SEARSOLIN
Encyclopedia
The Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN) is one of the outreach units of the Jesuit-run Xavier University
located in Cagayan de Oro City
, Philippines
. It is an international training center dedicated to the formation of socially committed and competent leaders in the struggle for poverty alleviation and holistic human development
within the context of diverse cultural and religious traditions in Asia
, Pacific and Africa
. It aspires for no less than a just social order where respect for human dignity, deference of various religious beliefs, equitable distribution of wealth and care of the bounty of the earth shall prevail.
The training programs are geared towards the understanding of poverty
, the process that lead or perpetuate it and adoption of the skills necessary to alleviate it such that in the final analysis, the poor will be primary beneficiaries of the SEARSOLIN programs.
was founded in 1953 by Fr. William F. Masterson SJ. Eleven years after, in 1964, SEARSOLIN, as an offshoot of the College, began with full support from MISEREOR, Germany. Since then, it has trained thousands of rural, social development leaders from different parts of Asia, Pacific and Africa.
The modules are:
The SEARSOLIN program has always been deliberately integrated and generalist, believing in training the whole person to enable her/him to be at the service of all, through the blending of value courses and social sciences as well as management and practical skills. SEARSOLIN focuses on the 'head' (theory/thinking), the 'heart' (values/loving), and the 'hands' (practical/doing). The pedagogy is more "hands-on" than strictly academic. The community live-in training of several months provides a unique experience and rich socio-cultural dynamics during which the international participants develop fellowship, camaraderie and leadership values and skills.
Xavier University (Cagayan de Oro)
Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan is a private, Roman Catholic university run by the Society of Jesus in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines.It was founded on June 7, 1933 as the Ateneo de Cagayan by an American Jesuit missionary, Fr. James T.G. Hayes, S.J., who later became the first Archbishop of...
located in Cagayan de Oro City
Cagayan de Oro City
Cagayan de Oro; , officially the City of Cagayan de Oro, is the provincial capital city of the province of Misamis Oriental in the Philippines...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. It is an international training center dedicated to the formation of socially committed and competent leaders in the struggle for poverty alleviation and holistic human development
Human development (humanity)
Human development in the scope of humanity, specifically international development, is an international and economic development paradigm that is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. People are the real wealth of nations...
within the context of diverse cultural and religious traditions in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Pacific and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It aspires for no less than a just social order where respect for human dignity, deference of various religious beliefs, equitable distribution of wealth and care of the bounty of the earth shall prevail.
The training programs are geared towards the understanding of poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, the process that lead or perpetuate it and adoption of the skills necessary to alleviate it such that in the final analysis, the poor will be primary beneficiaries of the SEARSOLIN programs.
History
The College of Agriculture of Xavier UniversityXavier University (Cagayan de Oro)
Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan is a private, Roman Catholic university run by the Society of Jesus in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines.It was founded on June 7, 1933 as the Ateneo de Cagayan by an American Jesuit missionary, Fr. James T.G. Hayes, S.J., who later became the first Archbishop of...
was founded in 1953 by Fr. William F. Masterson SJ. Eleven years after, in 1964, SEARSOLIN, as an offshoot of the College, began with full support from MISEREOR, Germany. Since then, it has trained thousands of rural, social development leaders from different parts of Asia, Pacific and Africa.
SEARSOLIN Directors
- Fr. William F. Masterson S.J., 1964 - 1984
- Fr. Antonio J. Ledesma S.J., D.D.Antonio Ledesma-External links:****...
, 1984 - 1993 - Dr. Anselmo B. Mercado, 1993 - 2007
- Fr. Josenilo G. Labra S.J., since 2007
Programs offered
The Social Leadership Course is offered annually from June to December and is packaged in a monthly modular form in a series of ten modules that allows the participants more flexibility to select and stay for a shorter or longer period.The modules are:
- Module 1: Participatory organizational and project management (June)
- Module 2: Sustainable agricultureSustainable agricultureSustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
(July) - Module 3: Cooperative-ism and Cooperatives (August)
- Module 4: ProjectProjectA project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
monitoring and evaluation (September) - Module 5: Volunteer program development and management (September)
- Module 6: PeacePeacePeace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
building approaches to development (October) - Module 7: Responsible and independent journalismJournalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
(October) - Module 8: Micro/Small enterprise development, business planning and microfinanceMicrofinanceMicrofinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....
(November) - Module 9: Socioeconomic and environmental issues and interventions addressing urbanizationUrbanizationUrbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
in developing countries (November) - Module 10: Development action plan (December)
The SEARSOLIN program has always been deliberately integrated and generalist, believing in training the whole person to enable her/him to be at the service of all, through the blending of value courses and social sciences as well as management and practical skills. SEARSOLIN focuses on the 'head' (theory/thinking), the 'heart' (values/loving), and the 'hands' (practical/doing). The pedagogy is more "hands-on" than strictly academic. The community live-in training of several months provides a unique experience and rich socio-cultural dynamics during which the international participants develop fellowship, camaraderie and leadership values and skills.
What SEARSOLIN stands for
- South: because it caters to the developing nations of the South, or Third World, vis-à-vis the richer nations of the North.
- East: because it is situated in the Orient, it builds on the rich cultural and religious traditions of the East.
- Asia: because SEARSOLIN's home is Asia and its trainees mainly come from the three sub-regions of Asia — South, Southeast, and East Asia; even as it welcomes also participants from the African continent and the Pacific Islands.
- Rural: because its concerns are focused on rural development issues, including rural poverty alleviation as challenged by food security.
- Social: because it talks of the human person in society and deals with the imperatives of social justice.
- Leadership: because it strives to form leaders with conscience, competence, and commitment; leaders with a clear vision and the social skills needed for the development tasks ahead.
- Institute: because it is not only a training center with a time-tested program, but it is also a continuing fellowship among development workers in the field in the various countries of Asia and the developing world.
See also
- Asset-Based Community DevelopmentAsset-based community developmentAsset-based community development is a methodology that seeks to uncover and utilize the strengths within communities as a means for sustainable development....
- Cagayan de Oro
- Xavier University - Ateneo de CagayanXavier University (Cagayan de Oro)Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan is a private, Roman Catholic university run by the Society of Jesus in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines.It was founded on June 7, 1933 as the Ateneo de Cagayan by an American Jesuit missionary, Fr. James T.G. Hayes, S.J., who later became the first Archbishop of...