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Laboratory coop

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“Sorry my child, we don’t have enough money for your college education. Our income is only enough for our daily meals and bills.” “Ma, don’t worry, I have saved more than enough to finance my tertiary studies in a public school. Do you remember the times when I helped uncle weed their garden every weekend? They gave me cash gifts. And a few bucks from my allowance for the last four years, I saved some in a cooperative.”

This is just one of the success stories I heard from a laboratory coop member. This story may also be true to others who have found the cooperative as the best partner in building the future.

Laboratory cooperatives are organized to serve as a training ground for its members to prepare them for membership in regular cooperatives.

Another purpose of creating such co-ops is to teach the values of thrift and saving mobilization while instilling cooperative values, principles, financial discipline, business skills and leadership skills among the youth. This results in the promotion of Filipino social and cultural values, financial education, ecological awareness and sustainable development.

According to the United Nations Development Program, 31.9% of the Philippine population are young people aging 15 years old and below, comprising 15 million of our population. This is one of the largest generations in the Philippine history and they are about to move into its prime spending years and into the workforce. They are poised to reshape the economy; their unique experiences will change the ways cooperatives do business or provide services for decades to come.

DCCCO Multipurpose Cooperative believes that we can still do so much to make our young people appreciate the cooperative system and sustain their interest as they transition from youth members to regular members. These goals can be done if they are oriented about the cooperative set up through the Laboratory Cooperative system.

I congratulate the newly elected officers of the DCCCO Youth Zone Laboratory Cooperative (DYZLC) which was organized during the Youth Assembly of the Lab Coops held Nov. 3 at the main DCCCO bldg in Dumaguete where I attended to deliver a welcome address. Participants of the assembly came from the different DCCCO branches — Cities of Dumaguete, Bayawan, Bais, and Guihulngan, and the municipality of Sibulan, Negros Oriental; Kabankalan and San Carlos Cities in Negros Occidental, and Siquijor town, province of Siquijor.

I also thank and congratulate the team of facilitators and organizers of the Lab Coop — Directors Maggie Villegas and Atty.Vivian Maquiling, CEO Flordeliz V. Bokingkito, and the two young lab coop frontliners Annamar Eparwa and Hisovi Kristine Alonzo — for having successfully launched the second step of the development process of DCCCO’s lab coop.

DCCCO, the guardian cooperative, has supervisory functions over the laboratory co-op. It formulates the programs, plans, and activities appropriate for the education and training of the members. It also formulates, adopts and implements internal control policies and procedures that shall be embodied in the manual of operation for the Laboratory Cooperative.

There was this very famous musician where after every performance he makes, he had to turn around to his audience. Anyone here knows why he had to turn around and look at his audience? Because he could not hear, so he needs to look at them to see their appreciation, to see their applause……. this man is Ludwig Van Beethoven, the renowned musician of all time. Aside from being a legendary and celebrated artist, Beethoven was also DEAF. This is his limitation.

Just like Beethoven, young people also have their own personal limitations. One thing sure, most of them are not deaf like him, and they also want to initiate positive change.

There are three words that encourages the young to join the lab coop: CHANCE, CHALLENGE and CHANGE.

Right now, all of them have been given a CHANCE. Their parents send them to school, they work hard no matter what their economic circumstances are, so long as they can give them the best education possible. So, these young people take advantage of this chance. And they don’t want to waste this chance.

Since the opportunity is now in their hands, they don’t take it for granted. They CHALLENGE themselves to do WHAT IS RIGHT; they challenge themselves to serve other people through the lab coop; they challenge themselves that whatever their situation is, it should not stop them from doing and performing the purpose of their existence in this world — serve our fellow human beings and be kind to the other creations that God has made.

The young generations are in this world full of injustice, atrocities, inequalities and everything else that can crush the human spirit. However, it SHOULD NOT crush them! If they think they need to initiate POSITIVE CHANGE, then they just have do it! They need to explore what the world has in store for everyone and see other people’s circumstances. They need to discover and discern what is happening around us, remembering always that the real voyage of discovery never consisted of seeking new lands, it meant seeing the world with NEW EYES.

We are very blessed that we have the DCCCO which envisions not just the creation of lab coop leaders but also the empowerment of these new-found leaders.

After the old generation, the young will follow. The young should make sure they rise up to the occasion when their leadership is summoned. That when the chance presents itself, they succumb to it, challenging themselves and acting on what is right and what will set things right, and instigating positive change.

When they have done all that — they can tell themselves — we are a true lab coop members and leaders!

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Author’s email: [email protected]

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