Based on data provided to me by the PCPS team, I compiled in this document all the pertinent information about the project. This is part 1 of a study I am making to compare and contrast the three different public school computerization efforts in the country.

PCPS

I sat through a pleasant Chinese dinner with two foreigners talking about the job market and salaries in the Philippines. I know I have done well given the industry I had to contend in, but hearing my job history narrated by an intelligent and sympathetic foreigner friend, reminded me of the shit I had to endure by sticking out here in the Philippines.

He had to talk about it but I already forgot.

I forgot how tough it has been to refuse my family when they were pushing me out of the country so I could be a part of the Filipino diaspora. I forgot how awful it was to continue doing work I valued that my family neither understood nor supported.

I forgot how bad it was to make 12k monthly salary work. I was a great student and I am good at my job but a lot of my other friends were earning so much more than I was. Until now, I am used to not buying the latest technologies because I became accustomed to waiting for cheaper versions.

Every society gives lip service to the importance of research. Policy-makers commend efforts of researchers in development. I pursued that track. I am still there. But lip service does not translate to budget allocations.

I forgot how much my back hurt after a 10 hour trip from Ilocos. We were a team doing a research for a local government and I had no choice but to squeeze in ten people in a van. The budget I was working with was too little to fit in another vehicle. I have experienced being booked in rooms so small, I couldn’t even stretch to do a proper push-up at night. Or that I had to grit my teeth bathing on mornings because there is no hot water in the cheap hotel my per diem could afford.

My friend described the lives of my peers who studied abroad. They learned about reform in nice libraries with brilliant peers and professors. I am learning about government reform by running 9-day training workshops on project development and project management.

I don’t begrudge my peers abroad. They are brilliant and they deserved to be treated well. I am just saying, this is the kind of life waiting for someone who wanted to stay.

I was not naive. I prepared myself for this life. I saw my mentors who trudged in a life of the modest UP professors. That is why I never complained about this.

But hearing it from someone else, I am reminded that while it may be expected, it is still not right.

Beyond the physical and financial strains, I know that the intellectual setbacks hurt the most. It is hard to see people you admired for so long being nothing but a mercenary. It is disillusioning to believe in a progressive movement that is made up of petty frauds. If you sense cynicism about development in my blog, it was definitely earned.

I forgot how much I hated how foreigners treated local researchers like us. There was once a foreign client who did not even deign to personally address me for a workshop I organized for him. He had his assistant talk to me.

One thing I have not forgotten though is how much I hate the guts of people who speak of more than what they can deliver. There are A LOT of intellectuals, leaders, and policymakers who casually throw big concepts around. Development, democracy, freedom, emancipation, self-determination, and so on… those are all big ideas some people have used for personal gain. But they cannot execute.

There is a certain naivete that thinking of ideas is enough. Making things happen is what counts. There are very few I know who were able to execute.

Another thing I am constantly reminded of is how hypocritical and superficial it is to be forced to take higher degrees so I could be promoted. In the field that I am in, I have more experience than the professors who are putting my credentials together. I have already written and published reports that could have been a thesis already. But here I am, going through the motions again.

I had to travel so I could remember the hardships I have gone through so far to make it here.  I had to remember the utter lack of support and nurturing environment provided to people like me in this country. I remember the depressing discussions over cups of coffee with my colleagues. A lot of us are looking for guidance but the people who could help are already out of the country.

I know that I need to spend some time outside of the country as well. If I want to stay at the top of my game, I need to spend time in a community that knows how to guide the development of someone like me. There is only so much self-study can accomplish.

I will not trade what I have accomplished in the past eight years for anything. I just remembered that I wished it has been so much easier.

Not just for me, but for my peers as well. Not just in policy, but for science and technology too.

Being in development work generally sucks. I think about that now since two people already asked me the other day about how to get in development work. As I rattle of names of organizations they can consider, I keep on thinking to myself, ‘I hope you won’t hate me for this.’

Development work could be the most frustrating thing you can involve yourself in. Gains are not tangible and impact can only be seen after years. The work is definitely thankless and sometimes, it does not pay well. On the times that development work pays well, you have to wonder if you are paid through another loan by the country.

If you are paid for by a loan, you carry on that added pressure. You are spending taxpayer’s money so you have to do this as efficiently as you can. Then people are also counting on you, so it tends to drain a lot of energy from you.

