Soap-making in new Goducate Center in Philippines

Our new Goducate Learning Center in Mabakan, Laguna, Philippines, is now teaching soap-making as a means of livellihood. This part of Laguna is famous for its hot-spring resorts. Many people from Manila visit these resorts, especially on the weekends. One of the largest resorts has agreed to buy our hand-made soap for its guests. The soap will also be sold in its gift-store.

This little project will supplement the incomes of families that have been affected by the recent typhoons that devastated this place.

Goducate offered camp-site in Batam!

Goducate has been offered the free use of a camp-site in a “prime” location near one of the busiest towns in Batam, Indonesia. This brand new facility is not the typical youth camp-site but is ideal for “urban” camping. It consists of 6 terrace-houses (connected houses), an internal covered courtyard and a community hall. The whole complex was donated by generous Koreans as a community-center for this part of Indonesia.

Goducate will run the first Camping English International (CEI) for 60 Indonesian teenagers on April 2 to 4. Young adults and youth from Singapore and Philippines will organise the camp and the fun-activities. An experienced lady drama teacher from Singapore will run the drama workshops. All activities will be conducted in English to encourage (force!) the Indonesians to converse in English. The main objective of this camp is to help the campers to improve their spoken English. The other objectives of the camp are to give the Indonesian youth exposure to other cultures, build bonds between Indonesians, Singaporeans and Filipinos and for the youths from these countries to learn from one another.

If this first CEI camp is successful, Goducate hopes to run a monthly camp and to run regular daily weekday English and computer classes in that campsite. According to Goducate’s Batam Advisor, there is presently a ready pool of 30,000 teenagers who are keen to learn English in Batam through CEI!

Sabah new literacy center opens – floor cracks under weight of 240 students!!

Last week Goducate opened another literacy center in a swamp in Sabah for poor kids who cannot go to school. Because of the dampness of the swampy soil, the school-house had to be built on stilits.

Goducate provided 500 Malaysian Ringgit (about US$150) for some building material and the community chipped in to build their very own school-house.

The pride of the village
The pride of the village

On the opening day, 240 students and their parents filled the school house patiently waiting for the Opening Program to begin.

Full house
Full house

Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound! There was panic as students scrambled to flee from the cracking floor planks. Thankfully no one was hurt and no one fell into the swampy soil below!

Cracked floor boards
Cracked floor boards

When all the kids were safely out of the building, one of the village elders said in the native language “The show must go on! We must persevere!”

The opening program continues on safer ground
The opening program continues on safer ground