In my travels through Asia, I am saddened by the poor nourishment of many Asian children. My training as a doctor helps me to pick up signs of malnourishment (eg. under-sized children, late maturity, general lethargy) in almost every Asian country – whether rural or urban.
The average traveler is more likely to be impressed by the nicer clothes that they wear, the newer electronic gadgets in their hands and the slickly packed snacks that they eat and assume that these children are doing well.
An average meal for many Asian children is a plate of rice, topped with a little instant noodles (from a pack that is shared among the whole family). This convenient, tasty meal may satisfy the child’s taste buds and fill his belly but will surely not adequately nourish him. Sad to say, such meals are becoming more common as we “progress”! After all, to many mothers the slickly packaged instant noodles suggests a “scientific” meal for the modern mum!
I do not believe that Asian mothers deliberately want to under-nourish their children. I believe that ignorance contributes significantly to this state of affairs. And I believe that this trend can be reversed – one backyard at a time!
For the past year, Goducate has been experimenting with different aspects of bio-intensive backyard farming and we are convinced that with the right type of organic fertilizers (easily produced by earthworms), the right type of seeds (easily obtained from agricultural organizations) and a little encouragement, Asian mums can produce enough “organic” vegetables to feed their children in their own backyards. With today’s agri-technology, there is no reason why the poor cannot enjoy the freshest, most nutritious meals from their own backyards.
Goducate presently is developing two farms in the Philippines – one in Iloilo (in the central part of the Philippines) and the other in Laguna (in the northern island of Luzon) – to train community workers for Asia.
Goducate hopes to help Asians help themselves – beginning with one backyard at a time!
Goducate, with its mission of helping young adults in China to help themselves, has opened a second Lifepegs student activity center in southern China. The new center is located in one of the city’s major campus districts with a student population of 60,000 to 70,000 from 8 universities.
The core team of 3 native workers trained by Goducate worked hard to renovate and get the center started within 28… Continue reading
Five of the first batch of trainees who completed the Goducate training program for basketball officials did not have to wait long to get their first jobs. And the jobs were not for matches at village level (where they had done their training), but at inter-university level. This job opportunity for out-of-school youth arose with the 10-day visit of the Indonesian Youth Team from West Java to play against eight… Continue reading
Goducate believes in encouraging the students at the literacy centers to read. However, it has not been easy to set up a library, or somewhere to store books securely. For one thing the centers are scattered over a wide area. For another, many centers are the living rooms of the locals into which the students squeeze for their lessons, while others are very basic structures consisting just of a roof… Continue reading
I read with interest in the implementation of backyard farming to help Asian families to obtain substantiate and more nutrient meals.
I am interested to volunteer and would like to know how I can help in the farm, though no prior knowledge in farming in Laguna or in Goducate Literacy in Sabah.
Wud appreciate if you cud email me. Thank you.