family life
development and strengthening of the family values system.
ACES would have two (2) major components:
- Life skills training program focused on values,
family life and spiritual formation. This will include education on
personal growth, life with others, living in a community and self in
relation to God.
Family life development program would deal with
responsible parenthood, and para-legal services on family code, women,
child abuse and child labor. - Techno-vocational skills training program
Micro enterprise Development Services (MEDS)
The
development of the capabilities of program participants and groups to
manage micro enterprise includes the identification, development and
management of micro enterprise projects complemented by organizational
building, cooperative development and appropriate technological
assistance and linkages-building assistance.
Community Partners
The end-goal of all our community development
efforts are the urban poor families of Ilolo City. Since 1980, the USA
Community Service Center, works with the families in the 9 barangays in
Tanza District, namely: Tanza Timawa, Tanza Baybay, Tanza Bonifacio,
Tanza Esperanza, Rizal Pala-pala, Rizal Estanzuela, Hipodromo, Delgado
Mabolo, and Villa Anita. In 1996, the center expands its service to the
families in Barangay Sambag, Jaro, Iloilo City.
