Hamsilran came up to Teacher B and said, Teacher so sorry I cannot be here on day of the guests’ visit. Why? Teacher B asked, she was banking on Hamsilran to be there – their group of young teens, mostly boys always give a very good dance number in each program we have. They train themselves, pick their own music and dance moves.
Hamsilran answered, you see, my new teacher asked me to represent our class in the school’s Drawing Contest. Wow, okay then. You give it your best shot okay? Teacher B replied. Hamsilran did not realize that Teacher B was overcome with emotion.
On our way home, she was holding back her tears but failed. She told me, she feel soooo proud. That Hamsilran came up, talked to her in fluent English and shared what he was up to. Hamsilran is one of our three kampong boys who were able to get admission to the town’s school for non-Malaysian just this January.
He is one of the thousands of kids who cannot read nor write two years ago when we started the literacy center. Since they do not have the proper documents and even when they finally do, school fees are beyond what they can afford , kids aging 4-15 years old like them grow up not knowing how to read and write.
to be continued
The model farm in Laguna, Philippines was a month-old operation when I visited it with the directors of Goducate in August. Its purpose is to demonstrate to the poor to produce vegetables for their own consumption. The first thought that came to mind, as I listened to the Goducate farm worker who showed me around, was that this place is a living lab. I noticed that each vegetable plot and… Continue reading
This is a story of a boy in Laguna which will probably remain untold had the Goducate team not visited him at his home. One would have thought that Ian Mendoza is 12 years old simply because of his child-like appearance. But he is actually 18 years old. Ian suffers from meningioma – a non-aggressive cancer of the central nervous system. A slow-growing brain tumor – probably the size of… Continue reading
For urbanites in First World countries, it is perhaps correct to say that most will find it difficult to empathize with those who experience real poverty. Not that I can empathize any better or had become wiser after my short visit to a rural community in Laguna, Philippines, I think poverty is not just simply earning less than US$ 1 a day, or not having enough to eat as conventional… Continue reading
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