This piece is written by Gabby, Kai, and Richmond, graduates of the AB Organizational Communication program at De La Salle University–Manila. It is based on their undergraduate thesis, “Care as Communication: Exploring Lunas Collective’s Compassionate Communication.” Through their work, they aim to foster meaningful connections through communication grounded in the values of feminism, inclusivity, and accessibility. Beyond their academic and professional pursuits, they advocate for creating safer spaces within their communities.
Group Reflection:
In a world where pressure comes from all directions, organizations are exploring avenues to better connect with their members and constituents – and care serves as a powerful conduit for this.
Working with Lunas Collective for our thesis, we individually had our realizations about valued communication and its effect on a team that truly cares and nurtures others.
First, we saw the impact and significance of an organization going beyond rigid structures and bureaucratic processes and instead, recognizing the power of dialogue, compassion and emotions. People would be surprised how much professional kindness has an effect on their audience, as exemplified by Lunas Collective’s practices.
Second, our personal interactions with them pushed our drive to highlight the kind of work that Lunas Collective does for the communities they passionately support. We appreciated how they use their everyday words and time to support and transform lives towards continued self-discovery, healing, and empowerment.
As we present this thesis paper, we share that its creation demonstrated a lot of compassion and openness to learn about communication that is formed through principle and intention. Through shared experiences and conversations with the org’s core team and volunteers, our understanding of [the Lunas Collective Feminist Care Principles] continued to unfold. Each meeting sparked deeper curiosity, revealing just how rich, nuanced, and interesting their history, culture, and practices are.
Thank you, Lunas, for your unwavering support! We are proud to be able to integrate our academic wisdom into your meaningful platform, and we hope that our readers find that same spark and admiration we found here.
Output Summary:
At Lunas Collective, care is more than a value—it is the heart of how the organization shows up for one another and for every person who reaches out. This study explored exactly how care manifests itself as compassion unfolds in Lunas’ day-to-day work. The research looked at how the core team communicates compassion to their vollies, and how vollies communicate care with each other and with service-users.
The study showed how deeply compassion is woven into Lunas’ culture and communication. Drawing from Miller’s (2007) framework of Compassionate Communication, the research showed how this principle guides every interaction, specifically how they compassionately notice, connect, and respond. Most importantly, the study identified Lunas Collective’s communication style to be Dialogic Reflection, in which vollies aid in the service-users’ introspection instead of enforcing concrete solutions through clean language and active listening.