As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, many of us have been trapped in our homes, unable to go out with our friends and family as we once did. Even in the midst of this dark time, however, there is still a light that continues to make our lives brighter — our communities working hand in hand to make the most of this predicament.

 

This year, the organizers of the Best-Designed Campus Papers of the Philippines launched the National Press Campus Olympiad (NCPO), the country’s first national virtual journalism tournament, with the theme “Promoting Community Development through Multi-platform Campus Journalism.” The theme served as a reminder of how important the community is which is a fact that has often been overlooked in favor of focusing on the nation as a whole.

 

The Philippines is a collection of many islands, languages, traditions, and people joined together under the flag of one country. The communities within it are close-knit and with initiatives to support their less privileged members. With this in mind, it becomes increasingly necessary to stress the need to encourage community development instead of waiting for politics to trickle down from the national level.

 

It takes a village to raise a child and the same is true of communities and their people. The village is perfectly suited to care for a child because they know what he or she might need. Similarly, the community knows best in regards to their own needs and how they might be solved.

 

While people who think in terms of the big picture are often praised and exalted, that is not always what is needed. Sometimes, what is important is to be on the ground, knowing what is truly going on and being able to communicate with the people who need help on their level.

 

As a nation, the Philippines is an ideal that Filipinos fight for and defend at all costs. On its own, its reach is too broad and vast to reach out to every citizen individually. However, at the smaller level with its communities, it is able to do just fine, ensuring prosperity for its people and securing a future where one's community will always have their back.