When you enter a project, it is like jumping on the belly of the beast that swallowed Gandalf in the first Lord of the Rings. You try to take on the small things because the big issues are scary. I am probably not making sense to some of you, unless you have gone through the same.

Despite the grim picture I am painting, there is one thing that makes me happy to be in development work. On Sundays, it is good to wake up and know that I will be seeing the kids at the learning center today. There are disappointments about establishing that center. There are definite frustrations. But, working with the kids is not one of them.

I will not claim that the project will change their lives forever. Or that it will provide them with a pathway outside of poverty. But I know that for a couple of hours, the kids are learning. They gain access to books they would not have otherwise touched. They talk to adults who are not their teachers.

So I wake up, thinking about the activities we will do today. Never mind the rest, those do not matter in the bigger scheme of things. What matters is that a kid sits beside me and willingly offers half of her chocolate to me. Or that another kid talks to me excitedly about his brothers. Or that another kid proudly presents a drawing he made.

Development work sucks. You cannot believe the amount of red-tape one goes through if they want change done. Program Officers spend their weekends filling up monitoring forms. All for what? Expensive projects with negligible results.

The only fool proof advice I can really give is try to work directly with the segment you want to help. Because by then, they stop becoming ‘beneficiaries’ or ‘recipients’. They become people whose names you know. They become friends you care about.

Just maybe, this will work.

This is familiar to some of you already. I know that it is pretty common for people to spend time at orphanages and elders’ homes during Christmas season.

There is something about it that I am not comfortable with.

About individual gifts/ packages of clothes or food:

I am not comfortable with this because it skews expectations of the recipients. For the whole year, we have been making do with sharing pens, colors, and pencils. I have been insisting that they clean up and take care of the books because we only have a few. Then, there would be a time in the year when those rules are overturned.

Instead of individual packages, it would be better if they just donate items that the center needs.

About one-time only appearances:

The center relies on volunteers. That would mean that people really come and go. But I can tell you that the kids look for the volunteers. They notice that someone has not been back for some time. They notice that it is just me. They learn that some people  do not come back.

Having someone who will only come on Christmas only seems so fake.

More on one-time only appearances:

Another ugly part about Christmas charity events is that some people come in there without any idea on what to do. Some will awkwardly stand on the side (I am guilty of this) and some will even require attention from the organization. Like they would require special seats, they need to be entertained, and so on.

It should be about the recipients, not the donors.

Some suggested guidelines:

1. Know the organization before planning an event with them. What do they need? Who do they serve? What do they do on a regular basis? In what ways can individuals help?

2. Consider passing up on the event in lieu of donating to the organization. Instead of a party, maybe there are other items that the organization can use throughout the year.

3. Come in prepared. Brief everyone about their specific roles and tasks. It is ugly to see people who are smoking and standing at the side while festivities are going on. If there are too many people who signed up, consider telling them not to come.

4. Consider making a regular commitment instead. It does not necessarily mean that you would have to work with kids or elderly automatically. It is still an organization. An organization that accomplishes several processes to function. A regular commitment could mean fixing lighting for free or doing their ledgers at a discounted rate.

Conclusion:

I know it is awful to think about it. But truth is, sometimes good intentions are useless. One time Christmas events can end up causing harm or taking up more effort than needed.

Put in some careful thought. Respect the processes in place. Be realistic in your expectations.

Then your Christmas event just might work.

Anyway, so I have been volunteering my services for the past 6 months now. The biggest thing I offer is technical capacity. I know that the highlight of my interaction with the barangay is the computer units, but the real change agent has been technical competencies. I do not even need to pull out the big guns like development planning or business process re-engineering. I just offered basic project management and resource mobilization skills.

The Basic Skills

So for those who are interested in pulling off a similar working arrangement with a barangay, I suggest you ensure that you have the following skills:

• Proposal writing
• Letter writing
• Report writing

Even I smiled when I read the bullet-points. But it is true. The barangay does not really care if we use constructionism or traditional classroom methods. It does not care if the computer units are in XP or Windows 7. The first important thing you must master is the ability to get the papers moving. Hence, the endless writing.

I write a lot of request letters. I write to companies to get more resources. I draft a letter for the Mayor for an AC unit. I write to potential volunteers so I could get the help I needed.

