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Children gain weight with Goducate’s feeding program

Goducate’s feeding program began in a very poor area in Laguna, Philippines, where some children had meals only about three times a week. The Covid-19 situation added to the financial burden for these poor families.

393 children from 10 poor areas of Laguna were included in the feeding program. They were first weighed in June 2021, when 133 kids were found to be underweight for their age. Goducate fed these 133 children thrice a week, while the others were fed once a week.

These 133 underweight children had their body mass index (BMI) monitored every other until December. By July 33 of them had an increase in their BMI but it was still below normal for their age.

Initially we delivered food to their homes, but when the Covid-19 alert level was lowered, the children went to a central place in the community for their feeds. The head of the feeding program organized the purchase of the ingredients. The food was cooked by our volunteer staff, by some of the mothers and some of the young people in the community.

In areas where there is no central place for food preparation, meals are wrapped individually and sent to the children.

When weighed again in December, 103 of the 133 underweight children had reached their target BMI. The other 30 had gained some weight but not enough to reach the BMI for their age.

We did not specifically collect data on illnesses, but our general observations indicate that the children seemed to have become more active. The mothers have also told us that their children do not fall ill so often and have become more active.

We involved parents through talks and small-group discussions, and there are plans to train them in hygiene and first aid along the lines of the Health Information Drive (see blog of April 17, 2020). Partnering with us were members of the Philippine National Police who helped to teach children proper methods of wearing facemask and hand washing. They also helped our workers to serve food, and sometimes provided the children with biscuits.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are hoping to provide the children with hygiene kits that include facemasks and alcohol.

Goducate is now planning to start a feeding program in 7 new areas, for 516 children, 214 of whom are underweight for their age.

We are also praying that the areas in which we are conducting our feeding programs will have proper toilets and washing stations to help stop the spread of hygiene-related diseases.

*Our guest writer is Gemma Abrenilla, a staff member at Camp Goducate, Laguna

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Goducate Scholars receive pocket Wi-Fis

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, education in the Philippines had to switch from being delivered physically in schoolrooms to going online. However, many students struggled with their online classes because of unstable or no internet connections, or had difficulty paying for their mobile data.

A survey was done among Goducate scholars to identify those who had difficulty with their online classes because of poor internet connection. Goducate has now provided pocket Wi-Fis for 15 Goducate scholars, as well as a SIM card enough for a month’s use. Goducate is grateful to the sponsors who provided the funds for these instruments.

*Our guest writer is Gemma Abrenilla, a staff of Camp Goducate Laguna.

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Plans for expanding program of APIIS-Goducate Academy

APIIS(Asia-Pacific Institute of International Studies)-Goducate Academy has transitioned online and officially opened in August 2021 as one of the Philippines’ Department of Education’s accredited schools. All the Academy’s educational and training platforms have now been adapted virtually. This Academy evolved from Goducate’s Sabah program, which was started 12 years ago to provide education to stateless Filipino children in Sabah. Mothers in Sabah who had received some school education were taught how to home-school their children (see blog https://www.goducate.org/reaching-poor-unschooled-children-in-sabah/ dated  July 30, 2010) and had moved on to using technology to teach (see blog  https://www.goducate.org/goducate-sabah-uses-technology-to-train-mothers-to-teach/ dated July 31, 2020 and https://www.goducate.org/more-online-training-for-goducate-teachers-and-students-in-sabah/ dated March 5, 2021).

The Sabah program was introduced in the Philippines because the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted schooling. The two programs—namely, the Kindergarten program and the Rev Up tutorials—will continue until the end of the academic year in July 2022. Moving forward this year, we will collaborate with the parents to transition from a structured curriculum to a creative self-paced and learner-centered curriculum. Moreover, we will retain and innovate our Rev Up tutorials to supplement the needs of the Filipino learners in Mathematics and English.

As we look beyond the global pandemic and its disruptive effects on the educational system, we believe that studio video and audio productions, digital educational models and parent-assisted online distance-learning are the best way to go. With these in mind, we will be recruiting and forming a solid team of video editors, graphic designers and animators in order to produce the projected 240 videos for songs, main lessons and supplemental lessons. There is a need for upgrading and upskilling as we face the staggering demands of online education. Our target is to produce attractive, educational and engaging videos that will make a positive impact on every Filipino child’s learning journey.

For now, our Rev Up classes (Tutorial classes) aged 6-9 years old are getting more exciting as we hold weekly online classes for parents and provide them with videos and a checklist to guide them in the facilitation of their child’s learning. Parents can also access all the lesson materials, including our creative videos, on our Google Site. We also have Rev Up preparatory class for learners aged 3-4 years. The parents are grateful for this class since they are not able to find this kind of class in other schools. The lesson videos are very creative and exciting. Among the many fun-filled learning videos are letters of the alphabet being fished, numbers shown through bananas being picked, and colors of cars demonstrated in a riding adventure.

We firmly believe in partnering with parents to bring out the best in their children through the finest 21st century education, which is why we hold events such as STAR (Sharing, Thanksgiving, Appreciation and Rewarding) Sundays (see blog https://www.goducate.org/goducate-academy-starts-star-sundays/ dated Nov 26, 2021) as well as Virtual Home Visits. The backbone of this educational system is the relationship that APIIS-Goducate Academy has with the parents. A case that indicates the popularity of our program is that of a Filipino family in Thailand that has taken part in our Home Visitation program. The parents had planned to enroll their child in a Thai School, but the child insisted on studying in APIIS-Goducate Academy because she really loves our videos. The mother told us that the girl repeatedly sings her favorite line in the theme song—-that is, “we strive for excellence in Goducate Academy…”  Such enthusiasm encourages APIIS-Goducate Academy to strive to fulfill its dream of reaching millions of Filipino homes!

*Our guest writers are Iris Gwyn Abibiason and Pamela Kaye Dingal, APIIS-Goducate Academy teachers.