On-site NSTP11-Punla Engagements Resume

As Ateneo de Manila University continues its transition to fully onsite operations, resumption of face-to-face formation activities such as on-site NSTP11-Punla Area Engagements. These engagement sessions have paved the way for the students to meet representatives from various marginalized sectors of our country. The eight sectors that the students engaged with and learned about this year are Women and Gender and Sexual Minorities, Labor, Urban Poor, Education, Persons Deprived of Liberty, Agriculture, Health, and the Environment.

The NSTP11-Punla Program, a second-year formation program in partnership with Theo12, has continuously aided their further immersion and understanding of the reality of poverty experienced by the aforementioned sectors.

Students have expressed their enthusiasm toward these activities as they are not only able to form connections with their fellow students and speakers from the communities, but this activity is also able to spark their enduring passion for social involvement, service, and advocacy.

One of the students shared how her Punla experience was one of the most memorable so far during her stay in Ateneo. She said, “It definitely has taught me a lot of things, and one is how one's presence and a listening ear can delineate compassion. The vividness of ate's sparkling eyes as she passionately shares her stories of battling with atrocities tells me that despite how we take listening as something mundane, it is something significant that can help quench the longing to be heard by another.”

The NSTP11-Punla Program, and the Office for Social Concern and Involvement as a whole, is set to continue its ongoing transition back to face-to-face activities alongside the University’s efforts.

Photos by Eryka Jade Tangco and Kate Graciella San Mateo