As a premier Catholic educational institution, training and education are at the heart of our Community Development strategy. Training pertains to helping partner communities and institutions to proficiently practice a specific set of skills in order to allow them to perform better in a particular task. Meanwhile, education pertains to help partner communities learn how to use knowledge based on UNESCO’s four pillars of education, namely: 1) Learning to live together; 2) Learning to know; 3) Learning to do; and 4) Learning to be. Thus, education is not just about being trained, but it is also about knowing how to use knowledge to do what is good, to promulgate local knowledge, and help partner communities and institutions become educators themselves.

People in partner communities and institutions must be helped in order for them to be organized so that they can have a high level of public engagement and cohesion on important Community Development projects and issues that affect their lives. Community and institutional organizing includes conscientization, leadership development, membership building, organizational development, and campaign or action plan development.

In order for Community Development projects to be sustained, they must be anchored on long-term programs. Management for program development here refers to helping partner communities and institutions develop a portfolio of multiple projects that are managed and coordinated as one unit with the objective of achieving outcomes and benefits for their organization and respective community. This will require community participation in learning how to manage development phases of a program, namely: 1) situation analysis; 2) planning and design; 3) implementation and monitoring; 4) evaluation; and 5) impact assessment. Management for program development also entails institutional development of SIMBAHAYAN to better orient and inspire students, faculty, administration, support staff, and alumni to engage in Community Development work.

SIMBAHAYAN serves as human rights defenders for people coming from different sectors who experience discrimination, exclusion, marginalization, oppression, and subordination (DEMOS). We do this in order to raise their voices and help them conscientize the general public, government, policy-makers, or other entities such as private corporations, to bring about positive changes that can be in the form of policies, laws, programs, and projects designed to effectively improve their situation in life. Meanwhile, research and documentation entail scientifically gathering evidence in order to develop Community Development programs and projects and understand their long-term impact on the lives of communities and institutions we serve and partner with.

SIMBAHAYAN engages with partner communities and institutions in Community Development work, because as a Catholic university, we base our principles and actions on Gospel-centered service, Catholic Social Teachings, and the Dominican charism. Thus, in everything that we do, it serves as an opportunity to promulgate the Good News and be the Good News so that people we serve and partner with may come to know and feel the love of Christ. Hopefully, this would lead to the formation of people in partner communities and institutions with a Christian lens and sensitivity in working toward social transformation.