Malaysia – Page 25 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2010-07-302010-07-31

Reaching poor unschooled children in Sabah

Many undocumented “refugees” from Philippines live in out-of-the-way villages in Sabah, Malaysia. Most of these villages are in tidal swamp areas that are flooded with sea-water at high tide and soggy and muddy at low tide.

The children in these villages are unable to attend schools and are illiterate. Goducate trains their mums (many of whom have been to school in the Philippines) to teach their own children. Undoubtedly, the best teacher is a kid’s own mum!

It’s a joy to see the face of a teenager who has discovered the meaning of alphabets! It is well worth the walk through the swamp!

It’s a greater joy to see the face of the mothers who feel empowered to teach their own children, nephews and neighbours!

Goducate hopes to help them to help themselves, so that they can contribute to the society their live in!

2010-06-112010-06-07

Sabah teachers get taste of modern life!

Last week we brought our Sabah Literacy Center teachers for team-building and training. These teachers have been trained by us to teach the children in their own kampongs. Many of them seldom leave their kampongs because they are “undocumented aliens” without the necessary identification papers.

The team-building sessions were held in a government complex.

We have now 48 teachers and needed to cast again our vision to them and for them to know each other. The government complex has a dormitory, conference hall and cafeteria.

Facilities wise it was very good exposure for all teachers. It was the first time for many of them to sleep in a spacious room with fan, each one having her own bed. For many it was also the first time to use a proper toilet, bath and sink for washing. We used this opportunity to them them about sanitation, and how to use a toilet in a non-offensive way.

It cost us 24 Malaysian Ringgit (about US$8) per head for accomodation and 3 meals.

Our theme was – One Team.
Session One: What is a Team
Session Two: What is Teamwork
Session Three: Handling Conflicts

All the activities/games were directed towards achieving the theme.

When it was time to discuss what they learned, it was very exciting. Our teachers are thinking! And learning on their own! We did not share any input except to wrap up afterwards.

They said that they learned:
– not to leave anyone behind
– without cooperation there is no team
– it is important to follow the leader
– it is important to know the instructions

(because of security reasons we are not publshing photos or mentioning names of individuals or venues)

2010-05-052010-04-29

Education includes dancing!

In our Literacy Centers in Sabah for “undocumented alien” children we teach literacy and numeracy. These are basic skills that provide the foundation for other subjects that we will teach. However, we have also added an additional subject that we believe is important, namely, traditional dance.

I realized that the people that we were helping were really marginalized. They lost their identity when they left their ancestral homes in southern Philippines. They lost their dignity when they had to eke out a living doing the lowest menial jobs. Their kids have lost their language. And they’ve all lost hope of everything except surviving!

When we started the literacy centers in their kampongs, a little glimmer of hope was placed in their communities and in their hearts. But I realized that education is a long term investment and it will take years of hard work before visible results are seen. In the meanwhile, I felt that they should be allowed to retain an important part of their identity, namely, their traditions.

Needless to say, they had lost much of their traditions – their traditional kampongs, their traditional means of earning their livelihoods, their family structures, their festivals – in their new environment. But there was one tradition that they could preserve in their new environment – traditional dance.

When we first introduced traditional Tausug dance in the first literacy center, many little girls readily took up the lessons and excelled in it. At school functions when they proudly displayed their skills, I noticed how the parents looked pleased as their children danced their traditional dances. Since then we have made traditional dance a subject for the little girls in our Goducate centers.