Our final day of the Systemic Change workshop day began with Fr. Gregorio Bañaga Jr., CM telling us the story of the St. Vincent de Paul National Awards and how it was started by Adamson University in 2010 to celebrate the 350th death anniversary of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac. These awards are given to groups who do not belong to the Vincentian Family yet have projects that are systemic – initiatives that transform mindsets and attitudes thus promoting collaboration in different levels.   That’s exactly the genius of St. Vincent! He created a system of helping the poor or organized charity rather than individual charity work.

We were on workshop mode by groups the whole day. Workshop 1 was Values and Strategies Critiquing by Ministry while Workshop 2 focused on Proposals on how best to work as a Vincentian Family to promote systemic change. Some participants sat down together in another group to talk about what the whole week session was leading them to. Finding out that they shared the same interest and willingness to do something, there is now the DREAM of a common initiative that would hopefully bring us to live out systemic change as a Family.

At the end of the afternoon we closed the 6-day Systemic Change Workshop with a Para-liturgical Service which included the presentation of Fr. Gregorio Bañaga Jr., CM, Fr. Atilano Fajardo, CM and Pamela Mantuhac as the Systemic Change Asia Pacific Coordinators as well as that of the Systemic Change Initiative Core Group. We give thanks to God for the whole experience which was made possible by the Systemic Change International Commission and Adamson University. Among the pictures we are posting today, we are sharing a painting done by Joebert Pampliega of St. Vincent and St. Louise sharing in a typical Filipino family meal.

Ana Maria Escaño

VMY Philippines