After those activities, I write status reports. I am particular about this part. Some people hate doing status reports. I like doing status reports. One thing I have learned is that the winners for some contests are not necessarily the best ones. They just happen to be the ones who had the diligence and determination to fill up as many forms as possible.

Continued support happens because of results. Not doing the documentation for a project is one way to lose the community’s support.

The Soft Skills
I have found success by mixing the basic skills with some soft skills. People who claim that government should act in a rational and professional manner are naive. This is the Philippines we are talking about. It is a bureaucracy that uses videoke as a rite of passage for outsiders.

You will have to adjust. I was able to adjust by using some of these soft skills.

1. Tenacity

Whenever I read rants from people about working with government, I wonder if the government institution is really bad or they just did not have enough social skills to make it work.

Here is one truth. I have been asking the barangay to print out some flyers for the past two weeks. It has not been able to because my point person said that they cannot open/ print a PDF. So here is a perfect opportunity for me to whine and complain about inefficient and ineffective government employees.

However, I did not do that.

I went there and installed another PDF reader in their unit. Does it seem too much work? Probably. But I am of the opinion that when I really want something done, I refuse to quibble over the small stuff. Adobe Reader should not be and will not be an obstacle. If that is enough to turn you off, then this is not the vocation for you.

2. Understanding of the politics at work

Some projects work with better political support. Some projects work with none at all. That is the roll of the dice. I deal with it.

This means ensuring that all the proper people are adequately recognized. Expressing profuse gratitude and uploading tons of photos if necessary.

This would also mean creating the presentations for general assemblies and doing the necessary research during budget season.

This also entails enough savvy so as not to unknowingly step on anyone’s toes. Some people approach this differently. I have so far worked with staying in the background, doing the legwork, and letting the politicians take credit for the work.

Extra Points

I once read that it is best to volunteer in one’s own neighborhood. This is because you become familiar with the social, economic, and political factors at play that might affect the project. I tend to be left in the center alone lately since the other volunteers come from other cities and they have to commute to volunteer.

I know that it will not be sustainable over the long term.

I am addressing this problem in three ways:

• Looking for volunteers from within the community (Results so far = 1 volunteer)
• Training the learners to manage the center themselves. There is a table for tasking on the wall and the older kids are briefed already on what to do. They seem to appreciate the responsibility.
• Partnering with companies near the vicinity. (I think 1 company is already thinking of ‘adopting’ the center so they will provide support for the activities.)

Final Words
I have earned my money doing some projects I either did not believe in or did not would work out. I have hurried activities in order to ensure the required outputs, even if the goals are sometimes sacrificed. I accept that comes with the territory of working in development.

Volunteering here has given me a different kind of freedom. Because there are no conditionalities, except mutual trust, the learning center is allowed time to develop and figure out its direction. Until now, I cannot present a logframe. I am still not sure.

So far though, the barangay has only been spending for electric bills. And they see proof that the center is operating and the learners look happy to be there.

Let’s see what happens next.

* Barangay is the smallest unit of the local government system in the Philippines.

The whole Christmas propaganda serves charitable institutions well. The season screams of messages of sharing your blessings and giving to the less fortunate. BER season is doing the job for most Fundraisers and Resource Mobilization Officers already.

While we are all high with the thought of sharing and giving, I have been on the other side of the equation. I have experienced collecting and packing stuff to be given away to some needy families. I have asked (and am still asking) around for donations from different organizations and individuals.

Here is one ugly truth behind the donations you give. Some of them are not that useful. Some of them are nice but it requires purchase of peripherals that the organization cannot afford. Some of them are creating headaches that are not worth the value of the donation.

And finally, some are just goddamned insulting.

Are any of those familiar? Did any of you give out tangerine gowns to families who lost their homes to a fire? Did you proudly hand-out expensive wine when you knew that the neighbourhood will not own a corkscrew? Or did you even nastily include tattered underwear in your clothes donations?

I will be nice and give you the benefit of the doubt in case you did any of those things. I collated these guidelines to help you better decide on what and how to give donations that the recipients will be completely thankful to receive.

In case you are already thinking that poor people cannot afford to be choosy and they should be thankful with any little crap you can give, then go away. This post is not for you.

But if you are sincere with your gift-giving/ donating and you want to know that you somehow helped out in your own way, then these are some of the guidelines I established based on years of experience in development work.

