In partnership with the Philippine Red Cross, the Goducate Training Center (GTC) in San Miguel, Iloilo, is in its second year of helping others through blood donation. With the theme “Dugo Mo, Ibulig Mo” (Help others through your blood), a blood-donation day was held on June 15 in GTC’s multipurpose hall. An event of this kind kindles compassion in donors for others, and strengthens the spirit of volunteerism among those in the Goducate team and their allies.
Out of 29 interested donors from Goducate trainees, staff, and workers, and from the communities surrounding GTC area, 19 were deemed suitable donors
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What made this year’s blood-donation day remarkable was that the donors came not only from the Philippines but also from the United States, China, and Malaysia. It so happened that the American trainers at the Goducate Learning Center in China had accompanied their Chinese trainees to GTC to finish off their training to be community development workers. The Malaysian is a GTC trainee. This combination of donors led the organizers of this event to label it “GTC Bloodletting Activity Version 2.0- The International Version”.
*Our guest writer is Joanna De Leon
Trainee from China undergoing blood test before blood donationAmerican trainer in China donating blood
At Goducate Indonesia’s first E-Talk camp, teenagers could be heard yelling their hearts out in defense of their teams, thus bringing some warmth to the cold atmosphere in the mountain town of Berastagi, some 70km away from Medan. E-Talk is a Goducate program that teaches oral English through healthy competition and entertainment. The camp was organized for Compassion International, a child-sponsorhip organization dedicated to the long-term development of children living in poverty.
The theme of the camp was “Express Yourself”, a catchline that covers self-expression, freedom, and self-worth, and intended to tell the youth that they are already blessed with being who they are, that they are doing well, and that thus they had no need to be afraid of expressing themselves. The teenagers were thus encouraged to speak their mind, especially on contemporary issues youths are facing, such as self-image, confidence and impacting others.
29 teenagers attended the 2-day camp. The youth were provided various ways to express themselves through arts, music, speech activities, games, competitions, and small-group discussions on the topics of Self Esteem (I am unique), Potential and Optimism (I can do it!), and Impacting Others (I can make a difference). For instance, there was a talent show to enable groups of campers to demonstrate their special gifts. There was also an Amazing Race, during which they had to do specific tasks to make a difference in their home, school, environment, and the community as a whole. Simple things such as picking up garbage, watering the plants, hugging, and saying thank you to their teachers, and sharing their skills with their friends and neighbors are emphasized in this race. We believe that little acts of kindness can eventually make a drastic difference to the community.
Compassion Berastagi Coordinator, Ms. Eka Malau said, “The camp was really useful for the students. We appreciate not only the language skill being enhanced but also the values being instilled. I hope to have the same camp next year.”
Henni, one of the campers said, “My friends hesitated to join when they heard about this ‘English Camp’ because they thought it was about grammar or the usual boring stuff. I joined anyway. I never expected that learning English can be fun especially with my team. Not only that, I learned that I am already blessed so I have to share my skills with other people. I also made new friends here”.
“Life-Talk”, or small-group discussion, on You are UniqueLearning through charadesLearning through balloon game.
*Our guest writer is Rodney Paul Lagan, a community development worker
Teaching English is one of the programs that Goducate runs in Indonesia, where students learn the language in school, but have little practice in oral English and are thus not confident in speaking the language. For children, Goducate uses Sing Your English, teaching the language largely through song. For adults, Goducate started an informal English conversational program in Medan called English Corner, during which students were encouraged to chat freely.
In 2014, we changed the name of the program to E-Talk. As with the English Corner, the aim is to make learning English enjoyable and effective, but activities have been introduced. In E-Talk, English is learnt through singing, playing games, watching movies, acting, cooking, and taking part in activities such as arts, crafts, and sports. It is a flexible program that can be modified to suit type of student. We have used it to teach various groups of learners, such as people in orphanages, schools, businesses and other organizations. The motto is: more mistakes, more learning, more fun!
Another feature of E-Talk is a segment called “Life Talk”. Here time is allotted for facilitators to talk to the students on a personal level, to get to know and understand them better. “E-Talk, especially Life Talk, makes me feel like I am not in a class but there is a sense of being part of a family when we are divided into small groups and talk about life. I am always looking forward every week to attend the sessions because I can freely express what I want to say in Life Talk. The facilitator is not really like a teacher but a brother to all of us. E-Talk is not an English course but a family, a community,” says Miss Desi Naibaho,a marketing manager for a Sushi Restaurant.
Yet another comment came from Dr. Vince Ratnawati, a professor at the University of Riau. He said, “The teaching method is different from all the English courses I have attended. It is a fun-filled method that I even applied with my university students. At the end of each session, I expect our team, Blue Team, to win and have candies from our facilitator, hahaha! I realized, competition is a fun approach in learning.”
E-Talk is being enjoyed in Batam, Pekanbaru, Jakarta, Bandung, and Medan and we hope to expand. “The sessions are unique and fun,” says Mr. Kun Lun, a banker, “I even encourage my subordinates to join.”
Informal setting for E-TalkPractising oral English during cooking-themed E-Talk session.
*Our guest writer is Cindy Presquito, an E-Talk facilitator
