What COVID teaches us about collaboration & networking

“The attitude we need to develop is to move away from Jesuit triumphalism, thinking that with our resources, our ingenuity, and our capacities we can solve the problems of the world. We cannot.”

With these words, Fr Manoling Francisco SJ opened his presentation on lessons in partnership and collaboration at a webinar hosted by the Jesuit community of Arrupe International Residence (AIR) in Manila, which brought together government, businesses, civil society, church, and peoples of various faiths to address the needs of those hardest hit.

Sharing experiences

To date, Tanging Yaman, an organisation with only four full time staff, has distributed more than a thousand tonnes of fish, rice, vegetables, legumes, and crops; raised more than P20 million; and helped rice farmers increase their income by as much as 46 per cent. All these Fr Francisco says was possible because of collaboration and the trust that people have placed in them. Collaboration is in fact reflected in the foundation’s motto: “A little from many becomes much”, like the five loaves and two fish presented to the Lord, which he turned into abundance to feed the multitude.

“We are a tiny player in the world stage,” said Fr Francisco, recognising that the needs of the world are immense and there is not one person or one organisation who can do everything. “The invitation is to collaborate with those who are moved by the Spirit and driven by the Spirit to humanise the lives of people who are most affected by the pandemic and typhoons,” he said.

“We are a tiny player in the world stage. The invitation is to collaborate with those who are moved by the Spirit”

Networking and collaboration was also key to the disaster response of the Office of the Vice President of the Philippines, Leni Robredo, who addressed the AIR community: “If there is anything this pandemic has taught us, it is that the greater the challenge, the greater the imperative for us to contribute, to be involved and to extend our reach to help. No effort is too small, every step inches us closer to our collective goal.”

Fr Tony Moreno SJ, President of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, recalled the words of Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ that true collaboration and networking requires conversion. “If we are the type of person who wants to control things, who thinks we do it best when we do it ourselves, that we look for collaborators rather than being collaborators ourselves, then there is really some amount of conversion that is needed,” he said.

“Because of the centrality of the mission everything else takes a backseat – our pride, our desire to control, to want things to go our way,” said Fr Moreno. At the heart of collaboration, after all, is the missio Dei.