Category: Learning Centers

Goducate teachers in Sabah spent Jan 1-2 attending their 1st teacher-training camp. The teachers at the Goducate learning centers in Sabah are mostly the women who have had some education. Goducate sends teacher trainers over at least twice a year. In the past the teachers would turn each day for the sessions, but this time, they stayed over for a night. 42 teachers attended the camp.

Our regular trainer and curriculum developer went over to teach them how to improve their teaching skills and class management. She was accompanied by four others who taught the teachers team-building activities and various games, the principles of running an “English corner”, and how to produce visual aids for the classroom. In addition the teachers were given motivational talks.

During an English corner, students would be gathered round a teacher or facilitator to learn English by talking about a chosen topic. It would be a session during which the students rather than the teachers would do most of the talking.

The communities that Goducate serves in Sabah live in very poor and unsanitary surroundings, so one aspect of Goducate work there is health education, with a strong emphasis on hygiene. In addition there is a regular deworming program for the students.

To reinforce the hygiene program, and to teach about environmental friendliness, a Clean and Green competition was organized for the learning centers. The objectives of the competition were to reinforce learning about cleanliness and a healthy environment by:

Maintaining cleanliness of the learning centers and beautifying them with plants
Putting up informational bulletins in the learning centers about various aspects of personal and environmental health Encouraging team work and team building in keeping the learning centers clean, and Inspiring the children to maintain and beautify their own surroundings.

21 number of learning centers took part in the competition, which lasted through September and October 2013. Teachers, students, and parents participated in the cleaning and greening effort. Judging started from the third week of September to the end of October 2013, with the results being announced on Oct 31.

About 5 years ago Goducate heard that in a corner of Sabah there were some 1 million undocumented aliens, and that because of their status, the children were not entitled to state education. The children thus grew up loitering around or getting into mischief, until they, especially the boys, were old enough to find work in the plantations.

These people were mainly from the southern Philippines, who had since the 1960s been going to Sabah to escape the civil strife at home. At that time Sabah’s then Chief Minister, who had family ties in the Philippines, gave the Filipinos asylum. So many people are stateless now because their passports have expired, or because they have entered by the “back door”.

During Goducate’s exploratory visit, we learnt the community was keen for the children to have some education. But how were we to provide education for so many children? When we found out that some of the mothers had had some education in the Philippines, the strategy became clear. We would teach the mothers to teach the kids.

In this way we have opened more than 30-40 centers over the 5 years. It’s a fluctuating population, with some centers having to close because the people have been forced out. At the moment there are 30 centers, staffed by 64 teachers and assistant teachers. The focus of teaching is on literacy and numeracy. Goducate sends a trainer over several times a year to upgrade the teachers. To help the children find jobs, training in livelihood skills such as manicure, sewing, and cooking have also been introduced.

Because of the unsanitary conditions in which these communities live, Goducate has also introduced a health program that includes hygiene and deworming. For adults there is a screening and education program on hypertension and diabetes. And for all, there is a nutrition program, with communities being encouraged to plant moringa, a plant that provides many nutrients.

Most of the older children who have gone through our centers are either working—in shops, restaurants, spas, and factories, or as assistant teachers in our centers. Some have enrolled in schools (either private, or, if they now have identification papers, state schools) after having caught up with their basic literacy and numeracy at our centers.

For the 5th anniversary celebrations, the teachers were brought together to share their experiences informally as well as formally (which gave them practice in public speaking), to show their performing skills, to clarify what they wanted to know during a question-and-answer session, to be thanked for what they have done, to be encouraged to continue their good work, and generally to enjoy themselves. For many it was their first time attending a function in a modern hotel, a far cry from the village life they lead.