Social Enterprises are Social Connectors

The guests at a recent organizational event of the project Social Enterprises Development (SED) last Saturday were in awe at how the women and men, young and old, present inside Jaime’s hall at Mariners could be so spontaneous and at their best when they got together face to face with each other. They belong to the various organizations turned social enterprises in the poor communities of Canaman in Camarines Sur and nearby Naga City, called Ilaw ng Kababaihan, People’s Organization of Disaster Survivors (PODIS), Bugkos Kabataan and the newly organized Ilaw Hilot Association or IHA.

They share a common bond, joy, laughter, pain, loss, and hope. They come together with shared stories - serious or marites. When I arrived, I felt there was undeniably much spontaneity around that when the emcee called for a break, the next was expected. Everyone had a golden chance to hold the microphone and sing and felt it was forever.

The event was signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the MPCF SED Program and Barangay officials of Canaman and the oath-taking of elected officials. For guests from the Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology or BISCAST and Central Bicol State University in Agriculture (CBSUA), the occasion typically exudes an atmosphere of formality.  For the middle-class and upper-class citizens,  the event would require a formal decorum, each step measured so as not to disturb the solemness of the memorandum signing.

The program began with the usual invocation followed by the Pambansang Awit and then the talks. Doc Cely opened the program by welcoming everyone, including the student volunteers who came to help document and cover like trained photojournalists.  Nobody should be left behind, so the printed program included who’s who on the campus and community. Then Doc Gabby, Doc Marilisa, Doc Apple, Ms Rachelle of BISCAST, and Doc Philip for the closing remarks.  I said in jest that signing the MOU was like signing a marrige certificate, to which everyone lauged in return. Wala na dapat soli-an.

Spontaneity. The masa or ordinary folks in the barrio can be extraordinarily spontaneous with their behavior, especially among themselves, with familiar faces and company.  The guests were right. The members of the social enterprises present knew each other; their groups were connected by their social class, neighborhood, problems, and needs. Heelga was president of ILAW part 2, which the local DSWD organized in 2019, inspired by the organization of ILAW part 1 by TBM. She joined every SED training possible, and now she is a multi-skilled entrepreneur who has gained greater mastery in social marketing and massage in the gentle IHA touch.

Last week, at the Bishop Francisco Gainza Trade Fair, Heelga volunteered once more as JaImEliza’s marketing presenter, and I, as creative producer, scriptwriter, and director of a seven-minute presentation. She and a cast of three—a massage therapist (Paz) and a patient (Daylin) seated on a chair—won the Digipreneur award hands down. The ultra-shy Beth Daep, the treasurer of ILAW, is never known to speak when asked; she would nod and volunteer a brief smile when called.  A simple housewife whose only connection to the outside world is being a candle maker and treasurer of the women’s group, ILAW ng Kababaihan, she learned the “art” of relating to big groups of people by regularly volunteering on duty during trade fairs. She has gone on duty in many trade fairs, marketing their candles, handmade soap, the ESense stress relief fragrance oil, and assorted handcrafts. The farthest place she reached was at Mega Mall in Ortigas NCR, where her team went on duty for the JaimEliza booth with TBM-produced products in 2019. With constant exposure and training, she has learned to connect more and more with her production and marketing team.

It was her most memorable out-of-town travel yet because Sis Celia Jacob, a social advocate of Connected Women in NCR, Mandaluyong, had booked them free at Sogo Hotel in Quezon City during the entire trade fair event, courtesy of the hotel’s corporate social responsibility. For Beth, it was the first time she felt liberated from her usual laundry chores, which came every weekend.

Social Enterprise is a social connector.

Truly, socialization comes with belonging to a social enterprise. Members come to meet, plan, assess, produce, package goods together, market, and sell them for their collective shared income. They connect with other buyers, sellers, producers, and the Trade Fair host.

On a higher plane, in the Philippines, social enterprises play a vital role in promoting social connections and inclusive growth for everyone who belongs. Social enterprises are a strategy for poverty alleviation, getting people to work together and become productive. They are also an instrument for environmental conservation. Social enterprises are creative solutions to social problems, and to be more effective, people should sustain interest and collective productivity.

Social enterprises are business organizations aimed primarily at uplifting people experiencing poverty by involving them as planners, workers, producers, suppliers, sellers, managers, owners, and decision-makers in marketing their products and services to create wealth and ensure equal opportunities and social benefits for all.

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The Mariners, CBSUA, BISCAST, BU and NCF with the cooperation and support of the Regional Policy Advocacy Committee (RPAC) will convene a Regional Social Enterprises Summit on October 25-26 at the Atrium, CBSUA Pili campus, Camarines Sur.