School of Life Program

The School of Life Program is a formation program, both human and spiritual, which helps prepare the beneficiaries of BP for studies or employment, and also for the development of responsible social individuals. This program is scheduled quarterly.

The program focuses on the out-of-school youth, parents, and adult members of the community who wish to participate. The objective of the program is to help them see the value of life and to contribute in building a sustainable community.

School of Life Program 1

The beneficiaries of the program are interviewed, assessed and undergo formation on human development integrated with spiritual enrichment. After which, they are exposed to vocational courses and training to improve their current skills and to enable them to find better jobs or better means of livelihood.

Through this program, the beneficiaries become responsible members of the community to enable them to go against the social ills that break down society, and to help them discover their worth as a human being and realize their full potential.

Also, Bukas Palad Manila extended its partnership to the Technical University of the Philippines and Toyota Motor Philippines School of Technology for an additional venue for Technical vocational training for the beneficiaries of the said program.

On the other hand, revisions were made in the School of Life module. College, Technical Vocational Students, and Senior High SAAD scholars were also invited to participate in the said program. The Management Team finds the program beneficial to the scholars before they go to college or take vocational courses after high school. Further, to strengthen the delivery and presentation of each topic, experts from the Focolare Movement are invited to conduct a seminar/workshop of each topic at the BP Manila conference room.

The 15 days seminars and workshop aims to contribute to the spiritual, emotional, and social growth of each participant that will help them face the different realities of life outside their comfort zone. This is also geared to remind each participant that God will always be there in every choice that they will make, therefore, every choice must be done with much prudence. What is more, this program is designed to be a venue where participants can build rapport and friendship with the other. It should create a bond of a family where they will realize that they also need friends who can be a source of motivation and strength as they face their life challenges. The program is also designed where participants can develop their insights or understanding of resolving their issues and conflicts within the group which can be used also in responding to the needs of their family.

Listed below are the topics presented in the seminar/workshop.

The activities (seminars and workshops) that were conducted at the school of life contributed to the growth of the youth who attended not in the physical aspect but to their spiritual, emotional, and social. The participants will not only learn about life lessons but they will also learn more about the words of God that they will take until they will grow older. Aside from that, they will also change how they see things from a different point of view and will learn how to appreciate even the smallest things; they will be more socially active and learn how to get along well with other people.

The small business workshop taught the participants the actual preparation of some goods that are in demand and can easily be sold in the community. In this way, the participants are encouraged to come up with a small business that will augment their current income and eventually improve their finances.

The seminar/workshop is accompanied by different sorts of activities conducted by the speakers. It aims to teach the participants how to communicate well with one another and also build a strong bond among them which they can use at work. At the end of every activity, they are expected to come up with a group report to develop their analytical and writing skills.

The report created during the seminar/workshop is presented in the group. It aims to encourage participants to speak in front of a crowd, gaining confidence in what they do. The activity became a venue of communion because other participants encourage one another to share their thoughts and express what they think about the activity being conducted.

Lastly, the seminar/workshop is a venue for team building and leadership training where they develop friendship and get support from each other as they continue to move ahead with the university or taking vocational courses or applying for a job after the said program.

To conclude, the participants were tasked to prepare a performance that conveys the messages that impress them.

Social Worker’s Impression[1]

School of life has become an avenue for the participants to meet new friends. The participants have created a bond of a family; even after the School of life, they fight over simple matters but eventually made peace as they realize they also lean on their newfound friends about their problems. Age and maturity has always been an issue for them and through SOL, they have developed their insights or understanding of resolving their issues and conflicts within the group of the SOL participants. This may be used also in responding to the needs of their family.

School of life has become an avenue for the participants to meet new friends. The participants have created a bond of a family; even after the School of life, they fight over simple matters but eventually made peace as they realize they also lean on their newfound friends about their problems. Age and maturity have always been an issue for them and through SOL, they have developed their insights or understanding of resolving their issues and conflicts within the group of the SOL participants. This may be used also in responding to the needs of their family.

The new Social Workers who participated in the School of life may not only share input on the discussion but have created a friendship and a rapport with the other participants. They have also practiced letting their professional practice to have a wider interpretation of the underlying story of each of the participants. With this, the new Social Workers are recommending that parents or guardians of the participants should also be included on topics that were focused on the family aspect. It is also beneficial to conduct workshops or therapy sessions that require a professional to further understand and help the emotional/mental aspect of the individual participant. It was a good start to always focus on the family aspect as it is where the life of a person starts to grow.

[1] The Newly hired Social Worker is from the Philippine Christian University and recently passed the Board Exam.  BP Manila is in partnership with PCU for the internship of their Social Work Students.