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By Sister Liberty Mendoza, OP Principal, Dominican School of Apalit
June 14, 2017, Pampanga, the Philippines – As the Dominican School of Apalit, located in the region of Pampanga in the Philippines, anticipates its 20th anniversary in 2018, Sister Liberty Mendoza, OP, reflects on how faculty members and staff have worked to form the students as young Dominicans.
The Dominican School of Apalit (DSA) will turn 20 in 2018. One of the lessons we have been impressing upon the hearts of our young pupils is “compatior” or compassion. The learning community, from the youngest 4-year-olds to those in the 12th grade, in collaboration with the parents and local government units, has been engaged in the process of learning what it means to give compassionate care for all of creation. It is presumed, however, that the seed of compassion was first seen, sown, and nurtured in the homes of our pupils.
To be a Dominican stakeholder means not just to acquire profitable competencies that prepare an individual for the “university of life,” but also to walk an extra mile, to be other-oriented. It means to share not just canned goods or a bowl of hot soup during disaster relief operations or peak sharing seasons, but to see, smell, and feel the holy presence of God in the people who are poor, in the faces of the indigenous Aetas, the indigent pupils in nearby government-run schools, or the out-of-school children residing at a nearby public cemetery.
The hope of the school staff is that these encounters would strike a chord in the hearts of our young Dominicans, urging them to forget themselves and change the small space where they stand. Compassion for all of creation is translated into concrete actions.
How has Dominican School of Apalit preached in terms of living out its stance on compassion for all of creation? Teatro Dominiko, the school club for students who have inclination and passion for stage-acting, has mounted well-attended plays dealing with social and ecological themes: Mommy Ko Nature in 2011, Balik-bayan Box in 2014, and Luzviminda in January 2017.
Mommy Ko Nature exhorts spectators to suffer with, weep, and even bleed for Mother Earth as she continues to experience wanton destruction. Every child of nature is awakened from its slumber caused by indifference and must pledge to nurse his Mother, named Nature.
Balik-bayan Box is a tribute to our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), in particular to the many Filipino parents who saw the heart-wrenching need to leave children behind, risk working on foreign shores, and remit crisp foreign currencies back to their families, with the hope that this will ensure a more secure and stable future for their loved ones.
Luzviminda, a contracted name for the three major islands in the Philippines – Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao – aims to remind the audience about the current ecological state of the country. The play advocates respect for the dignity of all life forms – the marginalized tribal groups, plants, animals, fish, and everything else that breathes and lives.
Providentially, this preaching medium – theater – has been helping us to send the message about the urgency of taking part in rehabilitating and healing the planet Pope Francis calls “our common home” and of being more conscious of the social ills besetting the country and the world.
In partnership with Caritas Manila, DSA – and the other schools in which the Sisters in Our Lady of Remedies Chapter serve – recently drafted an Eco-Ministry Plan. We are acting on that plan in many ways.
DSA is situated near the Pampanga River and numerous coastal spots, which have been clogged by thriving water lilies that cause flooding during rains. Our School Head, Sister Rosita M. Yaya, OP, and the Parents-Teachers Association are working with the local government of Apalit, and Senator Cynthia Villar’s Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance Foundation to solve the problem by removing water lilies and turning them into materials for handicraft weaving.
We at DSA hope to care for the legacy of the Pampanga River and other local coastal bodies so our students will understand that the river has its own life. It is our duty to keep that life flowing.
Feature photo (top): Prep students from Dominican School of Apalit perform a welcoming dance.
June 13, 2017, Adrian, Michigan – While many of their peers were focusing on summer jobs and taking a break from classes, 14 students from Barry University and Siena Heights University were immersed in an environmental experience that could help shape stewardship at their respective universities.
The students were participating in the first-ever environmental stewardship leadership program, sponsored by Barry and Siena Heights and hosted at the Motherhouse campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, which founded and sponsors the two universities. The aim of the program was to teach the students about sustainable ecosystems and to encourage them to apply what they learned by taking the lessons to their college campuses in the fall.
The collaborative program involved the students in hands-on work, such as building berms and swales to control water flow, planting mushrooms, and designing and planting guilds – communities of diverse plants that benefit one another.
The students also heard presentations on permaculture, climatology, and Earth Jurisprudence – the movement to reframe the justice system to protect the rights of nature and human beings. Rounding out the two-week experience were visits to sites that taught the students about ecological sustainability, including the zero-waste campus of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative in Detroit.
The environmental stewardship program was a collaborative effort among Barry University, Siena Heights University, and the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Elaine Johnson, Permaculture Specialist for Adrian Dominican Sisters, organized the experience, along with Holly Sammons, Dominican Volunteer. Also participating were faculty advisors Associate Gerry Starratt and Ruth Tallman from Barry University, and Matthew Draud and Heather Moody from Siena Heights University. Among those who gave presentations and administrative support were Sisters Corinne Sanders, OP; Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress; Carol Coston, OP, Director of the Permaculture Office; and Sharon Weber, OP, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Siena Heights.
During a closing presentation to the Adrian Dominican Sisters at the Motherhouse and in private interviews, the students spoke about what the two-week experience meant to them and how they hope to apply those lessons.
Rahbar Kahn, a Siena Heights student from Bangladesh, said the program was a “great opportunity,” making him more aware of sustainability practices in farming. “I hope to take this experience back to my country and make an impact,” he said, adding that he recommends that other students participate in the program the next time it’s offered.
“I’ve always been an advocate for saving our planet, so the more I can learn the more I can help save the world,” said Kassandra Guerrero, a criminology major from Barry. “This program has allowed me to learn things I wouldn’t have even imagined were real.”
Liza Avila, a social work major from Barry, said she learned the importance of teamwork and cooperation as well as the need for sustainability. She hopes that what she learned in the program and in her social work studies will help her to make a difference. “Hopefully I’ll be able to work mostly on the policy side,” she said. “I feel that’s one of the big ways I can make an impact."
Gerard Brown, a communications major from Siena Heights, said the experience taught him a great deal about sustainability, zero-waste systems, and the need to protect our watersheds. “I have a better understanding of the environment and the effects we have on the environment,” he said. He hopes in the future to live in a fuel efficient, Earth-smart home and to educate those around him. “We need to care because it’s going to be our future,” he said.
Feature photo (top): Barry University and Siena Heights University students study the permaculture site at the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Motherhouse.
Students pause in their work at the Motherhouse permaculture site during their two-week experience.