1. Who are the founders of kaingin? An English block (professor: Mr. Bing Polo) of Batch 1984. It was started in their first year of college (1981). Started as an immersion/exposure activity, initially as a requirement by Mr. Polo, then the insertions became a regular thing (not weekly initially, but intermittently) for some members of the class. The group that continued to go on insertions invited friends from other classes and the group grew.
The following year, Mr. Polo required another exposure trip for his English class, and some people from that batch joined the upperclassmen who went regularly.
Eventually it became a weekly thing (Saturdays). Midweek, we would have a prayer/sharing session, conducted by our Spiritual Advisor, Denny Toledo, who eventually became a Jesuit priest some time after we graduated.
2. Why was it started? What brought these people together? *see above
3. How did the idea of building an organization start? *see above
4. When did Kaingin officially become an org in ateneo? Not known--orgs were not official/formal during our time.
5. Roughly how many members did kaingin have when it was just started as an org? One English block during the required insertion; members of that class who stuck around and continued going were around 10 maybe. Then they were joined by friends.
6. How did the area insertions work during that time? Every Saturday morning, 3-4 hours (8-12nn). The kids would be there in one area (parang activity center ng barangay) and we'd teach them, depending on their need. We tried supplementing their school curriculum.
7. How did they come up with the name kaingin? Name of the community in Balara. It just stuck.
8. What was the vision mission back then? No formal vision mission during our time.

1. Timeline & history 1. Beginnings 2. Founding 3. ? 4. Adoption of Marikina Heights 5. Adoption of Balara HS 6. New Mission and name change 1. Description of org 1. Explanation of concept map/ goals 2. Explanation for new mission 1. Mission vision 2. Name change 3. What we do 1. Brief description of educ and pr goals 2. Educ projects 1. Area insertions 2. “Alternative Learning Day” 3. “PPT/PTC” 4. Book Drive 5. Recog day 1. PR projects 1. Spelling Bee 2. Advocacy series 3. Org week 4. Trivia camp 5. Advocacy campaigns 1. Testimonies from partner communities 1. What we do for our members 1. Description of the type of members we want to have 2. HR and Educ projects 1. Camp tournaments 2. TBE 3. LTS 4. Babad 5. Skills Training 1. Where we get our funding 1. Finance projects 2. Donations? 1. How you can be involved 1. Project partnerships 2. Sponsorships 3. Advocacy promotion 4. Partner communities 5. Contact details and links 1. EB page

History
1981
Mr. Bing Polo, a professor in the English Department of the Ateneo, initiated an immersion activity as a requirement for freshman students taking his class. The English block enjoyed the community work in Kaingin Dos, Balara, Quezon City and continued the exposure trips. The early insertions mainly focused on Catechism as a response to the growing spiritual needs of the community under the oppression of Martial Law.

1982 Eventually the movement quickly spread as the students under Mr. Bing Polo invited their colleagues to join. Led by their English professor and spiritual advisor Fr. Denny Toledo SJ, their efforts eventually became a weekly initiative that created the foundations of an organization fighting for social justice with the vision of a society with improved quality of life.

Insertions took place every Saturday morning from 8 am – 12 nn in an activity center near the barangay. Ateneans would casually teach and pray with the kids from Kaingin and the eventually the name “Kaingin” stuck.

19??
Support for basic education in the community was seen as a more pressing need by the organization and the shift from Catechism to academic teaching was made.

19??
Creation of the organizational constitution.

2001
Mang Jong Enrico became Kaingin’s official jeepney driver.

2003
There was an increase in Kaingin’s member pool and as much as the organization wanted volunteers in the area, they could not be fully accommodated. Marikina Heights was officially added as a main beneficiary area of Kaingin after it became one of the immersion areas of the Office of Social Concern and Involvement (OSCI). This year also marked the partnership with OSCI. Students under the National Service Training Program began helping out in furthering the advocacy. Insertions started taking place on Saturday afternoons.

2012
An OSCI mandate was released stating that all students under the NSTP are to become discipline based. Current NSTP students working under the organization were to be pulled out the following year and this posed as a big threat to the organization relying on the manpower and regularity of these students.

