Philippines – Page 98 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2011-07-04

New Goducate Center and Music Studio in Talahiban, Laguna, Philippines

Goducate’s music program in Laguna continues to expand, and more and more youth are being motivated to dream and hope through music. Five youth from this program will arrive in Singapore on July 15 on “scholarships” offered through Singaporean violinist Min Lee, who visited Laguna with her team for the filming of Goducate’s music
program for Channel News Asia’s “Once Upon a Village” series on projects being carried out in villages in Asia.

Presently, our music program is reaching 11 villages in Laguna. One of the most successful villages is Talahiban. Recently, we bought a piece of land there to build a Goducate center and “music studio.” The immediate reason why we need a “studio” is because the noise (not music!) from youngsters learning to play musical instruments can be quite unbearable to the neighbors! Another reason is that we hope that in the not-too-distant future our musicians will be good enough for more intensive training in a studio, which could double up as a place where they can give performances.

We look forward to the day when the children of Talahiban will dream BIG dreams – not only in music but also in other worthy professions and pursuits.

ScreenShot575 — Surveying land for Goducate center and music studio

photo(44) — Talahiban children learning in makeshift classroom

photo(45) — Talahiban children learning in makeshift classroom

2011-07-01

Expansion of Goducate Model Farm in Laguna, Philippines

The Goducate model farm in Laguna is being expanded by another 5000 sq meters. The existing farm has been fully planted with vegetables and there has been a need to expand the farm for some time.

The purpose of this farm is to help our workers to learn how to grow vegetables in small sustainable plots, so that they can then teach needy people to grow vegetables in their own backyard (or frontyard) plots in our Veg@table projects. The food produced on this farm also provides food for the full-time Goducate trainees who are being trained there and who live there.

The Veg@table projects in various poor communities have been slow to take off because of lack of water in these communities in the previous few month. Another limiting factor has been the lack of workers who are trained in this form of agriculture. This expansion will help solve this problem.

DSCN4801-400 — Erecting fence for farm extension

2011-06-24

Goducate livelihood training helps villager increase her earnings

Two months ago Jonatan, our livelihood trainer, went to Talahiban to teach the villagers there how to make liquid soap. One of the villagers is now reaping the profits of this training.

Nanay Remy, a widow, used to go to the mountains to collect fallen coconuts, from which she would make copra, the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. She used to earn 50-70 pesos ($1.10-1.60) a day doing this. With the liquid soap she is now earning an additional 80-100 pesos a day. This has made it easier for her to support herself and her daughter, Mary Jane, a second-year high-school student and a clarinetist in the Goducate orchestra. Previously there used to be times when Mary Jane could not afford transport to school and had to make the 3 km journey on foot.

talahiban1 — Nanay Remy (in white top) making liquid soap

Nanay Remy believes that education for Mary Jane is vital to help them to survive. She was unable to give her older children, who now have their own families, a formal education.