Category: Livelihood Training

When the severe monsoon rains known as Typhoon Habagat flooded the area around Laguna Bay in August 2012, Goducate helped rehabilitate some of the affected families in Tagumpay by training the men in agricultural skills. With their newly acquired skills, 5 of the men set up a community farm on a piece of land that a former mayor of Bay offered to Goducate. The farm was productive, enabling the men to sell their crops by April 2013.

Unfortunately, in this flood-prone area, the farm was under water again from August to December 2013. During this time one of the men turned to container gardening, growing vegetable hydroponically on other premises, and sold his produce at the market every morning.

Still, the men did not give up on the farm. When the flood subsided in December, they cleaned it up, and with financial help of about PhP 3000 ($67) from Goducate they bought material to start planting again. By the end of February they harvested nearly a ton of vegetables (666kg of pechay [kind of cabbage known as “pak choi” in Chinese], and 333 kg of mustard). By next week they hope to have another harvest of another ton of vegetables. With the sale of these vegetables, the men have been able to repay the loan they took from Goducate.

The 5 men need additional help during planting and harvesting, and have been able to offer part-time jobs to others.

What the buyer rejects is taken by the man who turned to container gardening, to be sold at the market every morning.

 

In January last year, when Goducate started a sewing project in Laguna, there were only 3 sewing machines in the community. A contract was secured for the 3 women to sew school uniforms, but they could not meet demand. However, over the year, thanks to generous Goducate sponsors, the number of machines available for contract work has increased to 12, enabling more women to be trained to sew. Unfortunately, payment for work done was often delayed.

For poor people, not only is regular payment very important, but also payment at short intervals. A contract that we were eyeing, to sew clothing for sale at shopping malls, had to be rejected because the workers were to be paid at 2-monthly intervals.

A contract has now been secured, this time sewing whole-body uniforms for an electronics company that pays weekly.

The machinists contribute a small portion of their earnings to Goducate, and another portion to the person in charge of the project.

Goducate musicians spent the Christmas period raising funds for others. One event was their “concert for a cause”. Taking part in the concert was also a choir of elementary school students who had been a part of our feeding program. The aim of the concert was to raise funds, half for the relief work that Goducate is doing for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in northern Panay, and half for the orchestra’s upcoming activities.

The benefit concert, which lasted for about two hours, entertained the audience with Christmas carols and popular Filipino songs.

The event, held at the Goducate Music Studio, was attended by over a hundred people and raised PHP 8929 ($200).

Another fund-raising effort was made by those Goducate musicians who are college students on Goducate bursaries. Armed with their voices and musical instruments, they went carolling for 3 nights. They used the PHP 3645 ($85) that they raised to buy gifts for the needy. Some of these gifts of food and fruit were distributed to needy patients at a government hospital, and some to widows attending a Christmas party in a nearby community. The patients responded to the serenading with carols and the gifts with big smiles and some teary eyes.

These fund-raising events indicate that Goducate musicians have embraced the core philosophy of Goducate, which is to help Asians help themselves and then to help others.