The impounding lake for irrigation of our rice-fields and vegetable farms at the Goducate Training Center in Iloilo has begun to take shape.
This is the first thing that needs to be done on the site so that we can start planting our rice and vegetables. We will need this to feed the first intake of trainees which we hope to have by the last quarter of this year.
It is a race against time because of the coming rainy season which is already due. It will be very difficult for the heavy equipment to enter the site and the fields after the rains come.
The photos show the construction of the impounding lake and the dumping of the excavated earth to the site of the Multi-Purpose Hall.
Loading excavated earth on dump truck
Back-hoe at work
Excavated earth becomes base of Multi-purpose Hall
The beginning of the lake
We are also racing to gravel the roads so that vehicles can come in even during the raining season to bring in the building materials. If sufficient funds are available we can start building the roof of the Multi-Purpose Hall to shelter the building materials from the rain. If the roof is up before the rains then building of the other parts of the MPHall can be done even during the rainy season. Otherwise, we will waste 6 months of time during the rainy season.
Another urgent work which needs to be done is the bringing in of electricity from the highway. Electricity is needed to run some construction equipment.
Also, the gate and fence needs to be installed to protect our crops and building materials.
The remaining parts of the camp can be done later as funds become available.
From the 11th to the 23rd of January, I ate, slept, worked, and chatted with the children at the Goducate Children’s Home in Preyop, Cambodia. A typical day for a child in the home would go along something like this—wake up at crack of dawn to do assigned tasks or chores, have breakfast, attend school (in English) and Khmer classes, then back to doing assigned tasks in various part of… Continue reading
A nursing school that came to know about Goducate’s community work has chosen the Goducate Learning Center in Mabakan, Calaun, to be a center for practical training for their students. Hence 10 nursing students spent January training the locals in basic health awareness and doing health screenings.
Training session
Some 30 people, mostly mothers, attended… Continue reading
A fortnight ago parents of the children attending the Goducate Learning Center in Lalao, Laguna, were brought together to attend a session with their children. The session, called Mama and Me, was intended to emphasize to the parents the importance of good communication with their children and of teaching their children and supervising them while they do their homework and assignments. For the children, the intention was to impress on… Continue reading
I can feel the drive and energy at the project site. Hope is what drives people. Keep pushing!