De Leon: Week 4 at Peace Works

A. List down all the tasks that you performed during this period. Describe each in detail.

May 4, 2009
6:00 – 7:30 PM
When I opened my e-mail last Monday evening, there were two story assignments that were given for the week. The first one is about the Tzu Chi Foundation and the other one is about the Center of Wellness of Zamboanga City Medical Center. I was glad because both stories are connected to one sector, the ZCMC. Since it was already beyond office hours, I just browsed the web to check if there is available information about any of the topics.

From there, I found out that Tzu Chi is a big international charity foundation through their official website. I just saved all the necessary pages from the web for further readings. Since there were so many of them, I just had a quick look on some important points and decided to read more some time later.

May 5, 2009
10:00-11:30 AM
The following day when I woke up, I read my stored files about the Tzu Chi foundation. From there, I got the telephone number of the Tzu Chi Zamboanga liaison office.

May 5, 2009
1:00 PM
After lunch, I remembered that my grandfather underwent a cataract operation before with the help of Tzu Chi foundation. I called up my aunt, according to my mother, knows the head of the local Tzu Chi office to inquire about the foundation. However, my aunt was not there so I just talked to my uncle who is a nurse in ZCMC. Unfortunately, he had no idea about my query. Yet, he was able o give me some information about the other topic, which is the center of wellness. He gave me some name that I can approach and ask about the center.

I called the ZCMC through the numbers I got from the directory. From there, I was transferred to different offices, connected to several lines, talked to various people and in the end got one answer: “All of the people you need are out of the city. They will be back next week.” Alright, the soonest time that I can talk to whoever is in the position to discuss the topic is on Monday.

So, I then decided to work on the other article. I dialed the number that I got from the Tzu Chi website and inquired who I can talk to for an interview about Tzu Chi. I was lucky enough that the coordinator was there at the office when I called up and so I talked to him. Dr. Anton Mari H. Lim was kind enough to schedule the interview the following day at 1:30 at the eye center.

Because of the unavailability of the resources that I need for the other article, I immediately informed the editor about it and it was moved the following week. Another topic will be given to me in replacement, he said.

May 6, 2009
10:00 AM
I opened my e-mail to check if there is an email about the new topic that I will be writing about in replacement of the postponed article. New topic was about domestic violence against women, in relation to the upcoming mother’s day celebration. I called the office of DSWD to inquire and the same thing happened. I was transferred to different offices, connected to several lines and talked to various people. Finally, an instruction was given to me. I was asked to send a letter of request to the regional director of DSWD.

May 6, 2009
12:30 PM
I went to RCPI to fax the letter for Dir. Romo so that I can save time and resources instead of dropping it at the office. However, RCPI resumes work at 1pm so I still waited for half an hour. Then, there were some problems because the receiving line ran out of paper so I waited for another couple of minutes.

May 6, 2009
1:40-3:30 PM
I arrived at ZCMC compound ten minutes late. It was my first time to enter the compound and the guard gave me a not so clear instruction to locate the eye center. Finally, I arrived fifteen minutes before two pm. Dr. Lim was still doing something when I arrived at his office and so I still had the time to sit down, relax, breathe and prepare myself for the interview.

We already agreed that we will have the interview recorded when we talked over the phone. After the interview, he gave me a pamphlet about the foundation, two still thoughts cards of Master Cheng Yen and three issues of the magazines that the foundation produces. They were really kind and he even toured me around the center and asked a nurse to show me the facilities of the center.

When I asked him if I can get some photos, he offered that it would be better if he will give me their photos during their operations and activities. He gave me his call card and told me to just text him the photos that I need and he’ll send it to me via e-mail.

May 7, 2009
9:00 AM
I called at the DSWD office to follow-up my request. The regional director was out of town and they haven’t checked the fax yet. I was asked to call after fifteen minutes and so I did. When I called, the staff member said that she will forward the communication to the OIC and I should call before lunchtime. I called at around 11:30 and they said that there are some protocols regarding interviews. The topic is very sensitive as they said, and they cannot decide if they can grant the request with further limitations because the director is not around. Because of this, the story was cancelled.

