From Learners to Mentors: KATATAGAN's Journey Towards Collective Growth
by: Jolina S. Garamay
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The journey of KATATAGAN reflects how community organizations can grow when learning is continuously shared and put into practice. Many of its member organizations began their journey as community innovators participating in capacity-building activities, mentoring sessions, learning exchanges, and other opportunities that helped them strengthen their innovations and organizations. For years, they were often on the receiving end of knowledge and technical support, learning from trainers, mentors, partners, and one another.
Over time, however, something began to change. The knowledge gained from these experiences was no longer simply being received. Members started applying it within their organizations and communities, developing their own experience and confidence along the way. As their capacities grew, some members found themselves in a new position—not only as participants in learning activities, but as people capable of sharing their knowledge and guiding others.
This change became more visible as KATATAGAN developed into a national organization. Rather than relying solely on external resource persons, members began recognizing the knowledge and skills that already existed within the network. During KATATAGAN's Social Media Advocacy Training last August 14-16, 2026, members themselves were identified to provide continuing mentoring to fellow organizations.
The transformation was also evident inside the training itself. Instead of depending entirely on external facilitators, KATATAGAN members stepped into leadership roles as resource persons. Engr. Darlito Palermo and Mr. Harvin Mancao served as main speakers during the sessions, sharing practical knowledge drawn from their own experiences, expertise, and continuous learning and research. Their sessions reflected how years of participating in trainings had evolved into the confidence and ability to teach others. More importantly, they expressed a willingness to continue mentoring fellow member organizations—not only on social media and communications, but also on broader organizational development—so that more organizations within the network can grow together.
This growing capacity was not limited to facilitating sessions. Other KATATAGAN members who attended the face-to-face training also took active roles in making the activity possible. Some assisted with logistics, while others supported administrative tasks and documentation. By taking responsibility for these different aspects of the activity, members showed that they are increasingly capable not only of participating in trainings, but also of helping organize and respond to the different needs required to carry them out.
More importantly, the training itself was largely shaped by KATATAGAN. The officers took the lead in thinking through the training design based on what they saw as the needs of their fellow members, with CDP providing support and consultation along the way. This marked another important step in their development: from attending activities designed for them to becoming actively involved in deciding what they need to learn, how they want to learn it, and how the knowledge can be shared across the organization.
At the same time, becoming a national organization has brought a new realization: there is still much to learn. Instead of seeing their growth as complete, KATATAGAN members continue to identify areas where they need to improve. During the same training, members worked together to develop a more coordinated approach to communication, including defined roles for a Social Media Management Team and responsibilities for writing, graphic design, video production, editing, publication, and content review. They also developed plans for continuing mentoring so that learning from the training could be translated into actual practice.
This willingness to continue learning while also teaching others reflects a growing sense of ownership within KATATAGAN. Members are no longer waiting only for opportunities to be trained. They are beginning to identify what their organization needs, recognize the knowledge that already exists among them, and create spaces where members can strengthen one another through shared experience and collective leadership.
Like the innovations that brought them together, KATATAGAN itself continues to evolve. Its growth from a network of community innovators into a national organization is also a story of people recognizing that expertise does not always have to come from outside. Sometimes, the knowledge needed by one organization is already present in the experience of another.
From receiving knowledge to sharing it, and from being mentored to becoming mentors themselves, KATATAGAN's journey shows that sustainability is not only about keeping an organization alive. It is about building the confidence, leadership, and collective capacity of its members to learn from one another, lead together, and carry their work forward beyond the life of any single project. ###
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