Ready, set, go..

Who would have thought that gathering data would be that fun?

I am grouped with Alex and Diego, and with the combination of our name initials, we came up with “MAD”. We were assigned in Brgy. Timugan but we wanted a bonus so we also aimed for Brgy. Bagong Silang.

On September 30, 11:00 am, we went straight to Brgy. Timugan office and ask the needed information personally. By communicating in person, we got the right information faster and we were able to establish a connection with the barangay officer which we can use for future assistance. It’s fun because the person who accomodated us was welcoming and kind, he didn’t asked for a letter and even called the person-in-charge of barangay level units to make sure that the data given to us are accurate.

But what if your your plan like ours in the bonus part didn’t work out?

We really didn’t hike to Brgy. Bagong Silang because of the bad weather but I have a friend who happened to be the SK chairman of the said barangay and so we asked him if he could give us the information we needed. It’s our last option since the hike will be very dangerous.

Here are the tips I could give, given the experiences and realizations I had :

Be polite and always smile. You’re the one asking for something so make yourself reliable. It’s a great way to establish a connection when asking for information. It will lessen the awkwardness and people might be more approachable. Smiling really gives a lot of good karma.
Establish your credibility. Introduce yourself and tell the purpose of your presence because there are officers who ask for letters or more background before giving the needed information.
Have back-up plans / be prepared. You never know what’s going to happen in the midst of gathering data or even before and/or after gathering data. Weather, nowadays are unpredictable and so do peoples’ minds. One second, the weather’s good, another second it’s raining hard. Some officers or persons-in-charge are not that approachable and they tend to ask for letters so better be prepared. Don’t forget to bring an a umbrella!