Tip #1.  Ask the organization/ non-profit for their wish list.

Believe me, if a non-profit does not have a wish list, don’t give to them. The ones who are effective are the ones who know what they need. This is not gift-giving for a family member. The recipients of the gifts are not people you know for some time. So you cannot just come with a surprise gift and expect that it will be useful.

In this case, just ask for the list of their needs, pick what you can afford and give it to them.

Tip#2. Imagine how your donation will be used.

Maybe you are donating to an orphanage and the orphanage said that they would welcome toys and clothes for the kids. Don’t give toys that will require a battery. Most probably, the orphanage will not be able to afford to replace them.

Furthermore, accord the recipients with respect. Don’t donate damaged clothes that the recipients will have to spend time mending themselves. Yes, they are poor. But imagine how you would feel if you were given a stinky and unwashed socks for Christmas. Can’t you make the little effort to mend if it’s just a little hole and wash the clothes already so it will smell new?

Tip#3. There are donations and there is trash. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.

Some of you might have used the donation opportunity to unload unwanted stuff from your house. It could be the lamp that has been shelved for three years or the PX goods left in the cupboard from your mother-in-law’s last visit.

Did you check if they are working? Did you check if they are expired?

That is additional work that you are passing on to the organization just because you are not thinking. Sincere giving requires thought. It doesn’t matter that it is not brand new (unless specifically stated in their wish-list). What matters is that the donation is in good working order.

Tip#4. Be conscious of additional costs.

I am currently asking an office for a printer for the computer learning center. I did not choose the cheapest printed available. I asked for a specific brand from a specific store. It is Php4k more expensive there. But I chose it because I will only worry about Php1,000 cost of ink refills every 6 months while the cheaper printers will kill me with cartridge refilling costs.

Transportation is also another additional cost. Maybe you would need to have something shipped or picked-up. Shoulder the expenses yourself. Or just give them cash.

Final Words

A white elephant was supposedly gifted by Burmese monarchs to obnoxious courtiers they want to impoverish. This is because the maintenance costs of a white elephant is too much and the courtier would dare not dispose of a gift from a monarch.

At least in today’s time, the non-profit has the option to throw the white elephant away. Although, why should you even burden them with the task at all?

I hope this helps you in choosing you gifts to charity this season.

P.S. I did  not include volunteering options in this post because I think it deserves another post.

Here are our records so far:

Schedule  

For four Sundays now, we open the center from 1pm to 6pm. We are exploring the Saturday schedule. We agreed to improve our processes first. We are also relying on more volunteers coming in.

Costs 

Well, the barangay is only paying for the electricity right now. I am planning to ask for a printer. So far, the volunteer mentors are the ones bringing the supplies for the kids. Since there are only 4 computers for at least 20 kids, we had to plan for other activities the kids can do while waiting for their turn. I bought some children’s books and flash cards. The other mentors brought colored pencils, scratch papers, and art materials.

Volunteers

I am thankful that people have responded to our call for volunteers. At least three mentors are voluntarily giving their time for the Learning Center every Sunday. There is a new face coming in once a week. I mostly take care of records keeping and I facilitate the planning for activities through our Facebook group.

Activities

Because we open on Sunday afternoons, it was natural that our learners’ ages range from 6 to 12 years old. We were starting out without a plan except knowing that (1) we are going to offer whatever intervention the learners’ need and (2) we strive to make learning feel like playing.

The kids are playing with educational games. We are also asking them to do some learning activities we have prepared. They are learning to make a document. Some of the kids were able to change fonts. Some are enjoying changing text colors (admittedly painful to read). Some of them are enjoying taking pictures and they have learned how to insert pictures in their word documents. Some of the kids also learned to search for information using an encyclopedia.

Findings

From the start, I was insisting on collecting information from the learners. What do they know? What do they need to learn? What do they want to learn? We have gathered this information from the activities we designed and by asking the kids themselves. From this information, we find that the kids still need more guidance in learning the basic skills like reading, writing, and typing.

We had 10 extra keyboards. I asked the kids to type the words they read from the books.

Results

It is admittedly too early to see any impact from the activities. For now, I am happy to see the kids regularly coming back and enjoying the center and the activities. At the very least, I know the kids who go to the Learning Center is becoming more acquainted and comfortable with technology than their counterparts in the public school system.

