Last summer, some of our PEARLS kids made their vacation more meaningful by attending the Human Dignity Curriculum, lead by World Youth Alliance. They dedicated their Tuesday and Thursday mornings learning more about their dignity as human beings. The curriculum’s module “brings to light a proper understanding of the human person in order for them to achieve human flourishing – to help them develop human habits, good decision-making skills, and a strong sense of meaning and purpose.
Certificates were given to them after the sessions. Aside from these legal proofs, new knowledge and fun were truly shared with them!
Thank you very much, @wyaasiapacific, for giving this opportunity to the PEARLS kids! Thank you for inspiring and touching the lives of these young ones.
Original post is in this link:
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The Heart of the Human Dignity Curriculum
“Hi Ate! Anong pangalan mo?” (Hi! What’s your name?)
That was how my Human Dignity Curriculum (HDC) journey started; on a Thursday morning along with the innocent questions and curious facial expressions of the children from Happy Land Aroma, the adopted community of World Youth Alliance Asia Pacific (WYAAP) for last quarter’s HDC sessions in partnership with Project PEARLS. Happy Land Aroma is located in Tondo, one of the many densely populated districts at the heart of Manila wherein the living condition is the total opposite of its name and they have to fight for basic access to services.
Community development has always been the heart, soul and most critical foundation of any humanitarian effort. It involves not just merely starting a project but ensuring that initiatives being implemented as well as actions being taken are person-centered and sustainable. But before a certain community can take collective steps towards the common good, its members, both young and old, need to be holistically empowered and equipped. One of the ways wherein World Youth Alliance contributes in this effort towards integral human development is through the HDC, which focuses on teaching children about human dignity as well as its significance in making informed decisions, understanding the human person, and in developing a strong sense of purpose and meaning.
Throughout the duration of the HDC, I was able to witness the emotional and intellectual growth that our students went through from being just a rowdy group of kids to little people more aware of their dignity and of their responsibility to respect the dignity of others. It’s crucial to see how this transformation—though minute—was worth celebrating; anyone who grew up in a clean and peaceful home will surely fail to visualize the muddy, mucky jungle that our students called home. It was a challenge to introduce them to the concept of dignity—and hope! But this was a challenge with immeasurable rewards, and one we will never risk losing.
While going through the sessions, it wasn’t just them who were able to gain new learning as I was also learning with them. Most of the time, I was peering through a camera, having been assigned to take photos and videos of the sessions. But despite seeing the lessons unfold through my mechanical eye, this didn’t hinder me at all from developing a bond with the children. They loved being in my photos, smiling, and curiously sticking their noses as close to the camera screen as possible. Through this unconventional interaction I had with my little muses, I was able to see them as they truly were without any prejudice or prior assumption of who and how I thought they were. I was also able to discover things about their community, their individual stories, and most importantly, I gained a deeper understanding of how all of us can share the common experience of joy.
The entire process was arduous, even for me, as I consider myself heavily exposed to hands-on, on-site community service. But this task required a different type of patience; one that is fueled by a deeper purpose that is to love. And so upon seeing the children of Happy Land Aroma graduate from the HDC program, I couldn’t feel prouder.
At the end of the program I am fully convinced that our contrasts and life conditions matter very little simply because we are one and the same by virtue of our intrinsic and inviolable dignity. By acknowledging this and looking past economic or cultural difference we are able to focus on what is more essential—valuing the person; having a bigger goal of helping each other realize our worth, and helping others achieve their potential, all while practicing solidarity.
The residents of Happy Land Aroma never failed to greet us with a smile despite their arduous daily toil. My hope is that I too won’t get tired of extending a helping hand to those whose smiles belong to, among many others. May their yearning for a better life be my dream too.
Written by Omayyah “Maki” Macabato, a current intern at the WYA Asia Pacific office. Maki formed part WYAAP’s core team of volunteers for the HDC implementation that ran from April – May 2017. To bring the HDC to a school or community, send us an e-mail at [email protected]
