With the
restrictions on sports facilities and sports activities in the Philippines
during the Covid-19 pandemic, biking/cycling has increased in popularity. It
has led Goducate volunteers to set up GoBikes programs, one of which operates
in the Province of Negros (see blog of 2021_08-28).
Another Go Bikes
program was set up in May in Luzon. During the first three rides, volunteers
distributed facemasks to street vendors. Subsequently, the Luzon Go Bikes team started
to distribute food to children on Saturdays.
On one of the weekdays, individual team members cycle to meet members of the community whom they are mentoring on life skills. Our team is still small. We have eight active members, and 4 members of community are being mentored.
Biking is not
only an effective way of reaching out to young professionals, but it has also helped
members of our team to bond with each other.
A problem is that many of the young people do not possess bicycles, so members of our team lend them their bicycles to enable them to join the Saturday bike rides.
*Our guest writer, Stephen Luceno, is a Goducate staff in-charge of Sports.
All over the world, poverty rates have risen because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many communities in the Philippines lack access to basic day-to-day necessities. So, Goducate Laguna started its feeding program in November last year in 5 areas/communities — Tagumpay, Talahiban, Puypuy Baba, Mabacan Ulik, and Mabacan Burol. Every Saturday, children would be fed through this program. Despite the difficulties brought on by the pandemic, the program continued; though at times, because of lack of funds, the children were fed only bread or biscuits instead of porridge or chicken macaroni soup.
However, this June the
feeding program was intensified. The new program will be continued for six
months. Every month, the body mass index (BMI) of the children will be checked
to see whether there is any improvement. On two weekdays, underweight children
are given meals fortified with a balance of nutrients
designed especially for the needs of undernourished children. On Saturdays, the
program will continue to cater for both underweight and normal-weight children.
The program does not consist solely of feeding. Before the feeding, Goducate volunteers teach the children through story-telling, action songs, and games, so that not only their stomachs, but also their hearts and minds, are filled. Initially, there were about 150 children in the program. Currently, there are 393 children, and 133 of them are in the malnourished group. The number of areas served has also increased from five to nine, the four additional ones being Lalao/Trancapuy, Marianville, Bayan/Relocation, and Bayog. It has been gratifying to see the improvement in the children’s health as well as in their knowledge about good deeds and moral issues.
*Our guest writer is Lhowen A. Rocafort , a Goducate scholar and once a beneficiary of another feeding program.
Part of the Goducate
Training Center (GTC), Iloilo, is a small farm that provides food for the staff
and for the restaurant and snack bar that cater for visitors to the center. The
farm has been there for the past 10 years, ever since GTC was set up.
As 2021 kicks off, we ought
to remember that, though we need to care for our physical health and the
environment, relationship with people is important as well. Thus the farm also
provides space for bonding with friends and family. It is used for educational
tours, and a newly introduced program is the “Family Fun Learning” program, a
way of building relationships through vegetable picking (see blog Dec 4, 2020).
The farm now grows
crops such as squash, luffa, eggplant, Chinese cabbage, moringa, okra, and
bitter gourd. The moringa is made into
Moringa powder, which can be mixed into
food and drinks that are served at the Center. A moringa plant consists of 92 nutrients and
26 antioxidants, which are helpful for boosting the body’s immune system.
The farm already existed when the land was bought in 2010. In the first two years, it was developed with the help of the agriculture expert, Prof Ricardo Patricio. The rice-fish model was introduced in 2012 to show farmers that St Peter’s fish (known also as Tilapia) grown in the rice field could maximize the potential of the water, in that the water from the rice field provides fertilizer for the rice. Later on, Joel Dagon, one of the staff, started planting vegetables beside the rice field with the purpose of making Goducate sustainable.
The fish is used for
food for staff and guests. In addition, 80% of the vegetables farm produce are
used for consumption on site while the 20% are for sale. Guests are also
allowed to fish in the small drains at the side of the rice fields and pay for
the fish caught. They can also ask the restaurant staff to cook the fish for
them.
For the future, consideration is being given to a plan to expand its usage by improving agriculture through applying permaculture. Permaculture comes from the words “permanent” and “agriculture”. It is a system of making the land self-sufficient and sustainable by applying scientific methods in crop production which will be very helpful not only to people but also for the environment.
Mixing garden soil
Examining the vermicast, fertilizer produced by earthworms
*Our Guest writer is Rebecca Depalubos, a member of Goducate staff.
