Construction of the workshop for the vocational training of the boys at the Goducate Children’s Home in Cambodia has started. And most of the work is being done by the boys themselves. Each boy does his part according to his strength and capability. The smaller boys do much of the fetching and carrying.
Some also mix cement.
So far the boys have received their vocational training informally, by pitching in and helping with whatever is being done at the Home. However, the plan now is to provide vocational training more systematically, hence the construction of the workshop. The workshop will be suitable for training in skills such as welding, electrical work, motor-vehicle repair and servicing, and carpentry.
Working on projects such as this brings out the best in the boys. They learn teamwork, endurance, discipline, and creative thinking. They also gain a sense of fulfillment as they assess what has been accomplished at the end of each day.
Working on the foundationCutting steelTransporting a truss
Within weeks of being appointed Goducate’s Sports Director, David (Boycie) Zamar, implemented Goducate’s first basketball program in Barangay Pupuy, in Laguna Province, The Philippines (a barangay is the smallest administrative unit in The Philippines).
The 4-week program, which has just been completed, included 2 sessions of coaching to be table officials, and 2 sessions of coaching to be referees.
The program also included a basketball league, which 11 teams, each consisting of 12-15 players entered. The program was held at the barangay’s gymnasium, which the barangay council and its youth council allowed us to use. The players brought their friends and families along, such that some 300 people turned up on the weekday evenings (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), and 500 on Sat evenings. The teams consisted mainly of underprivileged and out-of-school youth. The idea of the league was for us to identify players who might qualify for sports scholarships. Unlike some previous basketball matches in the area, which had to be discontinued because of unruly behavior among players and spectators, our league matches ran smoothly, possibly because of the emphasis we placed on discipline and sportsmanship in the address to both players and spectators before the matches.
Within a week of the start of the program, an out of school youth was offered a college sports scholarship on the strength of his basketball skills. He will receive free tuition, accommodation, as well as an allowance. By the end of the 4 week program, 7 other players were selected to be presented for sports scholarships. The players will continue their training at basketball camps. We are also planning a tie up with TESDA (the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority), to channel some of these out-of-school youth towards its courses.
Several members of Goducate staff were among those who attended the training for table officials and for referees. Jonathan, a Goducate staff member has been selected to go Cebu City for the National Private Schools Athletic Association and National Referees Accreditation to be held in the 3rd week of April. If he passes the test he will be our first member of staff to receive a license to officiate nationwide at basketball events.
Importance of stretching exerciseCoach Boycie addressing potential referees
The training sessions were conducted by Coach Boycie and his two friends, George Magsino (an FIBA licensed referee) and Jojo Rivera (a licensed basketball coach). Jojo has invited the Goducate Sports Program to run the Basketball Clinic for Kids and Youth in April at BF Homes, Paranaque, a middle and upper class residential development south of Manila. Although the youth in this area are privileged kids who will not need Goducate help, our involvement there will enable those from the poor areas who qualify as table officials and referees to earn some income there.
Coaching in progress
For now, the Goducate Sports Program has started sessions in Barangay Tranca for underprivileged youth. We hope to run programs in many other barangays soon, and to get as many people as possible back to school on sports scholarships before the start of the school year in June.
There have been other outcomes of the Goducate Sports Program. One is that FESSAP (Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines) has appointed Goducate as its partner. FESSAP has also appointed our Sports Director, Boycie, to be its Chairman of the Coaches Commission, and me as Chairman for Youth Development at barangay/barrio level.
A short while after the health talk for parents and the de-worming session for the children at one of Goducate’s learning centers in Sabah, the teachers from all the Goducate learning centers in Sabah were brought together for what we hope will be the first of a series of health seminars for them. They see the children almost every day, and they are looked up to by the students as well as by the rest of the community, so they are in a good position to influence the community’s health—by teaching, as well as by administering simple treatments. But first they need to acquire knowledge about health.
Poor sanitation in the communityTeachers at the health seminar
Since parasitic worm infestations are common in the kind of areas this community lives in, and it is a topic that had been taught to one group of parents, I started the session with this topic.sa Like many of the parents who attended the earlier session, the teachers had obviously had these infestations themselves because many could recount their own experiences. Many also pointed out that they cannot change the (non-existent) sanitation system they have now. However, good personal hygiene practice can definitely help towards prevention of parasitic infestation. Hence the teachers were taught the 7 steps of proper handwashing. They were also each given a copy of a handwashing poster so that they could return to their respective villages and teach their students.
The session ended with two common first-aid skills—how to stop bleeding from cuts, and treatment of burns from scalds and flames.
