Ask a Filipino!

I haven’t forgotten about the “Ask a Filipino” questions, and I have an answer for Laura’s. Well, sort of. I chatted to an OSY in Iloilo about Laura’s question – “quote question” but this is a huge caveat to say that the second part of this answer is completely coloured by my interpretation because I found it really hard to bring the question up in a way that was clear to them or elicited a whole answer, if that makes sense?

So the straight answer to whether SCALA is seen an international …. Was “Yes, of course” and the reason why is “well, they told us so”. In the introduction to the program that the trainers give the OSY they’re told that the computers come from EWB, what EWB is, and how EWB has been involved since the beginning. And as the guy I was talking to said, “It’s right there in the name. Sharing Computer Access Locally and Abroad. That means international.”
But (and this is where my interpretation comes in) from chatting with him further he mentioned that he sees his peers, the OSY, and the trainers as the ones who make the program work. I think it’s seen as a project that local people (the DSWD staff) deliver, even if the origins are from an international NGO, although I’m not sure. I don’t think EWB is seen as directing the project day-to-day, especially since except for seeing Canadian EWB representatives at graduations our day-to-day presence is practically nil.