One fear aroused by the COVID-19 pandemic was shortage of food due to disruption of the food-supply chain. Some people rushed to the shops to stock up on canned and packaged foods. At the Goducate Children’s Home, staff and the children got down to work, preparing the land to plant corn and green leafy vegetables and to breed more poultry. They also began to rear geese, turkeys and different breeds of chicken.
The Home has started to harvest the crops, and is also encouraging the children to eat more greens.
To cater to youth stuck at home and no school to attend because of restrictions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, Goducate conducted its first online youth camp on May 30-31. The camp was for youth in Malaysia, where the government has imposed a Movement Control Order (MCO), and in the Philippines, where there is Enhanced Community Quarantine (CQ).
Over 50 participants, the majority from Sabah, Malaysia, attended the camp, which was titled “Mission Grounded Life: True Keys to Successful Living”. Goducate Philippines volunteers were the speakers for the main topics, which were Smart Use of Technology and Mental Wellness. In the afternoon there were skill-based interactive sessions on topics ranging from basic gardening, personality development, home making, basic home first aid, and sports such as basketball and volleyball. These sessions were led by specialists from the Philippines and facilitators from Goducate Sabah, Malaysia.
Goducate Sabah is aiming to reach out to the youth both in Malaysia and the Philippines, regardless of culture, religious affiliation, and backgrounds, through creating digital platforms and educating our youth to be responsible and productive during this pandemic. The two-day camp was run using the software Zoom, which has breakout sessions that allow participants to be divided into smaller groups for more detailed discussion and interactions.
During this Online Zoom Camp, participants learnt how to make a video, as individuals or as teams, that show what they learned in the camp. There were games and contests too, for the participants, to enjoy and to get to know each other better. Maurelline, one of the youth facilitators shared, “It was a great experience. I was nervous in the beginning but with the guidance of the organizers I was able to do it”.
*Our guest writer is the Goducate Sabah Training Coordinator.
I was in Laguna, Philippines at the beginning of this month. This province has been badly hit by three typhoons – one after the other.
While I was there, the latest typhoon codenamed “Pepeng” hit. Our Goducate team was sitting under some coconut trees discussing our plans when the sky darkened when strong winds blew and bent the coconut trees around us. Thankfully, we were not in the direct path of the typhoon. I was told that this typhoon packed winds of 240 Km/hr. In other words, its effect is like that of a gigantic sports car running over an entire town. Can you imagine the devastation? But then, this is only the beginning!
The winds usually bring along plenty of water and bury towns and fields in the process. As I drove around Laguna, I saw newly formed lakes. I could imagine that under those lakes were the victims’ hard-earned possessions, livelihoods and dreams!
The purpose of my trip was to monitor the use of relief funds that some generous Singaporeans had given to feed the hungry victims. The leader of our Laguna Goducate team, Leo, had asked me for permission to set aside PHP40,000.00 (US$860.00) of the fund to start a Goducate Learning Center. He felt that it was not only important to feed the hungry but also to help them help themselves. The donor readily agreed to allow a part of his gift to be set aside for this new purpose.
Ground breaking at the new Goducate Learning Center in Laguna
A widow, Sophia, had offered to transfer a part of her land to Goducate to build a learning center. It was hard to imagine that this poor widow, with two teenage kids, who lived from hand-to-mouth was giving us about 500 sq feet of her tiny land to help others! The land that she donated is right in front of her front door of her simple house. In other words, she will walk out of her front door and literally step into the learning center!
We plan to use the funds to build a simple structure with a cement floor, half-height hollow-brick walls (to allow natural “air-continuous” ventilation) and a zinc roof.
We held a simple ground-breaking, with the neighbours as witnesses. Then we had a lovely lunch of native chicken soup, sweet-potatoes and rice-cakes. Over lunch we dreamt of the day that this little center would be filled with kids learning their ABC’s, mothers learning hygiene and preventative health and the whole community learning livelihood skills (eg. vermiculture).
Jonathan & Gina
A dear couple, Jonathan and his wife Gina (and their year old son) have offered their services to help run this learning center. Jonathan loves the poor and Gina is gifted with teaching little children. They are willing to relocate to this community. And we hope to build a little house for them at the back of Sophia’s house.
I believe that the dreams of this little community in Mabakan, Laguna, can be a reality, if we all do our part.
Let’s help the helpless help themselves!
More photos (click thumbnail to view photos):
[nggtags gallery=laguna-lc]
