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Goducate sets up study hubs in Laguna

Goducate Laguna envisions setting up places where underprivileged students can gather to study. The goal is to establish three physical study hubs with stable internet connections.

So far, there are hubs in three places:

  1. The hub in Goducate Laguna headquarters (in Barangay Puypuy, Bay) is already open for students.
  2. The one in Meek & Lowly Sanctuary (in Barangay Tagumpay, Bay) is also open for students, but internet connection has yet to be fully established.
  3. There is still no fixed physical hub in Barangay Mabacan, Calauan, but the houses of Goducate staff and/or scholars are being used as temporary hubs.

In the third week of November, laptops were distributed to some Goducate Scholars and other students. There are also plans to purchase other items, such as printers, tables, whiteboards, etc., for the study hubs to be fully operational.

*Our guest writer is Jeric Pereira, a volunteer staff member at Goducate Laguna and person in charge of the study hubs.

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Goducate creates communication center for meetings with Philippines police

The Covid-19 pandemic meant that Goducate resorts could not open for large physical events, so one of the container vans that used to provide dormitory-type accommodation has been transformed into a  Technical Assistance Center (or Communications Center) for the Philippines National Police (PNP) Squad Weekly Interactive Zoom meetings. Such meetings are held for police in 17 regions, 81 provinces, and 1,488 municipalities of the Philippines. The program ministers to 3,734 PNP personnel every week.

Squad Weekly Interactive Meetings (SWIM) is a PNP program that aims to help uniformed PNP personnel to experience transformation in their personal lives, in their family lives, and in their careers, and these changes are part of the PNP Chief’s internal-cleansing policy.

During SWIM’s one hour-and-a-half Zoom program, PNP personnel can share their thanksgiving, their reflections about the topic under discussion, and their hearts’ desires after listening to the topic for the week. They then split up to go into breakout rooms, where life coaches facilitate further discussion.

Helping in this weekly “squadding” are Goducate staff, Goducate scholars, 795 Life Coaches from all over the Philippines and other volunteers.

NOW: a Technical Assistance Center for PNP

*Jucel Ronie Arceo is the person in charge of the SWIM program.

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Go Bikes Team in Luzon feed children and mentor young adults

With the restrictions on sports facilities and sports activities in the Philippines during the Covid-19 pandemic, biking/cycling has increased in popularity. It has led Goducate volunteers to set up GoBikes programs, one of which operates in the Province of Negros (see blog of 2021_08-28).

Another Go Bikes program was set up in May in Luzon. During the first three rides, volunteers distributed facemasks to street vendors. Subsequently, the Luzon Go Bikes team started to distribute food to children on Saturdays.

On one of the weekdays, individual team members cycle to meet members of the community whom they are mentoring on life skills. Our team is still small. We have eight active members, and 4 members of community are being mentored.  

Biking is not only an effective way of reaching out to young professionals, but it has also helped members of our team to bond with each other.

A problem is that many of the young people do not possess bicycles, so members of our team lend them their bicycles to enable them to join the Saturday bike rides.

*Our guest writer, Stephen Luceno, is a Goducate staff in-charge of Sports.