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Community Pangil, Laguna, learn about leadership, drug addiction, and premarital sex

Last month, Goducate Laguna held a Student Leadership Program at Pangil, a municipality in Laguna. The one-and-a half-day event, held in partnership with Pangil’s Youth Organization, covered not only leadership training but also education about pre-marital sex and illegal drugs.

We believe that leadership training is important for students because they are the next generation that will be leading the nation.

The event was attended by 34 community people on the first day. On the second day there were 40 community people, some of whom had come from other communities. The community people were mainly teenagers attending elementary and secondary school.

Users of illegal drugs in the Philippines are getting younger and younger, and it is important that the students are made aware of how use of these drugs can destroy their futures and ruin their lives and families.

Pre-marital sex is also a worrying issue in the Philippines. Data collated by the Philippines Statistics Authority show that over a third of Filipinos aged 15-24 have engaged in pre-marital sex, and that most of them do not use any form of protection.

The sessions consisted of presentations and discussions. These were followed by recounting of stories of Marvel Comics wizards Nico and Tina, and playing games related to the topics of drug addiction and pre-marital sex. More small-group discussions ensued, during which the students shared their stories, problems and struggles.

Discussion based on Nico story.
Discussion based on Nico story.
Donnalyn leading session on premarital sex
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Goducate workers in the Philippines undergo peace and diversity training by The Blue Ribbon Global

Goducate works in a variety of communities, so its workers have to know how to get on with diverse groups. Goducate has thus worked with The Blue Ribbon Global, an organization that supports community building, to a large extent through its Peace Ambassadors’ Training and Peace Services. 

Facilitator watching team doing an activity

In March this year, The Blue Ribbon Global conducted two Peace, Diversity and Inclusion workshops in the Philippines—one in Iloilo for Goducate workers, and one in Laguna for Goducate workers, young professionals, and the local police. It had previously conducted a workshop in July last year for Goducate workers in Iloilo. Some of those who had gone through the training last year underwent a further short training this year to be workshop facilitators. 

In Iloilo, the topics covered during the 2-day fun and interactive workshops included acceptance, beauty of diversity, understanding conflict, and sustainable development. 

Team leaders showing what their teams learnt about beauty in diversity

As a part of the workshop in Iloilo, a Skype interview was conducted with Ahmad Shah Karimi, director of Afghan Youth Empowerment and Peace-Building Team. The conversation was to introduce our team to peace workers elsewhere.

The short workshop held in Goducate Laguna Center introduced the participants not only to the concepts of peace, diversity, and inclusion, but also to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Goducate has been registered as a partner with the SDG since October 2018. The SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030, and the workshops conducted by The Blue Ribbon Global for Goducate fall under the 4th goal—of quality education.

Trainees with their certificates of completion
*Our guest writer is Carmela Damaso, a staff member at Goducate Training Center, Iloilo
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Camaraderie at Goducate community center in KL

It was early morning in Kuala Lumpur when my sister and I headed out to the Global Friends Hub, a Goducate community center for migrant workers and others to gather and engage in wholesome activities. On our way we stopped to get some Roti Canai, a local food that is a must-try if you’re ever in that area. We were warmly greeted by some of the volunteers as we walked through the doors of a comfortable gathering place where in just a short time people from different parts of the globe would gather to chat and do what we do in South East Asia: eat food.

When we arrived, our new friends were preparing breakfast—it was a pity that we had just eaten! We were eager to meet the faces that came through the door and for the next few hours we seemingly had non-stop conversations with people from many different places. Some joined us because their current employment is there in KL and they wanted to find some friends to spend time with, others were there because hard times had hit and getting to have a well-rounded meal was not a normal occurrence. Either way, the friends who gathered together spent time encouraging each other. As friends shared with each other what challenges they’ve recently faced there was a great sense of camaraderie there.
One of the volunteers of Global Friends Hub shared with me that one of the men that frequently visits, originally came as a beggar. On this particular day she was surprised because he was cleaned up, wearing clean clothes and seeming to make a turn for the better.

Another delightful aspect of this center is that it’s not just for adults—children joined in the time of fellowship and had fun together. My sister played Jenga (a tower-building game that requires physical and mental skill) with one of the children while other youth were strumming their guitars. I enjoyed talking to the youth, getting a glimpse of what their life is like. There was an elderly man who joyfully chose to serve others there by washing the many dishes. Different ladies, who have busy work schedules, took time to prepare delicious dishes to share with all that came. There’s no question why people return to this center, the atmosphere is filled with love and is very family-like. You never know what kind of impact a community of friends can have on a life. Yet this I know, spending the day with new friends was a refreshing reminder that race, nationality, and status level shouldn’t create barriers when it comes to developing healthy friendships