by: Rev'd Fr. Herbert F. Fadriquela
The facilitation of the formation of people’s organization for community development is the manner by which the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) or Philippine Independent Church engages with the society. It is a faith-motivated participation of IFI in the community-development-driven initiatives of the people. This development approach draw inspiration from the revelation of the Son of God became man not so that we may become divine, but so that we may become more truly human. This development action recognizes community-driven participatory development process as a collective action of the people in addressing issues and concerns in the grassroots level. This approach sees the problems of the poor and oppressed rooted in and perpetuated by the structural organization of society and acknowledges the struggle for justice and liberation as the all-pervading purpose of development efforts. Development here is understood as a transformation of the social structure that negates people especially the poor and the marginalized to participate in social dynamics of a given community. For IFI, effective transformation of social structure is done through community-based organization that will enable its members to understand the root causes of the situation and through self-help and concerted action, correct injustices and rightfully assert their place in the society. To understand the poverty situation and its root causes, people’s organization should undertake social analysis at its macro and micro levels. Such social analysis will provide the people’s organization a defined course of action based on its capacity and capability to address the situation.
Through the organization, the problems and needs of the people are collectively identified, analyzed and addressed. It is also through the organization where individual interests are generated and incorporated to form the common interests of the organization and are expressed in their vision, mission and goals. As the organization go along, the officers and members are guided with the organization’s core values and principles aiming at self-reliance, empowerment and community development. To facilitate the people to organize themselves and help them enhance their collective capacity in a community-driven participatory development is therefore, one of the ways IFI demonstrates its participation in the human history and the saving act of God. Here, Melba Maggay’s statement “We do not do things to the poor, we do things with them” is true.
The formation of community-based organization is a grassroots level approach of organizing and empowering the people to effect changes in their lives and in their community. The method of organizing and empowering the people in the local community is known IFI-VIMROD as the step-by-step organizing approach (SOA). It is a step-by-step approach because it follows a process of community organizing from entry to the community, integration to the community and formation of people’s organization and entry to a nearby community for the same process. Its main thrust is to initiate the formation, consolidation and capability building of the people’s organization in an identified rural community and to another adjacent community using the same method and approach.
VIMROD’s task of community organizing is done mainly by its Church Development Workers and VIMROD volunteer lay members who become Friends of VIMROD (FoV) volunteer as community organizer (CO) and participate in the step-by-step-organizing approach. In this process, the CO is sent and does a low profile entry to the community and immerse in the lifestyle of the community to have first hand information about the community. The CO participates in the household and community affairs. Household affairs include household chores, farm production and tending the farm animals of the host family. Community affairs on the other hand, include church activities, hunglos or the community cooperation in land preparation, planting of seeds or harvesting of crops, alayon or community cooperation during building of a house, or on social gathering such as wedding or when somebody dies. The CO stays most of the time in the community and lives with the host family. After gaining the trust and acceptance of the people in the community, the CO starts to explore the geographic, demographic, cultural, socio-economic and political life of the community using primary and secondary data necessary to learn about the community. Through house to house visitations or group discussions during breaks while at work in the farm, the CO initiates discussions on the life situation of the farmers and draw their views and analysis of the situation. Basic questions such as: ‘Why are we poor?’, ‘What is to be done?’, ‘How can we help each other?’ demonstrate that the CO is identifying itself with the peasants and willing to take part in addressing their concerns. Such questions also challenge the farmers to be critical of their situation. Group discussion topics such as faithfulness to God, to oneself and to one another provide deeper and common understanding and enhance relationships among the farmers. The need to organize themselves is always emphasized by the CO among the people to collectively address their individually-identified needs and concerns. With the formation of the organization, the elements of sharing, learning and mutual support are further enhanced and consciously practiced. Within the people’s organization, the prevailing individualistic attitude among the members of the organization is positively transformed. Through the organization, leaders and members are developed from having the attitude of selfishness into individuals and group that appreciate community life and are conscious of community development beyond their personal well-being. In the people’s organization, individuals find themselves bonded together to work for the common welfare of the members of the organization which in one way or another contribute to the development of the community.
The involvement of the church in advocating the issues and concerns of the poor and of being in solidarity with them in their struggle is a noble task but the church should not stop there if it really desires to achieve genuine social change. Development efforts should be anchored on faith in the people’s capacity to discern what is to be done as they seek their liberation and development and how to participate actively in the task of transforming society hence, the need for the formation of people’s organization that carries Christian and Filipino values. With this, the presence of a IFI faithful as CO to facilitate the formation and sustenance of the organization to achieve progressive development in a particular community manifests the participation IFI in kalihukan sa katawhan alang sa katilingbanong kalambuan or KKKK and the faith of the IFI on such organization to effect progressive change among its individual members of the organization and to their community. Such participation is not only revealing and witnessing to God’s love, it is also a part and parcel of the mission of the church that is responsive and relevant to the contemporary context of the rural communities in the Philippines. It is a praxis model of contextual theology because it develops a theology relevant to the context by first acting to discern the poverty situation and its root causes and then reflecting on that situation in the light of faith in God to come up with an appropriate action.
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