Wed, February 10,2010 – And so we went in again the next day, the school supplies that the sponsors gave to these children brought a smile on their faces. These children now had a hope to go to school and learn.. We were just near the new constructed building seeing the teachers to be with the parents carrying the bags that we brought to their place.. All are excited to have one bag of supplies.. Inside are 2 notebooks, a 10 colored crayons, 2 pencils, eraser, a coloring book, scissors, and the like.. thanks to the friends who are willing to help. The enrollees reached 240 children ages 5-18 years old.
Saturday that week, dated February 13, a day before Chinese new year.. I went there again.. this time I was with a friend but he left me alone because he need something to do.. I was there looking at the parents specially fathers who are working together to build the school house.. It was their joy to do the work because it is Chinese New Year and a holiday as well.
I was there standing all alone until I can’t stand anymore but to carry a post with teacher “S” to help the work. Until a man came to me and say.. “Teacher, I will never allow my children to go to school” then I ask “why uncle?”
He answered me bitterly “you see, I graduated Criminology in college already but where I am now? Still nothing to do with it. It will just give you frustrations just what had happened to me. I never worked in the course that I graduated.. Everything is just a waste!” then I told him “ Uncle, could it be possible that your calling is not a policeman but a teacher? Why won’t you try to teach your children.You know what it is better that your children know how to read and write so that no one will fool them.” Then the man thinks deeply and said, “Yah, teacher you are right. Come with me go to my Khampung.”
to be continued
Water World is a 5 months old goducate center Sabah. It was named waterworld because once it was high tide the water reaches until the floor of our elevated school house. High tide will never be a hindrance to the students to go to school as well as volunteered teachers. I’ll show you some several ways to go to school even though high tide.
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
What a brilliant response! How many people would have thought of telling the man that perhaps he was better suited to being a teacher. And what a heart-warming response from the man (as described here and in next part of the diary)