NWU Student Services mounts Women’s Month Talk Show on U-Radio
The Northwestern University Office of Students Affairs (OSA), together with the NWU Gender and Development Focal System, the NWU Guidance Center, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Vedasto J. Samonte School of Graduate Studies, and the College of Teacher Education, conducted E-Kumustahan 3.0 – Episode 7, in line with the celebration of National Women’s Month. With the theme, “We Make Change, Work for Women,” it aired via U-radio 107.5 and streamed online over the NWU OSA page on March 18, 2022.
The program was spearheaded by Prof. Agustina Matias-Dancel, Acting Dean of the OSA, and Prof. Shiela Navasca, Physical Therapy Department Head, together with three guests: Mrs. Darlene Mae Bayam, an entrepreneur and wife of Brgy. Buttong Chairman Jessie James Bonoan; Atty. Elizabeth Janapin-Parel, a lawyer; and Mrs. Mary Ann Santos, an entrepreneur.
The show’s topic was “Women: Life Stories Amid the Pandemic,” where guests shared their experiences, coping mechanisms, and how they could still lend help to women in need.
“The struggle is more on the situation of Buttong, where Kapitan Jessie James Bonoan and I accepted that I am the mother of Buttong. The struggle there is how to restore the dignity of the people of Buttong because many [have lost] their jobs. So dignity in a sense that when you lose [a] job, you [also lose] your self-worth,” said Mrs. Bayam. She also headed a feeding program, provided free Wi-Fi for the students and food for the frontliners.
“Balancing work, parenting, and being a wife [has become] more stressful. It’s also difficult to work at home and, at the same time, take care of the needs of your kids because, while you’re working, you are constantly distracted by the needs of your children. I have become more resilient as a mother because of the struggles we are all facing. I am struggling as a parent, and I have to understand that they have struggles on their own,” Atty. Parel said.
Mrs. Santos also told the story of her life as a mother during the pandemic. “I sell different [types of] food because that is my coping mechanism to keep moving. My children were involved in business and they learned to value the money,” she said.
“We have grown [up] in a time when we can freely express ourselves. We can freely be ourselves. We can choose what things to do and what profession,” Prof. Dancel-Matias said as she shared the second topic: Coping Practices: Life Changes.
“Women are not just empowered in terms of who they are in a society of gaining more respect in society. We have come to that status because we have felt the support of the government by enacting laws,” Atty. Parel articulated.
The show ran for three hours and garnered significant viewership online.
