“Fun” isn’t really the first word one would associate with Citizen Army Training (CAT)—except when it is for the students of Bacolod City National High School. At that school, the program will now be more than just the training under military-style discipline. The new program teaches how to build character, how to forge strong friendships, how to be community leaders (primarily at home and in school), and how to address community concerns. It also aims to build the emotional and moral well-being of the students. The methods include problem identification, teamwork, solution application, and evaluation.
The new program, a partnership between Goducate and the school, kicked off early the school year on July 11. It is designed for the grade 10 students (in their 4th year of high school), and will continue till the end of the school year in March 2017. Around 600 of the over 700 students have been assigned to.Goducate. These students, grouped into 19 sections (of 30 students each), meet up with Goducate facilitators once a month
Through this program, we aim to make the youth become an active and aggressive force in providing solutions to problems in the community even at their young age.
*Our guest writer is Jeru Samilo, Coordinator of Goducate Training Center in Iloilo
