Vi – Page 3 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2017-05-052017-05-24

Goducate workers from Philippines and Indonesia attend leadership training in Singapore

11 Goducate workers from the Philippines and 3 from Indonesia attended an intensive 5-day training course (April 25-30) in leadership at the Goducate headquarters in Singapore. They were joined by 7 Singaporean Goducate volunteers.

The trainer, Jerome Joseph, an experienced human resources consultant and coach, made the course very stimulating by spicing it up with many activities and exercises. Among the numerous topics that trainees learnt about were the characteristics of a good leader, how to understand their relationship with themselves and others, how to address tasks according to their urgency and/or importance, the difference between influence and persuasion in communicating with others, and the levels and principles of listening.

The Goducate workers not only lead teams in various projects. They also train others. For instance, the Philippines is made up of many small villages, and Goducate conducts leadership training for the village heads.

Goducate’s motto is helping others to help themselves. To help ourselves be self-sufficient in funding our work, Goducate also conducts, for a fee, leadership training to business corporations. The training our workers received in Singapore should enhance the type of training they can offer to others.

2016-05-132016-05-17

Happy Happy English students in Singapore enjoy Labour Day

The Happy Happy English program for foreign workers in Singapore is not only about teaching the workers English. As the name of the program implies, it is also about making the workers happy. So on May 1, Labour Day, Goducate arranged an outing for the foreign-worker students from 3 dormitories to have a morning of fun and games and lunch.

The event was held at the Chinese Garden, and was ably organized for us by students from Anglo Chinese School Independent. After an introduction to zumba dancing as an ice-breaker, the workers were divided into 5 teams. First, there was an Amazing Race, with tasks to be completed at specific points in the Garden. Then came a Scavenger Hunt. For most of the workers, all these activities were new to them and great fun, topped by prizes given to all the teams.

Transferring cotton balls to bowl on head while blindfolded

Passing on water in cup held between wrists

2016-04-152016-05-13

Goducate Training Center in Iloilo continues to work towards self-sufficiency

Goducate philosophy is that, for our projects to be sustainable, the training we give people should enable them to help themselves. Thus it is only right that Goducate should try to help itself, rather than depend on sponsors all the time. The Goducate Training Center (GTC) in Iloilo is thus working towards self-sufficiency. It has been conducting Edutours for schools (see blog June 5, 2012). We have also started to rent out space at GTC to large groups of people.

This week Youthlead Philippines ran its Fourth Philippine Transformative Approaches to Innovative Leadership (TRAIL) Summer Camp at GTC. The camp was attended by some 350 youth leaders.

GTC was able to provide accommodation for such a large number by re-using the tents that had been used for our Goducate Tent Schools project, to add to the jungle huts and hillside villas that are normally used for accommodating visitors. The tent-schools project was Goducate’s response to the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in late 2013. We helped schools in North Panay, an area near GTC, by either re-roofing schoolrooms with tarpaulin if the structure of the building was still intact, or by providing tents to serve as classrooms in cases where the building was unstable (see blogs Jan 17, 2014 and Mar 4, 2014).

Some 40 tents were erected in GTC among the jungle huts. Open tents were also set up in the field to serve as the dining area.

There are now plans to build extra rooms, so that we can take in even larger groups.

Tents beside Jungle Hut and jacuzzi pool (in far left of pic)