Recently I attended the wedding of our Indonesian Goducate staff worker, Lekson. The wedding was held at our Goducate Learning Center in Batam. The hall that normally is full of noisy kampong kids learning English was transformed into a “grand” wedding hall.
It was a joy for me to see Lekson, in his formal suit, standing next to his beautiful bride Yuli resplendent in her native Batak dress. As I looked at this fine-looking couple standing before me, I couldn’t help reflecting on how much Lekson has been transformed in the past 3 years. I still remember the Lekson who used to attend our Goducate sessions with blood-shot eyes, smelling of alcohol and tobacco, looking bored and distracted in class. I remember the angry, ill-disciplined young man who wasted his hard-earned money on gambling. I remember how he was always late because he couldn’t get up on time.
Today, Lekson speaks to me in fluent English. He even teaches English in our Goducate centers. When we opened a new Goducate Center in Batam, he was appointed to head it. Today, he is a model of diligence and discipline. I felt like a proud father at this wedding!
I dream of the day that this new Lekson will reproduce many more little Leksons, not only through his dear wife but also through his life-example to the hundreds of children who come to our Goducate centers!
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
english is the mainstay of working languages worldwide, and will continue to be dominant. w/o literacy skills, how can a poor asian lift himself out of poverty?
the poor needs education to stand a fighting chance.