In the Philippines, drug addicts have the stark choice of surrendering to the authorities, or risk being punished by death. The surrenderees report weekly to the police stations. There are some 68,000 surrenderees in Laguna Province, and Goducate has been invited to help 350-400 of them (see blog, May 19).
Recently 76 of the drug addicts from six villages in Laguna completed a 14-week drug-rehabilitation program called Simula ng Pag-asa (SIPAG, “Start of Hope”). They met every week for large-group and small-group activities.
Whole group at a lecture
The program had been adapted by Goducate workers for use locally after they attended a 3-day workshop on addiction recovery in Singapore (see blog May 5).
Social interaction
The group that finished the SIPAG programme will be referred to the Department of Social Welfare Development for job placements
Small-group disussion
A second batch of about 70 drug surrenderees will start to undergo the SIPAG program in the 4th week of October.
A few weeks ago the Goducate musicians in Laguna attended a concert by the Manila Symphony Orchestra, courtesy of Mr Jeffrey Solares, the orchestra’s executive director. Last week he kindly invited our musicians to attend a workshop held at the Philippine High School for the Arts in Mt Makiling.
13 of our musicians attended the half-day workship. Jeffery Solares taught them about proper posture and preparation of the body while playing, coordination of the body with the instruments, proper handling of the bow during and after playing a piece, and how to relax mentally while playing. Next 5 of the musicians were asked to play a piece individually in front of him, and later the group as a whole did so.
The musicians learnt much and hope that they will be able to attend more such workshops.
Later this month the Goducate musicians will hold a recital for their families and friends. The day before the workshop, an internal evaluation was held for some of our musicians (10 very young children, 9 beginners, and 7 juniors) to decide which of them will be moved up to the next level. Those chosen to be promoted will be announced at this forthcoming concert.
Learning how to handle the bowPerforming solo in front of Mr Solares
Goducate started working with Tranca Elementary School in Tranca, Laguna, in the first quarter of 2012, with a feeding program that, after 6 months, resulted in 95% of the students attaining their appropriate weight. The success of this program led the school to invite Goducate to join them in other programs.
In the school’s farming program, Goducate taught the students and teacher hydroponic and aquaponic gardening, and the school’s principal and teacher in charge of farming visited the Goducate Model Farm to learn more about growing vegetables. The school won first place for the Most Clean and Green Program and the Gulayan sa Paaralan Competition, which Mrs Cora Ortiz, the school’s principal acknowledged was in part due to the partnership with Goducate.
Goducate has also helped the school in its Moral Recovery program. When camps or seminars are held as part of this program, Goducate has been invited to participate.
Recently when the Multiple Intelligence International School from Metro Manila visited Tranca Elementary School to do some tree planting, Goducate was invited along for the event as well as to give a lecture on hydroponics.
The Department of Education’s District Supervisor has acknowledged Goducate’s contribution to the work at Tranca Elementary School by giving us a Certificate of Recognition as a partner in education. In addition it has taken on one of our literacy teachers onto their kindergarten staff.
More recently, Tranca Elementary School offered Goducate the use of their old administrative building for a Goducate Literacy Center, which now caters for 14 students. In appreciation of this favor, Goducate gave a school a computer.
The newest development in the partnership is the Voice lessons that Goducate is starting for the students of Tranca Elementary, who are learning forward to learning how to sing better.
