project

END-OF-TERM PROJECT

[to be submitted via email the last week of the term]

Social Projects that could help directly in poverty eradication or alleviation

Instructions:

  • This is an individual social project.

  • There is a minimum of 3 pages for the write-up itself; no maximum (preferably computer printed).

  • The submission is just in the form of a proposal but written up in such a way as to be operational and feasible if given the chance to make it a reality in 1 or 2 years' time after graduation from College.

  • The judging/scoring will be based on the following criteria:

    • The suggested social project should be in the form of a social micro-enterprise that will be financially sustainable and will meet a specific social objective (e.g., educating the uneducated, providing microcredit to farmers or fishermen, harnessing natural resources, waste management, primary health care, providing livelihood to women or the poorest of the poor, etc.)

    • Please check the following to get some ideas:

    • Unilab Ideas Positive (an annual student competition for health-related micro-enterprises): Click HERE for website;

    • Alalay sa Pamilya at Bayan Foundation: Click HERE for FB page;

    • BPI Foundation SINAG competition: Click HERE;

    • Gawad Kalinga (GK) Enchanted Farm: Click HERE;

    • Manny & Cynthia Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (SIPAG): click HERE.

  • PLS. BE GUIDED BY THE FOLLOWING LITERATURE:

In the ASEAN scene, the fast-growing economies have all experienced a rapid decline in numbers below the poverty line, in both urban and rural areas. However, in all these ASEAN countries, there is concern about growing unemployment, and about the impact of the economic crisis and of adverse weather on both poverty and the distribution of income. It has been seen that a better policy for poverty reduction or alleviation would be for the governments to eliminate subsidies as rapidly as possible and assist the poor through the kinds of policies in two important areas: (1) Job Creation Programmes, and (2) More Employment in Agriculture (Booth, 1998).

In agriculture-based economies such as the Philippines, the ultimate solutions are to be found in: countryside and rural infrastructures; quality basic education for the children of the poor and in Muslim areas, especially the education of women; cash transfers to the poorest of the poor; primary health services; microcredit and microenterprise programs; technical skills training for secondary school students; and social housing such as that provided by Gawad Kalinga. Concretely, it has been found that, as far as food security in the Philippines is concerned, focus should be placed on addressing constraints to agricultural finance in order to boost food productivity. Along with this, focus should be put in investing in roads, since the unreliable and inadequate infrastructure in the Philippines has been found to be a major impediment to economic growth. Given the physical and environmental constraints on increasing land and water use for food production and other economic activities, agricultural productivity will have to be substantially improved to meet the increasing demand for food (Villegas, 2011).

In the Philippine scene, Reyes (2003) concludes that, despite a decline in poverty incidence ―albeit modest― within the period 1985-2000, (1) improving access of the poor to education is important (schemes have to be devised to keep the students who enroll); (2) since studies have enabled the distinction of the “chronic poor” and “transient poor” categories, it is important to identify programs that will address chronic to transient poverty; (3) the poor are largely dependent on agriculture: increasing productivity in agriculture is therefore key to reducing poverty in the rural areas; (4) Climatic episodes in recent years have highlighted the vulnerability of Filipinos to manmade or natural disasters: this suggests the need to put in place social safety nets to avert adverse long-term impacts on the population due to coping mechanisms adopted in responses to crises.

In her study on Inclusive Growth on NCR and CALABARZON, Grulla (2016) recommends the collaboration of both private institutions and the national and local governments to employ non-traditional solutions to address poverty and make incomes more equitable thereby promoting inclusive growth. The three target areas to achieve inclusive growth are: (1) non-traditional education through Alternative Learning Systems and Technical Vocational Courses; (2) non-traditional agriculture and comprehensive rural development which includes agro-tourism, linkages between agriculture and industry partners to produce higher value agricultural products and building rural communities which offer quality health care, education and social services to lessen in-migration in cities and lastly, (3) non-traditional finance through Micro finance institutions (MFIs) and cooperatives that extend credit to the poor some of which are CARD NGO and ASA Philippines.

Authentic and sustainable development in the Philippines necessitates working at the real solutions in order to eradicate or at least alleviate poverty. Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly a force for enhancing national economic growth and employment in the Philippines. Professors in business programs, especially those teaching Business Ethics and Entrepreneurship, are advised to exert greater effort in heightening awareness among business students of the possibilities they have in the near or far future to provide these sustainable opportunities for the poor to lift themselves out of poverty (Racelis, 2012).

Bibliography:

  • Booth, Anne (1998). The impact of the crisis on poverty and equity. ASEAN Economic Bulletin. 15(3): 353-361.

  • Grulla, Cecilia (2016). Is Growth in NCR and CALABARZON Inclusive? University of Asia & the Pacific, Pasig City.

  • Racelis, A.D. (2012). Ethics and Governance Issues in Sustainability in Asia: Literature Review and Research Proposals. Synergeia. 4(1).

  • Reyes, Celia M. (2003). The Poverty Fight: Has It Made An Impact. Manila: Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

  • Sachs, Jeffrey (2005). The End of Poverty, New York: The Penguin Press.

  • Villegas, Bernardo M. (2011). Positive Dimensions of Population Growth. Pasig City: Center for Research and Communication.

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GOOD LUCK! ENJOY! :-)

For inquiries, email: alizaracelis@gmail.com

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