Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc.

Kaangayan, Kalambuan, Kalinaw ... sa Mindanaw, sa Pilipinas, sa Kalibutan

TSP’s Vic Hao Chin pushes for youth development
Posted 2 May 2008

	Vic Hao Chin shares his actual and personal experiences on handling youth and setting up an alternative school in Manila, The Golden Link School.

Balay Mindanaw recently invited Vic Hao Chin, President of the Theosophical Society of the Philippines, to hold a session on how to handle and help develop our youth. The topic is very important such that Balay Mindanaw is now looking at a more strategic intervention towards community youth development and peace.

The session, held April 17 at the Balay Mindanaw Peace Center was joined by two youth representatives from the community, three local women leaders, some staff and members of Balay Mindanaw and the TSP-Mindanao. Though brief, the session was meaningful and substantive. It also became a venue for sharing diverse experiences from the small group of participants.

Balay Mindanaw recognizes the critical role of the youth in the peace and development of the island. Youth awareness on peace education already started with activities like the arts for peace workshops. The members of the youth council of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) had already participated in community-based peace trainings, taken from Balay Mindanaw’s Operation Peace Course program dubbed as OPKORS. There is a need now to formalize it and find more strategic approaches.

Hao Chin said that in pursuing a youth development program, it is important to be clear with two things first: 1) the long term goals of the program and 2) the kind of adults we want to develop. He further compared that youth development is just like parenting. If we are confused on how to provide growth to our children, we will transfer our confusion to them. Interventions with the youth are often effective because at this young age, they are still very receptive to change and could easily be molded.

Hao Chin proposed that our youth program should also have a character-building element which will nurture the emotional intelligence (EQ) of the youth, enabling them to handle their emotions well. In that way, an impact will be tangible on the person. Our educational system, he said, focuses more on the skills, math, science and English. Having a high IQ will land you a job but it is emotional intelligence that will get you promoted. In the experience of the Theosophical Society, self-transformation sessions and follow-up sessions are very effective.

A youth development program should also tackle parenting because the two are closely interconnected. He said that character-building starts at home. Violent parent produces violent children. Love that is felt by children results to happiness, and they become non-defensive and non-violent. It is important for young people to get listened to and feel appreciated and loved.

The youth, he says, plays a critical role not only today but in the future, since they will become the next leaders. Hao Chin presented a research by Transparency International which looks on the 10 most corrupt leaders of the world and took note that 2 out of the 10 came from past Philippines presidents -- Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada. Marcos, he said, was very intelligent and talented but he became one of the most corrupt leaders in the world because he lacked the one important thing for a leader, emotional intelligence.

He said it is important for the youth to develop into principled leaders in the future. Great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi were not remembered because of money or power but for how principled they were and how they stood for it. A politician may buy votes but he will never earn the respect of the people. He said that if you do not buy votes, you may not win. But people will respect you and see you as a person of integrity.

The session also brought out some important realizations and reflections, especially from the participants from the partner community. The barangay kagawad was struck by Hao Chin’s topic on principled leaders. Vote buying is rampant in their barangay that is why she too bought votes during the barangay elections. She made a resolution to never again buy votes. The chairperson of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) was also enlightened by the session saying that she agreed that most of the SK projects were basketball leagues and initiating disco or dance events. She was very glad to have attended the session and when she gets back to the their barangay she will immediately propose relevant activities that will have more lasting effect on the youth. Another participant, the president of a women’s organization who is also a mother, said that she was touched by the topic on parenting. She said it is never too late to change the way she raises her children and that as president of their organization, she will propose peace building seminars for parents.

The input of Hao Chin was indeed a valuable contribution to the development of the youth peace building efforts of Balay Mindanaw. We hope to pursue our vision and mission towards the development of the youth.