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Goducate Training Center in Laguna upgraded

The Goducate Training Center in Laguna has undergone a massive upgrading to become a posh event center.

The Goducate Training Center in Laguna had consisted of a roofed hall with a wall on only one side. It was used for all kinds of Goducate activities, from basketball, to music, to trainings of all kinds. 

GTC Laguna before upgrading

However, Goducate tries as much as possible to be a self-sustaining organization. By enclosing that hall, making it fully air-conditioned, and providing Wi-Fi connections, the place is suitable to be rented out for events such as weddings, birthdays, seminars, conferences.

Entrance of event center

The hall can seat 500 people, and there is plenty of parking space. There are few such facilities in the town of Bay, where GTC Laguna is situated. The income from fees for booking that hall can go towards Goducate’s community projects. When not rented out, it can still be used for the usual Goducate activities, except basketball, which is now held on a court in the village.

The upgrading took about 4 months, and was completed in early December. The first rental was for a wedding held on Dec 15. The income from that wedding reception helped to pay for a basketball league held later in the month. 

Set up for an event
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Youths in Philippines undergo leadership training in Ultimate Youth Camp

Eighty-six youths aged 10-19 took part in the Ultimate Youth Camp held at the Goducate Training Center in Iloilo from May 17-19. The purpose of the Ultimate Youth Camp is to train youths in leadership skills.

Some of the campers came from Iloilo Province, some from Guimaras, an island province across the water from Iloilo City, and some from Bacolod, a city on the huge island of Negros, also across the water from Iloilo City. They could register in cash or in kind, in the form of vegetables, meat, or other consumable goods available to them in their community.

On the last day of the camp, 17-year-old Wilhelm Richard Gonzaga stood in front of the other campers reading out the poem he had written about how thankful he was for what he had learned from the camp. All the other testimonials given that day included expressions of sadness about having to bid goodbye to their newfound friends.

Helping the staff who ran and taught at the camp were 7 trained youth leaders and 38 counselors. The counselors, some of whom were the current batch of trainees at Goducate Training Center, had first attended a Camp Counselor’s Training course. Every counsellor was assigned some campers, with whom they spent most of their time together.

Guest writer: Carmela Damaso, Trainee GTC Iloilo
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Goducate brings its programmes to Mindanao

Goducate aims to bring its programmes to all the 42,065 barangays (villages) of the Philippines. The training team recently went to Mindanao, the second-largest island of the country, to kick off the expansion there. The goal of this trip is to form teams in different key geographical areas. These teams will in turn train others in their towns and districts.

For this trip, the training team from Iloilo held “classroom” teaching in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon; Mambajao, Camiguin; and Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte. However, the practical work was done in different barangays (villages), for trainees to apply what they had learnt.

The team equipped potential trainers in three Goducate platforms — the Health Information Drive, GoTeens Student Leadership Program, and GoBasket Philippines.

The feedback from trainees was that these programs are generally acceptable and easy to apply. They are simple enough for housewives or young people to be carry out.

At the end of the training, the trainees formed their teams and plans for the next areas that they will reach.

Guest writer: Teofy Guzon, Goducate Training Coordinator