Monday Dec 8 was the first anniversary of the riot in Little India that prompted Goducate to set up the Happy Happy English program in foreign workers’ dormitories in Singapore. Little India is a district in Singapore where Indian shops are concentrated and where foreign workers from the Indian subcontinent congregate on their days off.
Over the weekend and on Monday itself, Singapore newspapers commemorated the anniversary with reports on how the riot developed, the repercussions of the riot (such as the restrictions on sale and consumption of liquor in the area, and the restrictions on movement of foreign workers into the area), the findings of the committee of inquiry, and how foreign workers and locals have responded to the riot.
Two newspapers reported on Goducate’s Happy Happy English program. They reported on how the volunteers teach the workers functional English, but more importantly, as the name of the program implies, bring some happiness to these people by becoming their friends. These foreign workers have to leave home to live here in quarters that are generally in isolated parts of the island, and to work here for very long hours just to pay off debts and make ends meet at home. An equally important point made in the reports is how the program has helped to dispel some of the misconceptions that Singaporeans have about foreign workers—namely, that they are a group to be feared, when in fact they are very normal people like any of us.
Happy Happy English has so far been operating in three dormitories. We hope to bring happiness to workers in other dormitories as well.
October saw Happy Happy English students in two foreign-worker dormitories in Singapore celebrate their end of term. For the dormitory in Tuas, at the western tip of Singapore, it was the second end-of-term celebration. Here, Goducate’s Happy Happy English program had started in January. The program had started at the other dormitory, in Jurong, in the middle of the year. The program has recently started at a third dormitory.
This program is intended to teach foreign workers functional English, as well as to extend to them a hand of friendship. A 12-term is broken into two 6 week sessions, with a 4-week break in between. During this break friendship is maintained with the students through various events.
At both dormitories students had fun with the ice-breaker games, singing, eating (food kindly provided by the dormitory management), and, for some, receiving their certificates of attendance. The larger space available at the Tuas dormitory enabled the event to start with a volleyball match against a team from Goducate’s Connectayo program (which caters for Filipino workers through sports), and for the students to put on a dance/mime item.
Some students went on stage to tell of their experience with the Happy Happy English program. For instance, one said, “I like Happy Happy English because it’s different. They not only teach English, they teach me how to live”. Another said, “Happy Happy English is very good. I like the Chinese men, the Bangla men and the Indian men all coming together and study. It’s very good”. Yet another said, “All of you must come to Happy Happy English. I like it very much. The teachers are good. Everything is good. You must come”.
Living in northeast United States I have experienced my fair share of storms, or so I thought. We had planned our trip to Goducate Laguna several weeks earlier, so by the time we got word of Typhoon Rammasun (known locally as Typhoon Glenda), we were already committed.
Our flight was surprisingly smooth, and when we landed the sky was overcast, but the weather calm. Glenda was supposed to intensify overnight, so we were lulled into a sense of security throughout the day as we went about our pre-planned activities. A light rain fell as we pulled into Goducate Laguna and were greeted by the entire staff. We enjoyed a great time of food and fellowship until midnight, when the power suddenly went out. Everyone retired for the night, expecting the typhoon to roll in, but what I experienced next was like nothing I had ever seen. All night a howling wind blew, but by the early hours of the morning it had intensified to the point where trees were blowing almost horizontally. Every now and then we could hear the metallic sounds of large objects being flung about. A flashlight would susbsequently appear in the darkness as someone checked to see whether that clanging noise required attention.
When dawn broke the full extent of the devastation was visible. The ground was littered with coconuts, branches, debris, and fallen tree trunks. Several trees had found their way onto the roof of the building we were occupying. Fortunately, no one was injured. Across the courtyard, the children were happily retrieving the fallen coconuts. One of the staff skilfully hacked away at them and presented us with fresh coconut drinks. That was a pleasant surprise.
The multipurpose hall where we had been entertained a few hours earlier was a mess, and one of the Goducate vans was crushed in the middle by a fallen tree. Although the concrete buildings managed to survive intact, the other Goducate structures such as the farmhouse, vermi-house, hydroponics building, and a literacy center were badly damaged. The two couples living in the farmhouse are now homeless, and the homes of many other staff workers have been damaged and flooded. It will take anywhere from a week to a month for power to be restored. Without power, water does not flow since it arrives through pumps.
I was astounded to learn that the Philippines is hit by typhoons 15-20 times a year. If this took place anywhere else in the world, the populace would be permanently depressed, yet the Filipinos take it all in stride. Immediately after the storm has passed, people are out clearing debris, repairing their roofs, and removing fallen trees from the roads.
The road outside the Goducate Laguna centre was strewn with debris, yet within two to three hours, enough had been cleared for us to drive through and onwards toward Manila airport.
Apart from learning about the work at Goducate, one of the other reasons why I undertook this trip was to expose my 11-year-old daughter to the realities of life outside her sheltered existence, but this visit ended up being an eye opener for me as well.
Our guest writer is Tim, a Goducate sponsor.
Mess in multipurpose hallGoducate van crushedDamage to farmhouse staff quartersDamage to Goducate literacy center in Mabacan.
