To promote community engagement and the CICM (Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Latin: Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) advocacies, the University of Saint Louis (USL) held activities under the following programs: Assist-a-Day Care/DKLC, Alay Pasko, Tree Legacy, Bloodletting, Medical-Dental Mission, and Service Learning with the involvement of its employees, students, and other stakeholders.
The CICM advocacies cover justice, peace and integrity of creation (JPIC); indigenous peoples (IPs); environmental protection and management; and disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM).
“For indigenous peoples, USL supported this CICM advocacy through Service Learning Program (SLP) and Alay Pasko, and for environmental protection and management, the Louisian community held tree planting activities. Other activities to support the CICM advocacies are scheduled for the second semester,” said Mr. Nestor Cabrido, head of the Community Engagement and CICM Advocacies Office (CECAO).
Assist-a-Day-Care/DKLC
Last December 5-6, 2018, USL, through the CECAO, provided school supplies to 235 Day Care and elementary pupils. Day Care and school recipients were the following: Batu Day Care Center, Batu Elementary School, Magalalag Day Care Center, Magalalag Elementary School, Liwan Sur Day Care Center, Liwan Sur Elementary School – all located in Enrile, Cagayan; Gadu Day Care Center and the Gadu Elementary School in Gadu, Solana; and the USL Dinggin Ka Learning Center (DKLC).
The Assist-a-Day-Care/DKLC Program is funded by employee donations. For the current school year, 365 employees signed up to support the program by each giving at least five hundred pesos.
Alay Pasko
A gift-giving on Dec. 18 furthered the outreach advocacy of the University during the Christmas season.
Administrators, faculty, non-teaching personnel (NTP), and student representatives distributed over 600 food packs to recipients in different locations.
Most of the recipients were from Bugatay, Peῆablanca; Jurisdiccion, Amulung; and barangays Cannagan, Divisoria, Inga, Lemu Norte, Lemu Sur, and Lanna in Enrile.
Other recipients of gift packs were inmates at the Cagayan Provincial Jail, the University maintenance staff, outsourced janitors, DKLC pupils, student assistants, street sweepers, and traffic enforcers.
Tree Legacy
After its Tree Legacy Program in San Roque, Peñablanca, Cagayan, the University has added other venues to carry out the program to include Dapang, Enrile and Lannig, Solana, Cagayan. The tree planting activities in these new areas are in coordination with the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), Solana.
Sixteen (16) tree planting activities were conducted including the one conducted by the USL Alumni Association Batch ’88 at the USL Expansion Site at Leonarda, Tuguegarao City.
“Tree legacy” activities were also conducted at Bical, Peñablanca, and at the Pinacanaoan River, Tuguegarao City.
The activities include planting, replanting, watering of plants, weeding, and pegging.
Over 2,000 seedlings were planted by the Louisian community for the first semester of SY 2018-2019.
Bloodletting
Two bloodletting activities held in September and December involved the college departments, non-teaching personnel, the USLAA, the CECAO, and personnel from the Cagayan Valley Medical Center (CVMC).
All blood donations are stored at the CVMC blood bank. USL employees and students can avail from the blood bank upon request through the CECAO.
Last Oct. 25, three guest lecturers from CVMC (Melody Grace B. Garduque, RMT, MPH; Ro Wilson R. Queddeng, RN, MSN; and Reggie F. Parayno, RMT, AMT, MPH) shared on blood donation campaign and awareness in support to the National Blood Services Act under Republic Act No. 7719, also known as the National Blood Services Act of 1994.
The act “promotes voluntary blood donation to provide sufficient supply of safe blood and to regulate blood banks” and aims to inculcate public awareness that blood donation is a humanitarian act.
Participants to said orientation were Senior High School students, University student outreach coordinators, and Pharmacy students.
Medical-Dental Mission
A medical-dental mission was conducted last Nov. 21 at the Elementary Department grounds in celebration of the DKLC’s 20th Anniversary.
The said activity was organized by the Elementary Department with the DKLC, CECAO, and USLAA.
Services given were health checkup, tooth extraction and dental checkup, and eye examination.
The beneficiaries of the said program were pupils from nearby Day Care Centers and Louisian students, their family members, as well as USL employees.
The BSN 4th year students and Nursing faculty members assisted during the said activity.
Service Learning
The Service Learning Programs (SLPs) involving teachers and students last first semester were a means by which students exposed themselves in communities to extend learning beyond the classroom by applying their skills.
The SLPs undertaken were the following: Heritage Management; Transportation Management; Hotel Rooms Division and Its Operation; Promotion on the Awareness of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act; Dengue Awareness Campaign and Literacy Program; Transition to Teens; Symposium on RA # 8491: Flag & Heraldic Code of the Philippines; Documentation of Indigenous Music and Dances; Mural Painting and Art Class; and Lecture for Electrical Safety with Electrical Inspection.
“The need to strengthen the missionary spirit in our willingness to be part of the University activities is encouraged. Let our service to others and active participation in the upcoming activities be one of the top priorities we have because this passionate endeavor is what makes us truly CICM. Let us encourage more participants to be part in the University’s programs because we are Louisians. We never entrust our mission to others, but we do it together,” the CECAO head said.
