Part of the training we provide to the needy Cambodians at the Goducate Children’s Home include farming and agriculture. Four months ago, an experimental organic piggery was started with the purchase of 18 small piglets to be reared on organic feed. The piggery was a good success as the pigs have since grown fat and healthy.
The boys at the Home took turns daily to chop and prepare organic feed for the pigs. A few weeks ago, a few pigs were slaughtered and eaten at special celebrations at the Home.
The organic pigsChopping and preparing organic feed for the the pigs
“1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8…” , the voices of the children rang through the air, counting to the rhythm of tooth brushing.
In Dec 2012, a team of us from Singapore conducted hygiene workshops for the children of Goducate Cambodia. Oral hygiene was one key segment. We know the kids have toothbrushes, but are they brushing correctly?
Our youths, using pictorials, explained about tooth decay—-what is it, how it happens. Then came the brushing. With a plastic tooth model, the team demonstrated the proper tooth-brushing method, highlighting the importance of brushing up-down, inside, and the tongue.
We then got the children into practical action. On the tooth model, they showed how they would brush the teeth, while the rest counted and corrected them if it was not properly done. Some brushed with such vigor it looked more like toilet scrubbing!
The tooth model turned out to be a real hit with the kids. Those who had earlier indicated that they did not like tooth brushing were all excited to brush the giant teeth.
Overall, we all had great fun learning together. Hopefully, the enthusiasm will lead on to good oral habits, and each child will joyfully beam with sparkling pearlies for life!
Plastic model of mouth and teeth“This is the way I should brush my teeth”
Goducate Training Center in Iloilo, Philippines, trains community development workers for Asia. So far many of our trainees have been housed in “temporary” accommodation and have attended lectures in rooms in the Multi-Purpose Hall.
Recently we completed the Ladies’ Dormitory, which can accommodate about 70 lady trainees. The residential rooms are built around a nice lounge, where the ladies can gather for informal meetings and activities. The ground floor of the Ladies’ Dormitory houses trainers’ offices, a teacher’s guest room, a visitor’s guest suite, and a dining hall.
The men’s dormitory is situated next to the ladies’ dorm and can accommodate about 40 men.
Lounge in ladies’ dormitoryArea outside dormitories for small-group and informal teaching
The area in front of the dormitories, which used to be a mahogany “forest”, has been converted to a large “outdoor classroom.” Tables and chairs have been constructed on concrete bases under the shady mahogany trees for small-group meetings and for informal teaching. We hope that this campus atmosphere will enhance the learning experience of our trainees.
Since our trainees come from many different parts of the Philippines and Asia, and from many different backgrounds and experiences, they can learn much from each other before being sent out to different parts of the Philippines and Asia to serve in many diverse communities.
So far our graduates have been sent to work in needy communities in Philippines, Cambodia, China, and Indonesia, and from the reports that we have received they are doing well as community development workers helping needy Asians help themselves.
Our next batch of trainees will be trained as TESOL (teaching English as a second language) teachers from Jan to June 2013. We hope to train about 50 such teachers to be sent to Goducate Language Centers in different parts of Asia.
