Working with the community is a grounding
experience in a way that you get a glimpse of how
the world runs. Through our interactions with them, I
realize that everything is interconnected. It becomes
more obvious how nature or the place’s natural
landscape, the politics, the business establishments
and even media present in the community interplay
and influence the people’s way of living, our culture,
the food we put on our tables, and even the future
opportunities in the place and for its community.
We always start the week with a huddle or sprint
planning. Here, we lay out our priorities for the
week. If we have a major community event, the
preparation usually takes a week or more. Before
immersing with the communities, we would have a
series of meetings and pre-arrangement or headsup with community leaders will be done ahead of
time. Community visits would usually take 2 to 5
hours, but the planning behind that activity takes a
week or more!
I will be courageous enough to say that EDC will
not be the Company that it is now without the help
of our communities and stakeholders. They are the
ones who validate whether EDC has lived up to its
brand and mission/vision. How our communities
and relevant agencies interact with us is a reflection
of whether we have done our job properly. The
communities are our biggest social fence and most
effective ambassadors.
They are also the ones who have been in the area
from the very start, they have a proper grasp of the
area, people, and ground situation. The reason why
we can do our job safely is because we depend
on the knowledge of our communities and we trust
each other. Our programs won’t be tailored fit to
the communities and will probably not create the
same impact if we didn’t properly consult with the
communities. The communities have the power to
make or break a project.
Community work after all is no work at all. It is a
reward in so many ways.
One of the best parts of working in the Corporate
Relations Department (CRD) section is that you
witness the evolution of a community. You get to
be reminded of the best in humanity and how a
small act can go a long way. The most memorable
moments are of those days when we band together
to resolve a challenge we thought we couldn’t take
on. When we are faced with a crisis, it is the support
of the community that brings us out of the woods.
There are a lot more—the lady leader of the NGO
who campaigned against our operations and now
our top advocate in the community, the struggles of
securing social endorsements, the relief operations
in times of calamities- these among other things,
made our community works worthwhile, validating
our relevance in creating significant influences
among the people and partners we serve.
Probably my favorite lessons working with the
community are (1) that help will always be around
and (2) we all depend on each other to accomplish
a task. We depend on everyone—our service
vehicle drivers, security guards, personnel support,
the community leaders, the loiterers who seem
content on just looking around, the children who are
always eager, curious and honest; those who have
unpopular opinions (they balance our perceptions).
Each one is important and has something to
contribute.
If I may add one more, I will include the fact that
we need to be sincere in our efforts of creating
engagement with the community folks, appreciating
their culture and beliefs and supporting them all the
way.
Mr. Eduardo Jimenez, Head, CRD Bacman