Category: Training Center

“We make it fun”, that’s what we always say in Goducate, whether it be in our team-building or any other activity. And we like to rise to the challenge—in this case, of bringing a sports camp to a barangay (village) instead of bringing the campers to the Goducate Training Center.

Working hand in hand with the barangay officials, we held our first Barangay Sports Camp in Barangay Camando, Leon, on April 9. 68 young people (aged 13-19 yr) turned up for this day camp. It was their first time playing their favorite sport (basketball) in a camp, and their first time to try our Archery Assault.

What the camp brought to the youths was not only fun. The games stirred up their interest in sports, thus possibly diverting their attention from less-wholesome activities. They heard testimonies of changed lives to encourage them to stay on the right track. The fun-filled team-building games led on to small-group discussions. And during counselling time, they were mentored on various aspects of life. In all, the camp was an extraordinary experience for the campers, who learnt sportsmanship, discipline, cooperation, and sense of responsibility.

We are now looking look forward to working with other barangays to hold sports camps there.

*Our guest writer is Marmar Daguob, a trainee at the Goducate Training Center, Iloilo

Goducate philosophy is that, for our projects to be sustainable, the training we give people should enable them to help themselves. Thus it is only right that Goducate should try to help itself, rather than depend on sponsors all the time. The Goducate Training Center (GTC) in Iloilo is thus working towards self-sufficiency. It has been conducting Edutours for schools (see blog June 5, 2012). We have also started to rent out space at GTC to large groups of people.

This week Youthlead Philippines ran its Fourth Philippine Transformative Approaches to Innovative Leadership (TRAIL) Summer Camp at GTC. The camp was attended by some 350 youth leaders.

GTC was able to provide accommodation for such a large number by re-using the tents that had been used for our Goducate Tent Schools project, to add to the jungle huts and hillside villas that are normally used for accommodating visitors. The tent-schools project was Goducate’s response to the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in late 2013. We helped schools in North Panay, an area near GTC, by either re-roofing schoolrooms with tarpaulin if the structure of the building was still intact, or by providing tents to serve as classrooms in cases where the building was unstable (see blogs Jan 17, 2014 and Mar 4, 2014).

Some 40 tents were erected in GTC among the jungle huts. Open tents were also set up in the field to serve as the dining area.

There are now plans to build extra rooms, so that we can take in even larger groups.

Goducate tries to impact a community positively and give sustainable help to the barangay (village) that it is serving. We have found that training community leaders to help their own barangays is very useful in giving lasting assistance to the community.

However, it is good training not only of the leaders, but also of other members of the community, that will contribute to lasting help. Goducate has been training these people in the community, but decided that bringing them together for several days of intensive treatment might be more efficient. The first community in-house training was held in the Goducate Training Center (GTC) in Iloilo from Nov 30 to Dec 5, 2015.

The training was open to everyone from the community. Ten people from all walks of life—farmers, mothers, professionals, young people—in four municipalities enrolled. They stayed at GTC throughout the week’s training. Some paid for their registration fee in cash, others in kind. The latter brought freshly harvested products from their farms to share with everyone.

The week-long training was designed to meet the present needs of the community—such as health awareness, health check-ups, leadership, and moral enhancement. The trainees learned basic knowledge and skills to conduct lectures in hypertension, diabetes, importance and benefits of moringa, making moringa powder, and proper hygiene and hand washing for children. They learned how to take blood pressure and check blood sugar analysis using a urine strip. Moreover, they accompanied Goducate CDWs to visit different communities to do community work. They also participated in actual health information drives in different areas as their final output. The week ended with the awarding of certificates of completion of training.

The trainees were thankful for the knowledge, skills, and experience they received and are eager to apply what they learned to help their own communities.

*Our guest writer is Joanna De Leon, a community development worker