Leo – Page 8 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2016-05-272016-06-17

Recorder players in Laguna progress to other instruments

Last December some 400 children in the Goducate program in Laguna each received a recorder from a group of Goducate supporters (see blog, Feb 12, 2016). They were then able to get lessons on Saturdays, when our volunteers, mainly Goducate scholars, go to the various villages to offer tuition in a range of subjects.

At the March quarterly Children’s Day, when the children from all the villages gather together at the Goducate Training Center, 120 of the children took part in a recorder competition. The winner was the team from Bayan area.

Guests at the competition included village officials, school officials, and staff from the Police Department. The children’s performance led the village chieftain to invite them to play at the village event on March 26 at which he was addressing his constituents on what he had accomplished for them. School officials also invited the children to play at a graduation ceremony on March 26.

These invitations raised the children’s morale considerably and encouraged them to practise hard for the Annual Music Workshop held on May 17-21. At this workshop, 12 were selected to go on to learn how to play other instruments. Another round of evaluation will take place later this month.

Performing at Pupuy Elementary School graduation

2016-04-082016-04-11

Goducate in Laguna partners police to “Support Sports and Avoid Illegal Drugs”

In the middle of last year. Goducate in Laguna began to work with the police, training them to be basketball officials (see blog of Aug 14, 2015). The idea behind the partnership was to help the police to reach out to youth through sports. Keeping youth focused on a sport can help keep them out of trouble.

As part of this partnership, a friendly basketball league was held at the Goducate center in Laguna on April 6. One of the largest problems in the Philippines now among youths is drug addiction, so the theme for the event was “Support Sports and Avoid Illegal Drugs”. We agreed that building a strong relationship and trust between the community and the authorities could help prevent youths from being tempted by drugs, and one way of building such relationships is through sports, which is very popular in the Philippines.

Altogether 7 teams took part in the league, including the village chieftain’s team. In addition, Goducate’s sports coordinator also invited 2 Philippines Basketball Association (PBA) players to give their testimonies at the event. Both came from the leading teams in the PBA league, and both believe in the value of sports as a means of keeping youths out of trouble. The participants were much encouraged by hearing how these players managed to overcome their struggles to be successful PBA players. One of them told of how basketball enabled him to finish his studies and attain financial freedom.

The participants were also addressed by our Municipal Chief of Police, who encouraged them to avoid illegal vices. In particular, he talked about the adverse effects of drug addiction not only on the addicts but also on their families, and he warned them how hard it is to break the addiction.

Listening to the Municipal Chief of Police

2016-03-312016-03-31

Goducate student volunteers earn pocket money by collecting water hyacinths

Seven of Goducate’s young volunteers in Laguna are collecting water hyacinths to earn money to cover some of their school or college expenses. They borrow a small fishing boat to paddle out to where water hyacinths grow wild in Tagumpay Village, near Laguna Lake. They are paid PhP 150 ($3.20) per 1000 pieces. Working in the mornings before class, or in the afternoons after class, each can earn an average of PhP300 a week, enough to cover expenses such as fares to school or costs of some school projects.

These students are part of Goducate’s music program. Two of them are already teaching younger children how to play the recorder, and two are in the Goducate College Scholarship program.

The water hyacinth project is run by a Goducate volunteer, who dries, cleans and flattens the stalks and then sells the harvested material as woven sheets 16 inches by 16 inches in size. These sheets can be assembled into bags, slippers, coin purses, table mats, vases, and so on. The project organizer is also learning how to make these finished products. The aim is to be able to get these products made locally and create jobs for the villagers. By doing so, he also hopes he can increase the rate he pays those who harvest the stalks.