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Goducate to provide new homes and potable water in Bay, Laguna

A groundbreaking ceremony was held at Goducate Meek and Lowly Sanctuary, Barangay Tagumpay, Bay, Laguna on March 9, 2021, to mark the beginning of two projects.

One project is the installation of potable-water systems for the community. The people in this barangay (village) have been using a hand pump to get their water from a deep well.

The other project is to construct new houses for families whose homes were badly damaged during typhoon Ulysses in November 2020 and who do not have the finances for reconstructing their homes.  Some of the families have continued to live in their damaged homes, whereas others moved into evacuation centers. The new homes are also designed to be elevated so that occupants need not have to evacuate when the village is flooded. Also each of the new homes will include a toilet. Some of houses in the villages do not have their own toilets, and some do but in a low-lying area that can get flooded.

Ten households have been chosen to be the beneficiaries of the housing project.

This Goducate project is being led by Mr. Leo Decinal in partnership with the Municipal Mayor of Bay, Laguna, the Hon. Jose Padrid, the Barangay Captain of Tagumpay, Bay, Laguna, Hon. Florencio Dungo, and Water Mission.

Other partners helping with the projects are the Regional Mobile Force Battalion in the leadership of PLTCOL Ledon Monte, and Municipal Link, Department of Social Welfare and Development under the charge of Mr. Maynard Marasigan.

*Our guest writer is Donnalyn Pereira, a staff member at Goducate Laguna.

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More online training for Goducate teachers and students in Sabah

From the start of this year, Sabah had a second lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first Movement Control Order was made in March last year (see Goducate blog 2020-07-31). Only two of the 10 Goducate schoolhouses went back to the face-to-face teaching in January and February this year, but we are aiming for them to go online.

Through its Sabah GOALS (GOducate Alternative Learning Schoolhouses) Program, Goducate had been helping “undocumented aliens” in Sabah who are not entitled to education in government schools. It had been doing so by training mothers to teach the children in the community. Mothers offer their homes to be used as Goducate schoolhouses.

Thanks to technology, and through constant encouragement, the mothers and youth had become open to learning new ways of teaching. We are grateful to those donors who helped to provide smartphones and monthly food and mobile data allowances for the teaching-mothers and the youth. The recipients are now given training on how to maximize the use of their phones.

The online trainings for the teachers are to equip them for the new-normal method of education. Using different phone applications such as Zoom, Messenger Chat Room, Google Meet, and WPS Office the teachers can now connect with and teach their students without exposure to health risks associated with face-to-face contact. The trainers are from Camp Goducate Iloilo, Philippines.

The teachers have been grateful for what they have received. One teacher wrote, “Thank you so much, these smartphones are a big help for the children and teachers in our schoolhouses for trainings and meetings”. Another teacher wrote, “Without these phones, I am not sure if I can join the available seminars or even one day teach to an online class”.

*Our guest writer is Pamela Kaye Dingal, who is in charge of the Sabah GOALS Program.

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Goducate’s Sing Your English program now delivered to homes in Indonesia

Goducate’s Sing Your English program (SYE) used to be taught in schools in Indonesia, but was temporarily halted when the Minister of Education announced on June 15, 2020 that extracurricular programs, whether delivered online or offline, should not be forced on students, especially during a pandemic.

Convinced that the ability to communicate in English is important, Goducate began to promote SYE online through a webinar for teachers. The webinar was attended by thousands of teachers from all over Indonesia, and as far as Sabang (Aceh) and Papua. The teachers were encouraged to register their own children for the SYE program on Zoom, and also to invite the parents of children attending their SYE Zoom lessons to join the class.

SYE class by Zoom

The response was amazing. As of November 2020, there were more than 100 SYE Z-Class students and registration is continuing, though the number of parents joining the classes is far from the target.

The SYE Zoom Classes are held every afternoon. Class levels range from Kindergarten to Junior High School. Parents are delighted that their children are occupied by SYE at home.

There is no charge for the SYE Zoom classes but students are encouraged to buy the SYE books.

Children with SYE materials

*Our guest writer is Sarah Sihombing, SYE Coordinator/Programme Development.