Surprisingly, the kids are enjoying doing the Math exercises.

In one exercise on searching for information about animals, I was pleased that one learner started looking for other information on animals from the encyclopedia on his own.

Needs

Mentors. We are obviously in need of more mentors. It would be great if we can open the Learning Center for both Saturdays and Sundays. Aside from learning mentors, it would be great to have some special activities. It is obvious that the kids enjoy taking pictures and a basic course on photography sounds exciting.

Supplies. Well, the kids are enjoying reading and doing learning activities. So coloring books and story books are always welcomed. They are only reading in Tagalog for now.

Hardware. Printer, LAN Cables, 2 CRT monitors, and 2 electric fans are in my wish list.

Hope to see you guys one of these days.

Here are some of the best materials I have found on Philippine Politics.

1. Quote from Macli-ing Dulag, a Kalinga Chieftain:

“You ask if we own the land. And mock us. “Where is your title?” When we query the meaning of your words you answer with taunting arrogance, “Where is your proof that you own the land?”  Title. Documents. Proof. Such arrogance of speaking of owning the land when you shall be owned by it. How can you own that which shall outlive you? Only the race own the land because only the race lives forever.” (Sto. Domingo, 1996)

2. Quote from F. Sionil Jose’s 2004 article in the Far Eastern Economic Review:

 ’We are poor because our elites have no sense of nation. They collaborate with whoever rules — the Spaniards, the Japanese, the Americans and, in recent times, Marcos. Our elites imbibed the values of the colonizer.’ The Philippines, in short, has never moved on from the colonial era and the patterns of amoral elite dominance that it created.” as quoted in this blog entry.

3. My award for best title goes to Focus on the Global South’s paper “The Clean Development Mechanism Projects in the Philippines: Costly, Dirty, Money-Making Schemes”  

Abstract: The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a scheme under an international climate change agreement that allows developed countries to buy “credits” from projects that supposedly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, instead of cutting their own emissions domestically. In so doing, the scheme claims to be mitigating climate change while also promoting sustainable development. An evaluation of existing CDM projects in the Philippines as of June 2009, however, raises questions as to whether the scheme is in fact undermining its own purported aims: Most of the “credits” being generated will go to projects that further exacerbate climate change and compromise sustainable development, enriching large conglomerates that are expanding extractive and fossil fuel intensive activities, in pursuit of objectives that could otherwise be achieved through more effective government regulation and community action. Rather than allowing governments and communities to embark on a just transition towards a more sustainable path, the CDM is rewarding government ineptitude and supporting the very agents that contribute to climate change—while allowing rich countries to continue avoiding the reductions necessary to mitigate climate change.

4. This is nothing new, but this paper finds that Filipinos tend to vote for candidates endorsed by celebrities they can relate to or feel some sort of illusion of intimacy.

CELEBRIFICATION IN PHILIPPINE POLITICS: EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CELEBRITY ENDORSERS’ PARASOCIABILITY AND THE PUBLIC’S VOTING BEHAVIOR (Centeno, 2010)

5. This presentation from Social Weather Station finds that Filipinos’ SATISFACTION WITH HOW DEMOCRACY WORKS IS LOWEST compared to our Southeast Asian neighbors.

6. Willie Revillame has replaced Erap Estrada as the representative of the masses. When searching for materials on class structure, these articles caught my eye.

“All the pundits who say that the Wowowee tragedy is the result of the extreme poverty in the Philippines is wrong.
Rather, extreme poverty in the Philippines is the result of a Wowowee state of mind.
We have got the whole thing backwards. It’s an ugly truth but the sooner we come to grips with this, the sooner we’ll fix things.”(Village Idiot Savant, 2006) 

 

“Revillame is undoubtedly the most popular and powerful male entertainer in the Philippines right now.  He allows poor people to make fools of themselves on his show, to express the sorry state of their lives, to display their uncomfortable and unpleasant truths for everyone to see. That is something that the Filipino elite always reviles. We’re not supposed to wash our dirty linen in public. We’re not supposed to show our wretchedness.

The elite always frowns upon such display of naked truthfulness because –  more than a show of their tackiness, their uncouthness and their seeming inability to distinguish what is tasteful and what is crass — these truths, these realities can release a jolt of guilt among the elite.” (Cordova, 2011)

7. “Engaged but Not Immersed,” is the first half of a title of a paper on migrant Filipino elites attitudes and behavior on Philippine politics. Not all Filipinos go abroad as contract workers. Not all Filipinos go abroad because they are poor. This is interesting for me because this is a description of the present-day illustrado.

