Learnings and Experiences
A community leader shares her experiences working in TAO-Pilipinas
by Marginela Brucelo
When our house in Letre, Malabon was demolished, my whole family relocated to Tanza, Navotas where we became part of an organization called SANAGMANA (Federation of the United Urban Poor of Navotas). Eventually, I became one of the community leaders of SANAGMANA and headed the technical committee where I had the chance to meet TAO-Pilipinas. TAO-Pilipinas was one of the principal stakeholders of our organization. They have been providing assistance to our community such as designing the appropriate house for us, community planning, and land surveying. They also conducted workshops about solid waste management (SWM), livelihood training program on micro concrete roof (MCR) tiles, and provided relief goods when our community was devastated by a strong typhoon.
When troubled started in the organization due to the mismanagement of our president, I resigned as one of the community leaders and because I attended seminars about SWM, I was lucky enough to be tapped by TAO-Pilipinas to become a probationary trainor on solid waste management under the Education and Training Program of TAO-Pilipinas.
As a probationary trainor, I was tasked to facilitate their workshop on solid waste management to other communities. In order for me to do my job properly, TAO-Pilipinas helped to expand my knowledge about solid waste management with the resources that they gave me. I was able to learn not only about solid waste management but as well as urban gardening. They also gave me the opportunity to attend seminars and visit other communities with good SWM practices. They provided me with books and other materials to read and study such as laws about solid waste management, the processes involved in urban gardening, and the proper way of doing urban gardening. They also taught me how to use various office equipments such as the computer, fax machine, photo copying machine, printer, and binder. I was also given the opportunity to practice what I am learning in the books that I have read and in the seminars that I have attended by doing actual urban gardening and solid waste management in the office. They also taught me how to do proper research and documentation of all the work that I have been doing for them.
I have experienced a lot of important things ever since I started working at TAO-Pilipinas. Aside from experiencing how to do office work, I have also experienced first hand the kind of work ethics that this organization has. The staffs of TAO-Pilipinas are very professional when it comes to their work. They respect one another and treat each other as if they belong to one family. In working with them, I have acquired their sense of diligence and the way they deal with other people. Through them, I have also learned proper time management and how to make my own work plan.
In return, as a trainor for solid waste management under the Education and Training Program, I have shared with TAO-Pilipinas my hands-on experiences in doing solid waste management and urban gardening not only in their office but in our community as well. But I think the most important thing that I have done for them is to impart my learnings and experiences on solid waste management and urban gardening to other communities whenever I facilitate their SWM Workshops.
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This article was translated into English by Angelus Sales. To see the original tagalog version, please click here.
About the Author
Marginela Brucelo is a former community leader of SANAGMANA who was tapped by TAO-Pilipinas to be a probationary trainor for their solid waste management community workshops last year. She is currently one of the community leaders of MASAGANA and continues to practice solid waste management and urban gardening in her community.
Reflections | rp | 04 June 2009 |
