Goducate aims to help Asians help themselves. In Laguna, Philippines, we’ve imparted livelihood skills to help many people there. Many ladies are now supplementing household income by producing soap, dish-washing detergent, fabric conditioner, and perfumes for sale to their communities. Many young people have been trained to teach music and the money they earn by giving music lessons helps fund their own schooling or music lessons. Recently, many men have been trained to be basketball referees or table officials so that they can earn money by officiating at basketball competitions.
Last week I was there to watch the kickoff of another livelihood training program, namely, training young men to be life-guards and do swimming-pool maintenance. Laguna is known as the “Resort Capital of the Philippines” because of its proximity to Manila and the presence of many hot-spring resorts there. Most of these resorts have swimming pools. Philippines’ law requires the presence of life-guards at all public pools.
A licensed life-guard and well-known swimming coach from Manila, Jojo
Rivera, who is also a basketball coach who has helped in our basketball program, volunteered to teach our young men life-guard skills. Eight men were selected to undergo an introductory course in life-guard skills. The two-hour introductory course conducted in the Goducate Model Farm was followed by another two hours of practical life-saving in a nearby swimming pool.
We hope that some of these eight men will be found to be suitable to undergo further training so that they can be certified life-guards and to be competent at maintaining swimming pools.
Goducate hopes that this will be another means to help Asians help themselves