Philippines – Page 115 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2010-09-292010-09-30

Goducate Training Center, Iloilo, Philippines must help itself!

The Goducate Training Center in Iloilo, Philippines is being developed presently. So far the following has been done: the perimeter fence around the 11.2 hectares of land, the irrigation lake and canals, deep wells, roads, plant-nursery, green-house, vermi-culture beds, activity fields, clearing of land, terracing of slopes, planting of hybrid rice, vegetables and fruit-trees. The multi-purpose hall is fast taking shape and should be ready by November (if rains do not overly hinder construction).

Hopefully, we will take in our first “pilot” batch of trainees in November/December to “stress test” the facilities.

The true challenge of all charities is sustainability. Many charitable projects fail because they are not self-sustaining – especially after the founder of the charity passes on, when donor-fatigue sets in, or when the foreigners hand over the project to locals.

As Goducate aims to help Asians help themselves by training workers who will learn how to help themselves, Goducate Training Center also aims to be self-sustaining in a few years time.

Goducate trainees at our Training Center will be eating the food that they grow – and in the process learn to be competent, practical agriculturalists. As most of Asia’s poor live in rural communities, Goducate’s future workers will be able to grow most of their own food and help the communities they serve to grow their own food too.

However, just growing food to feed the trainees is insufficient because it is expensive to maintain the center. If funds are not raised for maintenance of the center, it will eventually run down and be derelict.

As the center is located in a nice, natural surroundings with rolling hills and valleys and is only 40 minutes from Iloilo City, plans are being made to turn part of it into a recreational, eco-tourism park. The revenue from eco-tourism activities will help to pay for the on-going maintenance of the center. I will describe some of the proposed activities in my next blog.

Goducate aims to make its Training Center help itself!

2010-09-202010-09-17

Goducate Training Center takes shape

The Goducate Training Center in Iloilo, Philippines, is taking shape nicely. In just three months of development, 11 hectares (about 25 soccer fields) of forest is being converted to an agricultural and livelihood training center for hundreds of Goducate community workers.

We hope to complete Phase 1A of the training center by the end of this year. Phase 1A includes all the basic infrastructure of gates, fences, roads, irrigation canals, impounding lake, land preparation, planting of fruit trees and vegetables, plant nursery, green-house, vermi-composting beds, etc.
Phase 1A also includes the Multi-Purpose Hall (MPH) which can sit 500 trainees ad have administrative offices and a canteen for 240 people.

If funds permit, we will also build an elevated tent-city in the mahogany forest to accommodate 100 trainees. Otherwise, the trainees will have to rough it out in the MPHall as their temporary accommodation.

We hope to take in our first pilot batch of trainees at the end of the year.

2010-09-172010-09-17

Philippines media covers Goducate Training Cente, Iloilo, Philippines

Philippines TV Station ABS-CBN interviewed Governor Arthur Defensor of Iloilo during his recent visit to Goducate Training Center last week.

Paul Choo, Founder of Goducate, was also interviewed. The telecast of these interviews were televised on that same afternooon (Sept 10) on ABS-CBN local new

The local Iloilo paper, Panay News (Sept 11, 2010) wrote the following article:

31 ID, NON-PROFIT GROUP HELPS POOR THROUGH MEDICAL MISSION poor thru medical mission

By JEZZA NEPOMOCENO

SAN MIGUEL, Iloilo – The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) and GODUCATE (Go and Educate), a Singapore-based non-profit organization, conducted a medical mission yesterday, catering to about 500 poor residents of Brgy. Santo Angel here.

Aside from the free medical checkup and medicines, the groups also gave free dental operation and circumcision. The activity was in line with GODUCATE’s objective of “helping poor Asians help themselves.”

According to Maj. John Andrada, acting Civil Military Operation Battalion commander, the 3ID provided some of the doctors and dentists needed for the medical mission. Dr. Paul Chu, president of GODUCATE, said Brgy. Santo Angel will become the “breeding ground” of more development activities, being host to the first GODUCATE campsite in the Philippines.

“This (campsite) is not for profit but for community development,” said Chu.

Chu envisions that foreign nationals from other Asian countries will soon come here for their livelihood trainings and literacy programs, which involves introducing modern technology to attain sustainable
development.

Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. who graced the activity lauded the organizers and vowed to support the organization’s projects and development programs for the Ilonggos.

Putting the 1.8-hectare GODUCATE campsite in a “sleepy barangay” here was an ambitious project, Defensor said.

But there is nothing impossible if we are committed and determined to achieve such an ambition, he added.

Defensor said the provincial government will rehabilitate the rough roads toward the campsite and will create a “shortcut” route from the site to the national road.

GODUCATE operates in seven Asians countries — Singapore, Philippines, India, China, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia./PN

(pl note that the area of the training center is 11.2 hectares and not 1.8 hectares as reported in this article)