“We discover that overseas scholars maintain a strong interest in homeland political issues through heavy news consumption on the Internet. However it also fostered an ambiguous kind of public connection. On the one hand, they remain engaged to issues they hope to address that they hope to address in their eventual return, but on the other hand, they are not immersed with “other” Filipino people in the diaspora.”(Ong and Cabanes, 2010) 

8. A good profile of the people who fill up the Supreme Court.

“MOSTLY old, mostly male, mostly born and bred in imperious Luzon and all schooled in imperial Manila. Two in every three were jurists and bureaucrats in their previous lives, and thus, also mostly creatures of habit and routine. In the last 20 years, while 15 of the 80 nominees were female, only three women were eventually appointed.

This seemingly impregnable enclave of the elite is actually the Philippine Supreme Court, the most majestic of all the country’s courts, the final arbiter of constitutional questions, and “the last bulwark of democracy” in the land.” (Mangahas, 2011)

9. Who are our representatives?

“EIGHTEEN years after the fall of Marcos, Congress is not becoming a more representative institution. In fact, today’s legislators are richer now than ever before. While poverty levels since 1986 have remained at roughly between 30 and 40 percent of the population, lawmakers have become wealthier.

They are also older and better educated. As the results of a two-year PCIJ study of legislatures since 1898 show, members of the post-Marcos Congress tend to stay in office longer than their predecessors.

Moreover, most lawmakers come from political families, meaning that they have relatives who are currently holding or once held elective posts. In the House of Representatives, two of every three are members of political clans. The vast majority of these are second- and third-generation politicians with parents and grandparents who had been elected to public office.”(Coronel, 2004)

10. The skeletons in our Presidents’ closets (well, since Ramos).

Fidel Ramos’ Amarri Deal:

http://pcij.org/stories/the-grandmother-of-all-scams/

http://pcij.org/stories/the-grandmother-of-all-scams-2/

http://pcij.org/stories/the-grandmother-of-all-scams-3/

 

The Stories that Brought Down the Estrada Administration

http://pcij.org/stories/can-estrada-explain-his-wealth/

http://pcij.org/stories/estradas-statements-of-assets-and-liabilities-1985-1999/

http://pcij.org/stories/estrada-family-tree/

http://pcij.org/stories/estradas-entrepreneurial-families/

http://pcij.org/stories/a-transaction-marred-by-fraud/

http://pcij.org/stories/the-other-women/

http://pcij.org/stories/a-trail-of-houses/

http://pcij.org/stories/an-embarrassment-of-houses/

 

The Parade of Scandals from GMA Administration 

http://pcij.org/stories/shame-and-scandal-in-the-family/

http://pcij.org/stories/the-unmaking-of-the-president/

http://pcij.org/stories/gloria-gets-richer-fastest-beats-cory-ramos-erap/

http://pcij.org/stories/the-foggy-financial-history-of-gloria-macapagal-arroyo/

http://pcij.org/stories/faster-growth-under-arroyo-reality-or-statistical-illusion/

 

Bonus:  The women who loved Noy. (Hehehe, kidding)

I hope you enjoyed this list. I sure was happy to find them and read them.

That’s what I kept on telling myself as I started the project of putting up a community e-learning center in our barangay. My god, it was hard. And I am already trained on project development and project management when I started this. I can only imagine how much harder it was for the Mobile Teachers who did this.

Around 6 months ago, I wrote the proposal for the establishment of a Community e-Learning Center in our barangay. There is an informal settlers community in our barangay and I noticed that there are a lot of kids and teenagers outside even during school hours. So I decided to finally put in motion my plan to manage a learning center.

Steps Taken:

For those who are also interested in replicating this effort in their own communities, here are the steps I took:

1. I wrote a simple concept proposal to build a community learning center. 

Instead of just focusing on out-of-school youth and adults, I proposed that the learning center will also serve as a hub and training center for other sectors as well. Depending on the identified needs, the learning center could also provide instruction to mothers or conduct skills training for barangay employees.  I thought that it will be easier to gain support from the barangay if more people can use it.

