I've been a communications officer (Media Officer and Content Officer, in general na lang para shortened pero pinahaba ko pa rin, ano ho?) for two years now of Operation Sagip.
At first, honestly? I was so scared of handling this program. Why? I had no experience being with them. And the one time I joined them on field, it was a classroom turn-over, napagsabihan pa ako ni Sir Marcel (Hahah! May kasalanan talaga ko that time.)
When I was told I was going to shift to Sagip, I had so many doubts. Can I handle? Can I deliver? Came to a point that my immediate supervisor and I had this talk and I had the courage to ask her, Kaya ko ba 'to, Ma'am?
She answered, Now I get it. You are scared. And to make the long story short that happened in that four corners of the fourth floor lobby, she told me, Have a backbone. (I have and it is curved due to my dextroscoliosis, Ma'am.)
I started doing things for Sagip. Asked for approvals for all of my outputs, followed up so many times, tried to build rapport the way I know and now, here we are. My most loved program. I have found the heart in everything they do. I always get excited when I have pull-outs may it be near or far (na ginawa na ata naming Cubao ang Tacloban), may it be the same stories for I know I can find a different angle from the beneficiaries.
My editing skillszx! Haha! This was taken after the celebratory dinner after we won the Walk on Water Awards this year. Photo taken by Ann
For the past years, here are the things I've learned from being with them.
- Do not take the easy way out
"Hindi iyon Sagip kung hindi adventure."
Lagi ko 'tong sinsabi. Sa lahat ba naman kasi ng pinuntahan namin, most of the time, the locations are quite hard to reach. We have to ride an improvised raft, standing; we have to ride the habal-habal and the roads are bumpy; we have to ride boats for an hour and so; and sometimes, we have to trek for more than a kilometer on muddy slippery roads that not even bicycles can traverse. Minsan, baha rin, haha!
This was August 2016 in Bataan when Habagat happened. Si Sir Earl, lubog lang agad. Sanay na. Text muna siya to coord and report the situation.
Habal-habal ride to Brgy. Butangiad to see the newly constructed classrooms in Butangiad ES in Quezon. It was on top of the hill! We went to CamSur first before going to Quezon for we also had a turn-over of classrooms. It was a 10 hour ride, one way. My legs hurt but it was worth it.
Eh lakaran ba kamo? 3.5km walk, one way, walang signal, walang hawakan, madulas, maputik, lalo kapag umulan. This is the road to Casapa in Jiabong, Samar. One of my favorite places. After nito, puro putik ang pantalon ko. Naghalo na ang pawis at ulan sa basa ng damit ko. Natulog akong masaya kahit pagod. Malipayon ang akong kasing-kasing.
We ask ourselves why do we continue to reach these places when in fact, we can just implement projects on car lanes or places which have better and developed roads, or places with mobile signals so coordination would be a lot easier. But the thing is, we already know the answer. It is a rhetorical question. We reach these places because we know that these places are where the help is scarce. That only a few will choose to reach them and perhaps, Operation Sagip is one of the destined ones.
- Gamble, take risks
Sometimes (well, most of the time), the places OS visit are risky places. Last year, they were on their way to another place to conduct relief operations when they heard a gunshot and the bullet hit their vehicle. Gladly, no one was hurt and everyone was safe.
The Sagip truck together with partners and volunteers in Surigao.
Sagip taught me to take risks, to not be complacent, that sometimes, you really have to gamble on things. We have to break some patterns for if we don't, where's the fun in that? (Chos.) Sometimes, we have to take risks to deliver and to reach out for who knows, no one will take the risk to make it happen.
- Do not play favorites
We always have that favorite song which as time goes by, sometimes, we replace with another one, another flavor. With Sagip, I believe that is not the case.
This is one of my most favorite part in working with OS. They do not play favorites. They make sure that their donors and beneficiaries are of equal footing. They don't see themselves higher than the donors or vice versa. They don't see that they are higher than their beneficiaries. It has always been a partnership among those involved because the bigger picture is to help and accomplish what is best for the people they serve. And the people they serve are the communities.
Every time I write or create content for OS, I always have a disclaimer or a note that I want the content to be beneficiary-centric, that the message is not lifting Operation Sagip or ALKFI. We have to tell the stories of the beneficiaries because they are worth telling. Gladly, this is also the end-point for the program. They always agree and say that OS is just a conduit. I think one of the most concrete evidence for this one is when 2016 was about to end.
Late 2016, we had to let go of the Sagip Kapamilya brand. Yes. Operation Sagip was the old Sagip Kapamilya. It was the strongest brand of the foundation. The top of mind when a disaster strikes. We started drowning the SK brand and started to lift the OS brand. It was very hard. Really hard. We had to replace all collateral, replace the signs at the warehouse, we had to change our habits of mentioning Sagip Kapamilya. We had to drop the name Sagip Kapamilya. Our donors know Sagip Kapamilya, not Operation Sagip. (It's hard, until now, but little by little, we are getting there.)
For those which were easy to change, OS implemented the new order. All social media posts started to have the Lingkod Kapamilya Operation Sagip name. The staff started to introduce themselves as part of Operation Sagip. And recently, the cargo truck's decals were changed, too. So yes, Lingkod Kapamilya Operation Sagip na po siya ngayon.
This is how you roll. Obedient since late 2016! Photo by Patrick Aurelio. Taken during Typhoon Rosita relief ops
It was difficult to drop the strong brand Sagip Kapamilya. It was hard to let go but we had to. But I believe that we all know that it isn't the name or the brand but the heart and objective to serve and give a hand. Because you know, the world doesn't revolve around Operation Sagip. It isn't about them.
Operation Sagip is the emergency and humanitarian arm of ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation. Aside from relief operations, it also active in rehabilitation efforts in calamity-stricken areas. This includes classroom building, livelihood projects, water facility construction, and encouraging children to stay in school by giving complete sets of school supplies. To know more, visit www.abs-cbnfoundation.com.
These are my views and opinion and do not represent the program or the foundation.
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What do you think, Awesome?