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