2013
The organization made a bold move in adopting Balara High School due to the circumstances brought about by the OSCI mandate. Balara HS, still with the support of the NSTP program, temporarily takes the place of Kaingin Dos while the organization reevaluates and reassesses how it can best cater to the later community.

2015
New challenges and opportunities have presented themselves to the organization. There is more to do and more to achieve in the coming years and Kaingin wants to take the advocacy further. This year marks a lot of changes as it takes on a new direction, a step towards the EDGE.

Description of EDGE

EDGE: Education Geared towards Empowerment, an accredited Sector-based organization of the Ateneo de Manila University, believes in empowering the underprivileged youth through education. The organization believes that big and lasting improvement in children’s social development can be achieved by first having the proper mindset towards learning.
Members of EDGE commit themselves towards inspiring and challenging these children to dream big and to work hard to achieve those dreams. By giving these kids an “edge”, the organization aims to bridge the gaps in the educational sector and achieving the goal of social justice.
How EDGE Works:
The projects of the organization mainly focus on changing attitudes of children towards learning by: * Providing individualized tutorials that improve language proficiency of children so they can better understand the lessons and appreciate learning in preparation for higher educational where the medium of instruction institutions is English * Creating opportunities for students to engage in activities beyond the classroom setting * Provide avenues for discussions to increase public awareness on the situation of education in the Philippines, and offer possible opportunities where more people can become involved.

Name Change
Kaingin started out as a simple immersion activity, a school requirement for an English block in 1981. The early insertions mainly focused on Catechism as a response to the growing spiritual needs of the community under the oppression of Martial Law. The movement quickly spread as the students under Mr. Bing Polo invited their colleagues to join. Led by their English professor and spiritual advisor Fr. Denny Toledo SJ, their efforts eventually became a weekly initiative that created the foundations of an organization fighting for social justice envisioning a society with improved quality of life.
The needs of the community, however, have changed over time and the organization has continuously adapted with it. Throughout the years the organization has undergone a lot of major changes and expansions and this year it is going to take another step in furthering its advocacy.
Kaingin went through a reevaluation of its’ mission vision as well as its’ capacities as an organization. The Executive Board saw that the lack of educational training, limited time spent in the community, and the capacity of the members to attend the area insertions regularly was hindering the organization from creating the impact it desired. The organization had to take on a new approach.
New Mission Statement: “The organization strives to enlighten and empower the LS community to advocate for education, and to pursue and support an environment of higher educational standards in our partner communities.”
The revision of the mission statement was made to shift away from the technicalities of academic teaching, expand efforts beyond the two areas, and create other avenues for its members to effectively practice the advocacy. The current direction of the organization now focuses on changing the attitudes of children towards learning which the Executive Board believes must come first for before big and lasting improvement can be seen in the children’s academic standing. The idea is to make these kids empowered and capable of setting and achieving their big goals in life. The new direction then became applicable to communities outside the apostolate areas and the organization started involving itself with different organizations and public schools.
The organization is now in a position capable of supporting multiple facets of the educational sector and able to better bridge the gap between the LS and the marginalized communities. With this huge leap in my mind, the Executive Board revisited the long standing proposition of a name change in the hopes of having a name that clearly resonates its ideals. After much deliberation, EDGE: Education Geared towards Empowerment was chosen as the organization’s new name. A name thought fit for an organization willing to go to the peripheries, the edge, in its attempts to continue the Kaingin legacy of bridging the gaps towards social justice.

EDGE Ateneo launches its first ever academic exercise program, Trivia Camp, which aims to provide an avenue for graduating high school students to showcase and enhance their academic skills. Trivia Camp is a four week-long project comprised of weekly activities aimed to encourage students to achieve more and foster positive attitudes towards learning. The students will undergo weekly training in the form of seminars and workshops to be given by accomplished professionals and partner organizations affiliated with EDGE Ateneo.
Spelling Bee is an interschool competition that serves as an avenue for students to apply their skills in English and to further its advocacy of promoting higher educational standards. Through this activity, the organization aims to help public elementary students improve their skills in spelling, increase their vocabulary, expose them to different concepts and cultures, and develop their usage of the English language. Student participants from chosen districts will undergo training prior to the final rounds not only to improve their skills but also to foster a sense of sportsmanship, camaraderie, and motivation to learn.