Camps – Page 6 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2010-05-072010-05-10

Goducate training camp site (Central Philippines)

Last week we, the Goducate Philippines’ team, “broke-ground” at our training campsite in Alimodian, Panay, Philippines.

This is the beginning of our dream to produce Goducate workers for Asia. We believe that the quality of Goducate’s work is dependent on the quality of Goducate workers. And our effectiveness in helping Asians help themselves is dependent on our ability to produce an adequate number of quality Goducate workers. Considering the population of Asia and the needs of Asia, it is obvious that if Goducate is serious about helping Asians help themselves, then this task is HUGE!

Some months ago we bought a piece of land, 40 minutes from the city of Iloilo, for this purpose. The seller of the land was a kind grandmother called Nanay (which means “grandma”) Gonzales. Nanay Gonzales had grown up in utter poverty and had only been through 6 years of elementary education. She sold vegetables in the local market to support her family. Her struggles worsened when her husband abandoned her and her six little children. However, her hard work and honesty impressed a large importer of mangoes in Manila, and he appointed her to be his “agent” for mangoes from her district – which was famous for its mangoes.

She prospered and bought this piece of land and spent each weekend with her little children planting fruit trees and mahogany trees on this piece of land. When she heard of our purpose to train workers to help poor Asians, she offered to sell the land to us at a discounted price.

Nanay Gonzales was present at our ground-breaking ceremony with 5 of her grandchildren – most of whom are now professionals. It was a proud moment for her to be able to give back to society and to be a part of helping the poor!

2010-01-272010-01-30

The helpless become helpers

At our Project Leaders Training last week were two young men who were once hopeless and helpless but were now attending the training as leaders! They had been helped but were now helping others!

Both of them had never left their country before. They were proud owners of brand new passports – one from the Philippines and the other from Indonesia.

Roberto (aka Jet) Paltuob has just graduated from college (3rd from left in front row). Even when he was in his final year at college, he was volunteering with us as a camp organizer and camp counsellor with troubled teens in his native province of Iloilo, Philippines.

He is an amazingly hard worker and effective counsellor. It is no wonder that he can counsel troubled teens because he was once a troubled teen. For twelve years he was a pain to his mum, his family and his community. Jet was a hopeless drug addict!

However, some dear Christian friends did not give up on him and lovingly led him out of drugs and back to his mum, his family, his studies and a life of joy and usefulness. Jet is now a part of Camp Goducate – a large campsite that is dedicated to helping thousands of other like him to a life of joy and usefulness.

2009-11-272009-11-28

Camp Goducate in Alimodian Philippines

The Philippines continues to have a very high birth-rate because of the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to birth control. As a result of this many families struggle to provide for the needs of their children. Added to this problem, is the fact many adults (especially the ladies) have to go abroad to look for work. Therefore, many children grow up without the care of a mother.

Lack of money and lack of parental guidance has resulted in a many out-of-school youths, many unwanted pregnancies, teenage marriages and juvenile delinquents.

A year ago, Goducate decided to start weekend camps for Filipino youths in the island of Panay. Groups of about 100 youths from poor villages were invited to join these weekend camps – where they attended teaching sessions, played games and made new friends. The result of these camps was remarkable. Parents noticed visible changes in the behaviour of their kids. And the kids clamoured to join subsequent camps. However, due to the lack of camp facilities and funds it was not possible to invite these youths to follow-up camps.

The Committee Of Camp Goducate Philippines

At about the same time when we started experimenting with youth camps, a Singaporean who presently resides in Brisbane, Australia asked me how he could help. I suggested to him that it was a good thing to help the poor youths of Philippines and he readily gave a generous check – which was then used as the down-payment for a 6 hectare piece of land in Alimodian, Iloilo Province, Philippines.

The owner of this land, Mrs Gonzales, was a poor single mum who ran a market-stall selling vegetables. Later she became a successful wholesaler of mangoes. With the profits of her business, she bought this piece of land many years ago. It was a beautiful piece of flat land surrounded by hills. On the flat land are 2 springs of water, which do not ever stop flowing. Each weekend, she and her children would go to this piece of land to plant mahogany trees, fruit trees and bamboo on the slope of the hills. The flat land was cultivated with rice.

I had the privilege of meeting Mrs Gonzales through mutual friends. When she heard that we were looking for land to build a camp, she offered her land at a very good price.

A camp committee is presently looking at how we can best develop this land so that poor youths can have the chance to learn many useful lessons and skills.

The cost to develop this large piece of land is beyond our present resources.

The possibilities are mind-boggling.

The number and needs of Filipino youth is scary.

But we must do our best to help them – before it is too late!

More photos (click thumbnail to view photos):
[nggtags gallery=camp1]