Development Studies seniors create online portal and database for ACED projects

Graduating seniors from AB Development Studies, Olivia Banzon, Celestine Bicomong, Andrina Mukhi, and Luigi San Miguel, developed a portal and database to consolidate and coordinate projects done by students in partnership with the Ateneo Center for Educational Development (ACED). 

ACED’s mission is to close the poverty gap and enhance the quality of life for the poor by improving public basic education at scale with a holistic approach. One of ACED’s primary programs is the Food Augmentation Program, which has two main components: first, the weekly delivery of food packs to young mothers as part of the Inang Busog Batang Malusog program, and second, the weekly delivery of meals to public schools in Quezon City for selected indigent students.

ACED frequently collaborates with various students across the Loyola Schools, especially through the National Service Training Program as facilitated by the Office of Social Concern and Involvement. Other forms of student engagement involve student groups independently reaching out to ACED, those who work with ACED for their theses and other class work, and scholars who volunteer with ACED as part of their service hours.

Several meetings were conducted with ACED to discuss the organization’s processes and difficulties when facilitating a large number of projects. The group identified redundancy and unsustainability across projects as key areas of concern and the need for consolidation and coordination arose. With the portal and database, ACED will have the project information and materials to replicate, further develop, and reimplement projects based on their evaluation. 

The goal of these tools is to help ACED and Ateneo students effectively make strategic decisions to support the sustainability of these projects and to make meaningful impact on ACED’s various beneficiaries.