(Note: I attached my concept proposal below. You can use this as template or customize it according to your needs.)

2. I made a list of the resources I needed to mobilize. 

A good starting point for the checklist is the eSkwela Readiness Assessment Form. That provides a detailed list of resources needed to run a community e-learning center. However, I added and removed items from the list based on my own judgment. Yes, I wanted Internet connection, but for now, we have to work with LAN-based connection.

3. I started asking around for help. 

Always start with a list of needed resources before asking around for help. The list of needed items should guide you on WHO best to ask for WHAT things.

Computer tables, shelves, and chairs. I know that my old office underwent renovations so I knew they had office equipment lying around. I wrote an email to my former boss asking for computer tables, chairs, and shelves and it was granted.

Learning Space. The barangay already had a space for a library and we just expanded the space to include computers in them.

Computers. A friend I talked to referred me to Constructing Learning Through Technologies, an NGO whose mission is to deploy computer labs across the country. For now, Jon gave the center 7 computer units and we plan to expand it over time. The University of Asia and the Pacific also donated 3 units as part of their NSTP activities.

Teachers/ Mentors. I finally got in touch with the Pasig Division of DepED and they are sending a team to inspect the learning space tomorrow. If things go well, a teacher will be assigned to the center to hold ALS classes for the community. I also pestered a lot of friends to volunteer a couple of hours a week (or even a month) to mentor the learners. CLTT is also sending volunteers and mentors to the Center.

LCD Projector. The barangay has a projector and the center can borrow it when it is available.

(Note: I admit that the center is luckier with mentors because it is strategically located. The place is in a business district and it is easy to access.)

4. I put out word of the things the center still needs. 

Internet connection and ventilation are two priority items in my list. But the learning center can already operate even without them. My friends know about it and they have been kind enough to refer leads to me.

Fiction books for learners of different ages would also be welcome. There are textbooks in the room, but I am thinking of putting in second hand Harry Potters, Lord of the Rings, and Percy Jackson in the place. Hell, even Twilight series is welcomed. Other reading and learning materials (in good condition) would be useful too.

We are also welcoming other volunteer mentors. Just comment here or send me an email at (kat at katpauso.com). We would need some IT or computer people as well. Teaching and mentoring is one thing. Fixing the computers and maintaining them is another thing.

5. We are now deciding on the service or course offerings in the Center. 

By now, it is obvious that I may have started the Center but it definitely relied on several partnerships to make it work. What is clear is that the Center is a barangay project and the barangay should always be included and prioritized in any planned activities. The lead for this project is the Head of the Committee on Education and Sports in the barangay. I treat him as my supervisor and I always act with his blessing and approval. The efforts will be useless without their support.

There are already three emerging programs for now.

• UA&P’s Computer Literacy Program held once a week
• CLTT’s Mentorship and Individualized Learning
• DepED ALS Non-Formal Education Program

Other volunteers are interested in developing other supplementary programs depending on the needs of the community. We might even create customized computer training programs for barangay employees to further ingratiate the Center to the community.

Insights from the Experience:

I stood up several times and suggested to a group of teachers to continue their social mobilization/ resource mobilization efforts. I knew I had to implement it myself so I really could prove the viability of my suggestions.

I know that it has been so much easier for me compared to similar efforts in the provinces. They did not have the same convenient access to resources that our barangay has. Even those who signed up with CLTT tended to choose our barangay because of accessibility. My main insight for this is to replicate this effort in the future by building community learning centers in the periphery of a business district. It makes resource mobilization so much easier.

Another lesson I have learned is to partner with the right people. Some of my friends who agreed to volunteer are competent trainers/ teachers and project managers as well. We only have to agree on design, parameters, and expectations, and they can do it on their own. This is a voluntary job for me and it will be better to keep my tasks as simple as possible.

But I think the biggest insight I have gained is that a lot of people want to help, they just do not know whom they can trust. I am touched by friends who are voluntarily giving me leads on possible donors. There are friends who are excited to start the activities. At least three people asked questions on how they can start learning centers in their own communities. I write this post for other people who want to know about the process as well.

Conclusion:

As a consultant, it was easy to make recommendations about steps people need to undertake to establish a learning center in their community. I always hated people who talk a big game but do not know how to make things happen. I find integrity in being able to implement the things that I have suggested.

