Pasaway kaba?

Pasaway is not really a negative term, as for me, I am calling myself Pasaway all the time by standing firm on my own opinion even the rest are talking against my point.

I was invited by Toni from the office of Senator Bam Aquino and as much as I wanted to come, I can’t because I have work that day. So I just sent my two colleagues from the Blogosphere to cover that event.  Anyway, to all Pasaway in the world, don’t you worry, those crazy enough are the ones who can change the world as mentioned by one very popular pasaway, Steve Jobs.

Read on about the Press Release below.

A ranking official of the National Youth Commission (NYC) encouraged young Filipinos to be “pasaway” by “standing up against the status quo” to effect positive change in their communities and the country.

“Young people [have] stood up against the status quo. Young people have changed a lot of endings in many stories,” NYC Commissioner Percival Cendaña said at the opening of the screening of the 20 finalists for the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards.

For Cendaña, the TAYO finalists epitomize the “pasaway” tag as they were able to break away from the norm and find, implement, reinvent, and provide “cool solutions" to "age-old" problems in their communities.

“Cool means appropriate, current, and relevant. Cool is a superlative to young people,” said Cendaña, hoping that the stories of these 20 finalists could inspire other youth and hopefully, the nation.

Senator Bam Aquino, chairman of the panel of judges and a co-founder of the annual TAYO Awards, said that the “pasaway mindset” has enabled advocates to push for reforms and help make “sustainable change happen.”

“Meaningful change doesn’t happen when people just stand by and accept the status quo. Long-term, sustainable change happens when people are willing to challenge the norm and take risks,” Sen. Aquino stressed.

The lawmaker also said that the TAYO finalists are already winners for effecting change in their respective communities through different programs and projects.

The 20 finalists bested over 300 entries from around the country, for the innovative and changemaking projects that they started in their local communities, schools, and workplaces.

Redefining "pasaway"

The Medical Missions Incorporated Student Group is a group of students from the University of Sto. Tomas who recently launched a week-long medical mission, including free check-up, medications, and surgical operations in General Santos City.

Meanwhile, members of the Phi Kappa Mu Fraternity from the University of the Philippines-Manila started the Operating Room Assistance Program, or “Project OpeRA, which creates ways and means for indigent pediatric patients to receive quality and timely surgical interventions at the Philippine General Hospital and other government hospitals.

The Love Yourself Inc., a youth group from Taguig City, provides awareness, counseling, and education to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among Men having Sex with Men (MSM), the youth sector, and other high risk groups.

A volunteer youth group, the Tulong sa Kapwa Kapatid has been teaching and providing financial assistance to an impoverished community in Payatas, Quezon City, where they also incorporate parents and Catechism lessons for values formation.

Upsilon Sigma Phi, a fraternity from UP-Diliman and the finalist from the National Capital Region, started Mission: Katutubo Village in Porac, Pampanga. The organization adopted an indigenous community where they work on a long-term development plan involving social, educational, material, health, and empowerment interventions.

Meanwhile, the Association of Filipino Forestry Students-UPLB established a two-hectare mangrove stand in Brgy. Pinagbayanan in Pagbilao, Quezon in its effort to make a mark in environment protection and contribute to the community’s socio-economic growth.

The Ateneo Sarong Bangui Junior Eagles Club from the Ateneo de Naga University has the “Tarpadyak” program, where they convert used tarpaulins into durable protective pedicab coverings to promote waste management and tourism.

Kawil Tours, on the other hand, has played a large role in boosting tourism in Culion, Palawan through eco-tourism; while Maestro Club, composed of education students, produces an interactive newsletter for children and their families promoting environmental awareness in Tuguegarao, the hottest place in the Philippines.

The Tanay Mountaineers Incorporated started a Disaster Risk Reduction Advocacy Program, through which they train youth residents of Tanay, Rizal to serve as first responders and as primary local resources on multiple disaster risk reduction trainings.

In the Visayas, the youth also actively participate in community building projects and programs that address the problems of sexual assault, health, juvenile delinquency and education.

In Cebu City, the Gualandi Volunteer Service Program, Inc. started the “Break The Silence Network Project”, a youth-led NGO fighting against sexual assault of deaf children and women.

In Ormoc City , the Hayag Youth Organization began the Langoy Para sa Kaluwasan Program, which addresses the lack of swimming skills, water safety awareness, and disaster preparedness through a three-day swim camp for 70-plus children and youth from the city’s 10 poorest barangays.

The Rescue Assistance Peacekeeping Intelligence Detail (RAPID) Inc. focuses on gathering "rugby boys" in Cebu City with the help of local police, and helps reintegrate them back into society.

The United Architects of the Philippines Student Auxiliary Foundation University Chapter in Dumaguete City launched the Estudio Damgo-Dungga Daycare Center , an architecture program where senior students design and build an actual structure for their chosen community.

In Mandaue City, the University of San Carlos-Pathways started "Bridging the Gap", where 31 high school students from five different local schools are provided a four-week program of tutorials, seminars, and workshops in preparation for college.

In Mindanao, the Association of Locally Empowered Youth-NM promotes entrepreneurship to youths in urban slums in the cities of Dipolog and Dapitan, by teaching them to produce vegetables through hydroponics or soil-less cultivation.

The Tagum-based TC Youth Laboratory Cooperative teaches youth the value of savings and financial security by “bringing the bank to the schools” while Team BUNDOL Mountaineers from Alabel, Sarangani conducts environmental activities and outreach programs to far-flung communities as part of their climb.

Volunteer Service Provider, a finalist from Davao City, constructs and deploys man-made, dome-shaped structures with holes, on "conducive but de-coralized seabeds", to serve as fish shelters and to help boost the fish population in the area; while the Watershed Management Youth Council share its love for environment through music and fashion.

From the 20 finalists, 10 organizations will be chosen as the TAYO winners.  Aside from the specially commissioned trophy sculpted by Mr. Toym De Leon Imao, the winning organizations will receive a grant of P50,000 that they can use to fund new projects or continue their long-term programs.

Over a decade of defining a new norm

Now on its 11th year, the annual TAYO Awards is the country's premier recognition program for youth organizations. It was co-founded in 2002 by former Senator Kiko Pangilinan and now-Senator Bam Aquino, together with the TAYO Awards Foundation and the National Youth Commission. Through the years, over 2,000 youth organizations from different parts of the Philippines have vied for the awards.

It is currently headed by TAYO President Aika Robredo, presented by the Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, and supported by Smart Communications, Jollibee, Philippine Airlines, and Lenovo.