The Ateneo de Naga University hosted the fourteenth Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in Asia Pacific’s Service Learning Program. ADNU’s Institute for Environmental Conservation and Research served as the primary organizer, closely collaborating with the Center for Community Development, the College Campus Ministry Office, the Junior High School Community, and the University Student Recruitment Office, with photo and video coverage provided by the Media Studies Department’s ARTV. Over thirty students from Indonesia (Sanata Dharma University), Japan (Sophia University), Thailand (Xavier Learning Community), Timor-Leste (Instituto São João De Brito), and the Philippines (Ateneo de Manila University, Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Naga University, and Xavier University [Ateneo de Cagayan]) participated in this year’s SLP.
Conceptualized back in 2007 under the AJCU-AP (during that time the region was still named “East Asia and Oceania”), and launched in 2008 with Xavier University serving as the first host school, the annual program provides an avenue where students from the member Jesuit institutions gather to learn more about culture, faith, critical issues, and ecology in one shared space (usually from the host’s location, but alternative areas are also possible). The SLP aims to interweave perspectives of students from different countries in Asia Pacific, bringing a completely unique and reflective Ignatian experience, resulting in a wider, deeper sense of social awareness and spirituality for the participants.
This year’s SLP theme One with Nature echoed the hope of Pope Francis’s(+) social encyclical Laudato Si’ (also celebrating its tenth anniversary this year). The theme was also anchored in the 4E goals: Expose, Experience, Emphasize, and Engage. The students underwent several immersive activities in multiple key places – from ecological sites, to urban landscapes, to rural communities.
The 2025 Service Learning Program was held from 2 to 15 August 2025 with Naga City as the core location. The participants were housed at the Sacred Heart Formation Center, situated near ADNU’s Pacol Campus. For orientations and conversations, the designated venue was at the Bonoan Hall, Junior High School Campus. The activities were composed of lectures, nature trips, environmental activities (ecology cataloguing and tree planting, just to name a few), and community immersions, complemented by reflection sessions as well as cultural programs.
To help prepare the participants for their respective immersions, the organizers provided lectures and conversations regarding the local environment – from communities and their relationship with creation, to pertinent laws and civic activities that aim for ecological preservation.
For their first immersion, the participants were divided into three groups. Each group then explored three areas: the mangrove reforestation site at Calabanga, the Malabsay Falls at Mt. Isarog National Park, and the Naga City streets and riversides. For three days, under the constant presence of the tropical sun and the occasional rainshowers, the students got to dip themselves in the muddy mangrove to help plant seedlings, observe the ecosystem as well as cool down at the waterfalls at Mt. Isarog, and explore the busy, historical spaces of Naga City, where they also got to meet with current Mayor and former Vice-President Hon. Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo.
For their next immersion, the groups went to Barangays Punta-Tarawal and Balatasan (both located in Calabanga). Not only did they get to live with the locals via host families, they also assisted in the feeding program and organized the morning activities for the children at their assigned sites.
Between and after formal activities the College Campus Ministry Office provided reflection and journaling sessions. The participants also partook in social and faith activities such as the Cultural Night and the annual Pagsungko ni Ina, where Our Lady of Peñafrancia – the Patroness of Bicol – visited the campus, providing special a moment for the participants to pray with the ADNU community.
This year’s SLP was quite fruitful, thanks to the organizers’ critical alignment with Laudato Si’. They also proceeded with a delicate balancing act between exposure and immersion, information and formation. Making the program a complex tapestry of socio-cultural dynamics is the students’ interests and engagements rooted in genuine curiosity and openness to different cultures. The factors were indeed overwhelming, but the results of the two-week collaborative effort were seen through the participants themselves.
The program complemented the personal journey of each participant in understanding both community and nature, both of which were held together by faith. During a quick interview with selected participants, they each had their own very personal story. One participant found comfort in their new environment despite thinking about home. Another participant found fresh perspectives on how city life and industry have affected local ecology. Another participant even lost their mobile phone, but was able to adapt despite inconveniences, opening up to new experiences with nature. In the reflection sessions, the participants shared that they were able to connect with nature, and realized how much it connected everyone – from families, to friends, to communities.
Between each session, during moments of rest or preparation, the participants were able to strengthen their bond. Language may have been a barrier, but actions became their bridge. There was an awkward air of unfamiliarity at the beginning of the program, but at the latter part, they were able to craft what seemed to be a common language for their group, manifested through cheerful encouragement, inside jokes, and authentic care for their fellows.
In the closing program, Fr. Antonius Firmansyah, SJ, a Jesuit companion from Sophia University, shared that “SLP” may also mean “Sustaining Love Program.” That is very much true, as manifested in the participants’ video presentations which recapped their two-week journey. The outputs displayed numerous moments of care and camaraderie (to the point that they were already open for a reunion in the future).
On behalf of the ADNU community, University President Fr. Aristotle Dy, SJ thanked everyone as the SLP gave the opportunity for the various units, from Ateneo members to community partners and the local government, a chance to engage in this unique, international collaboration. He shared that the SLP members have officially become ambassadors of service learning as well as the environment.
Photos courtesy of Media Studies Department’s ARTV coverage team