To the ALS Mobile Teachers reading this, I want you to know that you have been my inspiration for this work. I have seen ALS teachers literally cross mountains and rivers in order to deliver instruction to those that the formal education system cannot reach anymore. They are the ones brave enough to teach jailed convicts, juvenile delinquents, teen mothers, prostitutes, and a lot of other ostracized sectors. They encouraged and provided guidance to children and learners who were long neglected by their families and our education system. They will not be internationally recognized like other celebrities, but they are heroes nonetheless.

I hope this helps other people interested in doing a similar initiative in their communities. It has not been easy, but it can be done.

Here is the sample proposal and resource checklist for the learning center:

Sample Proposal

These same industries have been suffering a decline in the past decade when developments in technology challenged the supremacy of the old formats. Because of the Internet and the digitization of content, the old containers of audio, text, and video are increasingly becoming obsolete.   Changing consumer behavior patterns and increased competition from foreign content are also exerting pressure on these local industries.

The Philippine music recording industry is one of the industries contracting given these conditions. Original Pinoy Music (OPM) album sales has been declining for the past decade. While recording labels are currently experimenting on business models catering to the digital consumer, the consumer demand for these services are still low.

In the meantime, recording labels become increasingly risk-averse in their repertoire selection. Decreasing profit margins means reduced margin for errors. This business decision means OPM shelves in music stores offer a lot of revivals and compilations and little new and creative sound.

I.        Industry Structure

The Philippine Association of the Recording Industry (PARI) is the main organization in the country representing the interests of the industry. They have been an active advocate for policy measures supportive of the recording industry. Most of the data presented in this section came from an email interview with Ms. Cely Cruz, PARI’s Office Manager. Based on the available data, the local recording industry is on a decade-long slump.

Physical Album Sales

Legitimate physical album sales from 1999 – 2010 shows that from a peak of Php2.7 Billion in sales on 1999, physical album sales has gone down to Php699 Million by 2010. That accounts for a 75% drop in the past decade.

Digital Music Sales

Meanwhile, there is an increasing trend in digital music sales from 2005 to 2010. The numbers show that digital music sales have increased by more than 400% from 2005 to 2010. However, the Php183 Million in digital music sales for 2010 still does not offset the industry losses from the physical album sales.

Pirated Music Sales

Even if we combine the digital and physical music sales figures, the total sales is just Php882 Million. This is still way below the Php2.7 Billion record of 1999. Where did the rest of the money go?

Most industry insiders point to music piracy as the culprit for their decline. Ms. Cruz estimates that income lost due to piracy is Php1 Billion. PARI estimates that 83% of audio CDs sold in the market are pirated.

1. Trends in Market Share

Because of the decline in sales, some of the smaller recording firms closed down. The major players meanwhile remained the same. Overall, album sales have gone down for all players that the PARI record standards have been continually decreasing in the past decade.

PARI is the body that awards a gold and a platinum label to bestselling albums. It used to be that a gold award is given to albums that sold 15,000 copies. That standard was reduced to 12,500 units on October 2008 and it was further reduced to 10,000 units by 2009.

Record labels contacted for this paper refused to divulge sales data. Trends in market share can only be estimated from results of 2010 Awit Awards and declared topsellers in retail stores.

Trend One: Albums by artists from television industry sell well. Packaging of albums around an ‘Idol’ is still a viable formula. Willie Revillame’s Ikaw Na Nga Album won the 2010 Awit Awards Bestselling Album of the Year. Star Records is also topping AstroVision/ AstroPlus weekly list from album sales featuring ABS-CBN’s talents like Jericho Rosales and Piolo Pascual. Currently, Vice Ganda and Sarah Geronimo are TV talents with albums doing well in local retail.

Trend Two: Compilations or revival albums also perform well. There were six other albums awarded runner-up awards for the 2010 Awit Awards Bestselling Albums of the Year. All six albums featured revivals or adaptations of previous hits.

Trend Three: Popular genres are love songs, ballads, and acoustic. The lists in both the Awit Awards Bestselling Albums and AstroCharts show that ballads/ acoustic albums are selling well in this market. Albums under Universal Records Philippines and Star Records are performing well in retail sales. Ivory Music has been relying on compilation CDs.

You can read the longer paper here. This contains a value chain analysis and PEST analysis as well.
Industry Analysis Music