Philippines – Page 55 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2014-02-142014-02-19

Goducate and Water Missions International conduct WASH trainings in Philippines

After the installation of 17 Living Water Treatment Systems (LWTS) at different locations in Panay and Negros islands for Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) survivors, the next step undertaken by Goducate and Water Missions International (WMI) was to teach the stakeholders on safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), as well as to make them aware about the availability of safe water for everyone in the community.

Fifteen trainings have been conducted so far for municipal officials, local government unit (LGU) heads, school principals, students, barangay (village) captains, and officers of civil society organizations. A resource speaker from WMI headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, talked on how water gets contaminated, how microbes get into the stomach, how water can be purified and treated using LWTS, how to store treated water in containers, how to wash hands properly, and how healthy hygiene and sanitation behaviors can protect everyone from diarrheal illness.

At every training session, the Goducate-WMI liaison officer also explained the memorandum of understanding between Goducate and the LGU recipient of LWTS. He also spoke about the Goducate Training Center (GTC) and the on-going activities of GTC-trained community development workers in municipalities affected by Typhoon Haiyan

Goducate is committed to holding other community-based trainings in partnership with WMI, not only on WASH but also on emerging and sustainable technologies popularized by Goducate to help ensure food security in needy communities.

Explaining Goducate to officials of Toboso, Negros

2014-02-112014-02-12

Goducate seamstresses in Laguna start on new sewing contract

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.

Supervisor with newly trained seamstress

Whole-body uniform for electronics company

2014-02-042014-02-06

Beating the floods with hydroponic gardening in Tagumpay

In August 2012 torrential rains known informally as Typhoon Habagat caused serious flooding around Laguna Bay. One way by which Goducate helped rehabilitate some of the affected families in Tagumpay was through training the men in agricultural skills. 5 of the men subsequently set up a community farm on a 3000 sq m piece of land that a former mayor of Bay offered to Goducate. By April 2013, the men were starting to harvest vegetables not only for their own families to consume, but also for sale.

However, in August 2013, the place was flooded again by monsoon rains and remained so until Dec 2013. Fortunately an agricultural technique that the men had learnt was hydroponics. One of the men turned to this form of gardening, growing vegetables hydroponically in somebody else’s backyard and in a small piece of land rented for Goducate staff housing.

Selling his vegetables at the wet market is now is main source of living. He and his wife are at the market nearly every day by 4 am with their produce. When they do not have enough of their own vegetables, they buy stock from the Goducate Model Farm or from other small farmers.