An Enderun tale of empowerment

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”  — Ralph Waldo Emerson

One afternoon late February, chef Kyla Rosales gave a talk on creating healthy, delicious food on a budget. Her audience was glued to her every word. So interested were her listeners that Kyla was peppered with several queries after her presentation. Among the questions asked was: “Bakit po hindi kayo gumamit ng Magic Sarap?”

Chef Kyla’s culinary workshop was just one of many livelihood presentations organized by the esteemed Enderun Colleges for the residents of Poveda, Fuji Xerox, Zonta, Rotary West, CWC, ISM, Jack&Jill and Fil-Am villages in Taguig City. Conceptualized by graduating senior Mylene Tan, the series of workshops aimed at giving the participants skills to help improve their standard of living.

Enderun student Ian Ma teaches how to prepare a table.

Martha Goebel, a teacher of Enderun Colleges, shares, “Our objective for this event was to expose and introduce the parents of the Gawad Kalinga Taguig community to various skill-sets. We also wanted to discover what skill-sets they would be interested in so as to implement a relevant livelihood program. This was our first step in the process.”

This event, “Galing Ko, Puhunan Ko” (My Skills, My Capital) included both informational seminars and skill-set exposure. The informational seminars included basic hygiene and sanitation and resume-writing. The skill-sets presented were basic landscaping techniques, a culinary demonstration of a healthy, budget conscious meal, basic restaurant service techniques and a sewing project. All participants were given instruments in which to encourage these skills: bolos, pan, cutting board, sewing kit, etc. We followed all this with a feedback form in order to determine what was most helpful to them.

Chef Myla Rosales conducts a cooking demo.

The invited participants were the parents of the children who attend the Saturday workshop of Enderun NSTP (National Service Training Program). Anna Tuason explains, “We have a regular program for children under the Children and Youth Development Program whom we give activities to. Oftentimes their parents would bring them to our school and they would stay to watch their children participate. It dawned on us that these parents were clearly interested in further learning and that we would be in a position to help them. This was our motivation to start this training series.”

Statements from the Taguig participants were enthusiastic and heartfelt. “I discovered that my life does not end as a housewife,” exclaimed one mother. “I learned how to prepare inexpensive yet nutritious food,” shared a housewife. “I learned cooperation, the importance of cleanliness and how to be a good husband,” shared one father.

Workshop participants learn how to sew.

More and more the need for volunteerism becomes apparent. Improving the lives of the marginalized and underprivileged is always a positive endeavor that endures regardless of religious preference or political affiliation.

President John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural speech, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Enderun Colleges is living proof of the concern of privileged society for those who simply need knowledge and opportunity in order to improve their lives.