Thank You SEDPIps

We celebrated SEDPI's 10th Anniversary last December 19, 2014. I took on the task of thanking the SEDPIps. Here's what I said:

Good Evening Everyone.

We have been thanking different stakeholders of SEDPI tonight. And now, I would like to thank the SEDPIPS à the people who have been part of this organization, ang mga nabola at naniwala, ang mga nagtaguyod sa SEDPI.

It has been said that the greatest asset a company can have is its people. This could not be more true for the case of this company. SEDPI started with meager resources, but the heart and dedication of its people was never short.

Ten years after its birth, several people have come and gone, but all their contributions have brought SEDPI to where it is right now. We started with volunteers, na pagkain lang ang katapat. Now 10 years after, we’ve had a total of 47 staff and 21 interns, some of which are foreigners. So, to all these 68 SEDPips, thank you for becoming part of SEDPI at one point in your lives.

Thank you for the knowledge and skills you shared. A lot of us were not experts on the fields of microfinance, social entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. But we had to build our capacity in order to provide innovative excellence-driven services. A SEDPIp is never contented with what they know, they always strive to learn more.

Thank you for the hard work and dedication… for the countless numbers of sleepless nights in order to finish reports, prepare for field works and trainings, and our early-morning flights. An outsider will view our work as all-fun and travel, but we know better.

And yet, we always give our very best. Kahit anuman ang kanya-kanya nating pinagdadaanan, we always set that aside to train the nanays in Siargao, or to learn from the experiences of Yolanda victims, or talk with farmers all the way in Ilocos.

For that, thank you for the passion to improve the lives of the marginalized, no matter how little our contributions may be. It is that desire to make a difference that fuels us to go that extra mile, ang ibuwis ang buhay sa pagsakay ng habal-habal at mga bangkang walang katig, para lang mapuntahan ang mga nanay at tatay na nagpapatuloy sa atin sa kanilang mga tahanan at nagbabahagi sa atin ng kanilang buhay.

SEDPIps, thank you for believing in our vision of a sustainable social enterprise for the economic empowerment of the poor. Thank you for always being efficient in our projects, sa hindi pag check-in sa mga 5-Star na hotel kapag nagfifieldwork at hndi pag-aksaya ng pagkain sa field, na parang iba yata ang epekto sa akin.

Thank you for the fun memories. SEDPI would not be complete kung walang fun… The side trips, outings, teambuilding, impromptu videoke, inuman, or kahit tambay lang, survive tayo kasi may kanya – kanya tayong krung – krung.

And along with that krung-krung is a certain bond that only SEDPIps have. Kaya nga natin nasasabi na once a SEDPIp, always a SEDPIp. Thank you for the long-lasting relationships, for friendships and ties as strong as family. We go beyond work. Pati lovelife ng isa’t isa, pinapakialaman natin. And we are always there for each other, no matter what. Sa lahat ng ito, maraming salamat. Salamat at nagging bahagi kayo ng paglalakbay ng SEDPI.

Yun na! Pak!