12:30 PM
I checked my notes and listened to the interview to get the important points that Dr. Lim mentioned. I outlined the information that I got and started to write the story. I ended at around three o’clock because I still had my lunch and some breaks. J

After reading the article once more at around 6pm, I texted Dr. Lim about the photos that I need. He said that the message sending keeps failing and asked for my other e-mail addresses. When I checked my e-mail at ten, there were already five messages and by and by, more messages kept on coming. So I decided to take a final check the next day to make sure that everything is in.

May 8, 2009
5:00 PM
I went to Jardin Maria Clara to take more photos because I felt that my earlier shots during the past week were not so good. When I went home, I check my e-mail and saved the photos that Dr. Lim sent me. He texted to ask if I got the photos exactly the time that I was on them. I replied and extended my thanks for his kindness and hospitality the entire time.

B. Describe new skills you learned, or skills you improved upon as a result of these tasks. Be specific.

o Photography. Another important thing that journalists should be good at is taking the photos that they need to accompany their story. As weeks pass, I myself, become more familiar with the camera, I get used to dealing with other people and having the courage to take photos in public without thinking what other people would think. I admit that before, I felt uncomfortable especially when I have to take photos of people. But now, I feel more confident especially when I ask for permission to take some photos. And, most importantly is the story that each photo takes. While I am taking photos for the article on public parks, I am already imagining the caption that I will write. And for the longest time, this is the article that I can say I got many photos that can be released.

o Choice of words. Noticing and comparing how Sir Rey edits our work taught me a lot on how to write the story. Right now, there were already five stories that we submitted, and from five stories, I already learned some things on how a sentence should be written, what other words we can use when we have to repeat the same idea and other things similar to that.

o Speed of writing process. Writing the story about Tzu Chi foundation did not take me a very long time. Usually, I spend an entire afternoon or evening until midnight to finish a story. But this week, I ended early at around three when I started at noontime and that already included my lunch break and some other breaks like watching some portions on the TV show, going outside to buy something, CR break and others. From this, at least I know that I can finish a story in less time compared to what I had before.




C. Other thoughts regarding the OJT experience.
I hate it whenever my planned schedule is not followed within the week. By default, I wanted Monday to be my day for appointment transactions, request for access to offices, or contacting people that I need for the story. Tuesday and Wednesday are my information gathering period. However, this week was a total topsy-turvy. Having two unsuccessful articles for different reasons made me feel bad.

Well at least the story about the wellness center is moved next week and I can just follow up my appointment with the center’s representative. But the other one, which was cancelled, was something that I felt excited about. Then, it did not pursue.

But having the interview about the Tzu Chi Foundation was a really good experience. The best part of the internship is when I get the chance to talk to people, listen to their stories, find out their advocacies, share their thoughts and be touched by their experiences. That is the best part and then I easily get excited to tell their story to other people. J I then realized what our instructor said when we were still in freshmen, if you love to tell stories, you belong to this field, mass communication. And that is exactly what we are doing now. As journalists, we inform the public and we tell them stories.

Also because of these encounters, we meet many people, build connections, gain friends and encounter many opportunities. Dr. Lim even asked me if I could share my writing skills to the foundation and write some stories about Tzu Chi and how other people’s lives are changed.

Appreciation from other people naturally makes me feel good. It motivates me to work harder, improve my performance and exert more effort. But more than that, I feel more blessed that other people see my talent/skill in writing as a gift and that through this, I can help spread good news to other people and change their lives. This was what Dr. Lim told me after having the story about Tzu Chi written. Maybe it is also because I am still a beginner and every opportunity that comes seems to be something new to me. But, I think that it is something good because through these opportunities, my interest in this field heightens. And at least, I find more meaning why I am doing this thing. Through this, I realized that other people do not only appreciate what I am doing but acknowledges that this job is something that really changes other people’s lives.