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Goducate setting up Global Life Hub to help needy Indians

India is one of today’s fast emerging economies. Hyderabad is one of
the fastest growing cities in India—with many multinational corporations, especially high-tech ones situated in the ultra-modern “cities” in its suburbs.

Exterior of Global Life Hub (occupying top floor of the building as marked out in red)

Renovation in progress

It is the dream of many young Indians to work in one of these MNCs.
So thousands of bright young Indians from all over India study hard to
attain the necessary qualifications for such jobs.There are many good universities that offer almost all the relevant courses for employment in MNCs. However, there seems to be one missing “course” to help many “poorer” Indians fit into MNCs—namely, the ability to speak English fluently in an international environment.

Most Indians aspire to send their children to English-medium schools.
Such schools are usually privately run and significantly more expensive than the government-run schools. Many children of upper-class families not only attend such schools but also grow up in English-speaking homes. They have much more advantage in securing jobs in MNCs because they are fluent in English, more comfortable among foreigners, and more familiar with international culture.

However, many bright Indians with professional qualifications come from less advantaged backgrounds and many more come from villages where English is merely an examination subject, foreigners are rarely seen, and international culture is totally strange to them. In the fast internationalizing scene of India, especially in cities such as Hyderabad, these Indians are severely handicapped in securing employment.

Flyer for Global Life Hub

Goducate hopes to help these worthy but “needy” Indians by helping
them to speak English fluently and familiarizing them with international culture. Goducate will be setting up a Global Life Hub in Hyderabad to provide them with the environment where they can speak English, meet foreigners, and be “immersed” in international culture so that they will be more confident at job interviews and more successful in their
jobs.

GLH will be an “international zone” where only English is spoken, thereby “forcing” members to speak in English. Foreign GLH volunteers will help members get used to speaking to foreigners and understand their accents and culture. GLH activities will nurture confidence and communication skills.

GLH Hyderabad will soon open its doors to help Indians to help themselves in this fast new world.

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Goducate staff member gets national accreditation as basketball referee

When Goducate started its basketball program in Laguna earlier this year, Goducate staff were among the first batch of trainees. I was one of them and was privileged to be selected for training for the National Referees Accreditation and to officiate at the National Private Schools Athletics Association (PRISAA) league held in Cebu City.

The pre-league training
Jonathan

The 3-day seminar that preceded the league and that provided me with the training for national accreditation as a basketball referee was especially wonderful for me because all the other participants were professional referees.

The league gave me a chance to meet many public officials. On top of that there were there were the perks of a hotel stay, allowances and a salary for the duration of the event.

However, most valuable of all was the tremendous amount that I learnt about from the training and from refereeing at the league and that I am now imparting to others in the Goducate basketball program.

Guest writer Jonathan, Goducate Staff
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Music classes and medical checkups at Cambodia Goducate Children’s Home

Earlier this month I had the privilege to accompany a group of Singaporeans to the Goducate Children’s Home in Cambodia. While the main event of the trip was the opening of the boys’ workshop, it was also an opportunity to interact with the children.

The trip, though short, was an enriching experience. A few of the Singaporean visitors organized song and game sessions to engage the children while familiarizing them with the English language. The children also shared their daily routines with us, and we participated in day-to-day activities such as lesson-time and fishing.

Teaching violin to the children
Performing at the opening ceremony of the boys’ workshop

The “real work” began on the second and third days. Medical check-ups were conducted by a member of our Singapore team to check on the children’s general health. On my part, I had the chance to conduct masterclasses with some children who had been learning music, particularly the violin and piano. What I encountered was a promising group of young talents. Understandably, there was a wide range in skill due to differences in age and time spent learning the instrument, and this resulted in the need to concentrate on students individually or in pairs. However, helped along by the positive attitude and patience exhibited by my students, it was not too hard to knuckle down and make some good progress over the two-day period. At the end of our visit, we were pleasantly surprised by a performance of the new piece they had requested to learn.

I came away feeling blessed by the children, as well as the wonderful personnel at the home. What struck me in particular was the eagerness shown by the children when they were offered opportunities that their Singaporean counterparts – or even people in more developed countries in general – often fail to appreciate. I hope that the kids in Goducate Children’s Home never lose the joy of learning, and choose to continue developing the gifts they possess. And I trust that Goducate will continue to provide the guidance and resources necessary to achieve this goal.

Guest writer Debra, Volunteer from Singapore