Point Taken

All of the active BECA scholarship recipients are asked to participate in weekend community service projects twice a month.

On the second and fourth Saturday morning of every month for about three hours most of our students get together to clean up schools, tutor children, donate blood and other stuff like that. They pay their own transport to attend.

And beginning this year, the students have been coming up with the project ideas themselves. The default choice is usually cleaning up a primary school.

It all sounds really great, right?

Not so fast.

A lotta grumbling lately. From the students. And who bears the brunt of this grumbling? Our Coordinators, which really isn't right.

The projects aren't obligatory but the students who participate receive a "bonus" payment along with their regular monthly stipend. Therein may lie the problem, I dunno.

Some staff members and students feel that the social projects should be compulsory. And without any "bonus." Others think we should do away with the projects entirely. Or at least put them on hold. Yada yada yada.

I was explaining this situation to an Argentinian friend. Her response was quite interesting.

"Let's not forget that BECA itself is a social project." 

Hmmmm.

Point taken.