Men of Service, Men of Worth: Work Camp

Work camp is one activity that the Kapuluan fellows since 1984 are all familiar with and look forward to. In fact, it preceded Kapuluan as a social outreach project by the University Center Foundation (UCF), which owns the Center.

Since its conception in 1981, over 3, 500 student volunteers have given their serviceS to over 55, 000 families to date, in over 75 barangays in the country. The first Work Camp was in Cuenca, Batangas where volunteers installed water pumps and repaired a public schoolhouse.

According to the Work Camp 2001 Report, it was Pope John Paul II’s exhortation during his first visit to the Philippines which spurred the social work projects for youth development, instituted by UCF. “Millions of your fellowmen and women count on your service… Do not retreat into a position of privilege,” he said.

Men of service, men of worth. This has been the constant banner line of the Work Camp volunteers. It represents the youth’s enthusiasm and idealism in helping out society, which discovers an outlet in the Work Camps.

The number of Work Camp volunteers keeps on growing. Even the concept of a Work Camp has evolved to include relevant components like academic tutorials, medical missions, leadership seminars for local youth leaders, professional seminars for community folks, etc. Work Camps also provide spiritual, leadership, and professional formation for the volunteers.

In May 2003, the Work Camp was recognized by the World Bank as the Longest Running Youth Social Project during its Responsible Citizenship Fair held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati.

Among the recent Work Camps organized by Kapuluan were held in Duquit and Arayat, Pampanga and Mamburao, Mindoro. The latter was sponsored by Mr. Ding Quintos who hails from the place. The other two were components of the K25 Leadership Forum.

The Arayat Work Camp was the first of its kind. Instead of the usual community-based approach, the volunteers planted trails signs leading up to the peak of the famous Mt. Arayat. Some Kapuluan fellows hiked the trail before and reported how cluttered the trail was. After hearing that Pampanga is also trying to bolster its tourism, Kapuluan volunteers, decided to help improve Mt. Arayat. The project was conducted in coordination with the municipal officials of Magalang, Pampanga and the Cultural and Educational Foundation of Angeles (CEFA).

In Duquit, however, the volunteers helped in cleaning up the canals of the barangay and visited its poor inhabitants who live by the garbage dumping site. They also conducted a three-day tutorial session for incoming high school freshmen. As a culminating activity, the volunteers organized a quiz bee titled, “Let’s Do It, Duquit.”

Kapuluan plans to hold another Work Camp for this year in October as part of the K25 Leadership Forum. Truly, the necessity for Work Camps never ceases but so does volunteers for it.