The GFF HELPS Philippines Team have successfully conducted Environmental programs inside and outside the school premise of Lapnag Primary School through games using Environmental game box, proper waste segregation, coloring activities, worksheets, school clean-up drive and planting activities and many more. Other activities were also done in Sigcay Elementary School.

These programs were done to raise awareness and kindness to our environment with the help of our school partners. We started announcing this program last May and officially started last June 6th. We are very thankful to our very participative and appreciative school children and teachers – Teacher Ronie of Sigcay Primary School, and Teacher Shearel, Teacher Mona and Teacher-In-Charge Rosalie of Lapnag Primary School for being with us in every project. Some of the fruit tree saplings were also donated by Teacher Shearel.

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Every Tuesday, students of Lapnag Primary School engage in playing Scrabble and Chess. We can see the eagerness of the students to learn, their determination to win, and their cooperation to help one another. Most of the time, they are playing in a group with four to five members. Sometimes, some students are very excited to play and forgot to follow the rules, but at the end of the game, we can see their genuine smiles. Their laughter means that they enjoyed the game no matter whether they win or lose. Now, they can make longer words in Scrabble and make different moves in Chess. We’ll continue to conduct the sessions until they master the games. Moreover, parents see our pictures, and one of the members of the GFF Aklan Workers’ Association and beneficiary of the Sewing Project, Mrs. Zenie Felipe, volunteered to sew pouches for the letter tiles of our Scrabble Boards. We are very thankful for their support.

Last March 2023, The GFF HELPS Philippines had a seminar in collaboration with the Municipal Agricultural Office, and this month, we collaborated with the Municipal Health Office to conduct seminars with the topics “Voluntary Blood Donation Program and Anti-Drugs Abuse Prevention Campaign” by Mr. Josh Brix Naig, RMT and “Dengue Awareness” by Ms. Marevi Esparagoza, RMT in the Village of Muguing, Banga, Aklan, Philippines.

Atleast 30 residents from Muguing Village attended the Health Seminar in collaboration with the Municipal Health Office of Banga. Mr. Josh Brix and Miss Marevi, both are Registered Medical Technologist delivered 3 topics in the said seminar. 2 Clinic Teachers from Muguing Elementary School and theVillage Nutritionist are also present. We also checked the participants’ weight and blood pressure before the seminar started.

The first speaker, Mr. Josh Brix fluently delivered his talk and gave awareness on the danger of using and abusing drugs, as well as the advantages of blood donating while the second speaker is Ms. Marevi T. Esparagoza, talked about Dengue Awareness: mosquito carriers, symptoms, and prevention. During her talk, the attendees learned that it is the female mosquito that bites and might carry the virus that causes Dengue. They also learned about the symptoms that they might neglect. The attendees were already aware of the things that they should do to prevent this virus from spreading, but Ms. Marevi reiterated those things.

As what our Municipal Doctor said, “Your foundation is a big help in community, especially in creating timely and relevant seminars like this, inviting various speakers from different departments.”

Last February and March 2023, we had our first ever FREE Coaching on Civil Service Examination where 10 individuals were given assistance in passing the examination — conducted by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) — through thorough discussions and test-taking, covering almost all the areas in the examination, by the GFF HELPS Philippine Team Volunteers, Lady Peace and Stef, and with the assistance of a Mathematics Guest Coach, Miss Jonamae. It was a successful one. And this June, we will have our Phase 2, with newly-graduated students, and housewives, hoping to land a good job in the Philippine government offices once passed, together with our Math Guest Coach, Mr. Mike

The Civil Service Exam, otherwise known as the Career Service Exam, is an exam conducted by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to determine which individuals are deemed fit to work in public service.

As the days go by, we can see the progress of groups of children residing in Ugsod and Laserna Village. They have different learning styles, and we conducted different activities for them. Those older kids answer worksheets, while the younger kids have psychomotor activities. We observed how they handled each activity and shined. Most of them can now read and write well. Some are quite shy, but now, they are active during activities. They show cooperation and work with their groupmates during group activities. With our guidance, they reached far from where they are before. We also maintain our close relationship with their parents by contacting them during our schedules. We also spend time talking with them after the activity. We are thankful that they welcomed us into their homes and trusted us with their kids.

Remedial Classes are ongoing in the two schools: Sigcay Elementary School and Lapnag Primary School every Monday and Tuesday. The number of students during sessions varies because some were absent. We always prepare worksheets before each session and make sure that it will target the weakness of students. There has been obvious progress with the students under this project. Teachers reported that they have been more confident to read. They are very happy to see progress because the end of the school year is fast approaching. They have to send all of their students to the next level and not let anyone fail. They are thankful for our help and hope that we can continue working with the on the next school year.

Helping our fellow Aklanon to become eligible to work in the Philippine government offices.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” — This is a famous quotation that also mirrors the Glenn Family Foundation founder, Sir Owen Glenn. This project is created to elevate the employment of our fellow Aklanon in the Philippine Government Office. The Civil Service Exam (CSE), also known as the Career Service Examination, is conducted twice a year by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to figure out whether or not an applicant is eligible to work in the Philippine government offices. With the help of our 7-week Free Review of the examination scope inside the GFF HELPS Office in Kalibo, we can help pass the almost 10 examinees. LP and Stef have been the one conducting the Review to topics like English, Math, Philippine Laws, Code of Ethics, Environment and many more since both are Licensed Teachers. We are looking forward to have 100% passers in the upcoming examination in 26th March 2023.

Doing projects with the community is a great way to increase knowledge, skills and promotes progress to people living there. The PH Team, with the guidance of Mr. Saom has initially make progress in communicating to the Muguing Village, an agricultural village 10 kilometers from the GFF Office to partner and create projects with them through the help of Philippine departments like the Department of Agriculture, the Local Government Unit and other agencies. The PH Team will serve as a catalyst to make this project happen. In January, we started communicating the the officers of Muguing Village, did some data survey so that we could decide which project applies best. In February, we communicated to the Mayor’s Office to request permission for a resource speaker from the Department of Agriculture, the Municipal Agricultural Office (MAO) in Banga, to be sent to the Muguing Village and give a seminar on Agriculture and Livestock. The MAO Acting Officer Mr. Elmar Estanislao were very willing to send a resource speaker to Muguing Village in March 2023. The recipient village, on the other hand, was more grateful for the opportunity that we will give to their citizens.

Remedial Classes are ongoing in the four schools: Banga Elementary School, Muguing Elementary School, Sigcay Elementary School, and Lapnag Primary School. Progress of the children were witnessed by the teachers and parents. More students were added to our class, and they also manifested progress despite being new. We continue to provide worksheets and focus on intensive learning. Now, there are more than 50 students under the remedial class from these four schools. We are also grateful for the support of our intern in most of our schedules. We are able to teach many kids in just one session.

Health is one of our priorities. In recent months, we purchased a weighing scale, automatic blood pressure monitor, and glucometer. In every activity that we have, we integrate the health check-up for the participants. One example is the Free Civil Service Examination Seminar where we checked the blood pressure and weight of the participants. All of them were interested to know their weight and their blood pressure. We are planning to hold a seminar in villages about health in partnership with the local government unit and their health workers in the future. For now, we will focus on health check-up integration to each projects that we have.

All human beings are creative by nature. Young children know this in their hearts but lack resources and support. As a celebration of Arts Day, the GFF HELPS Philippines Team brought art materials to Muguing Elementary School. We taught children in Grade 1 how to make animals using simple materials like paper and colored pencils. They made jellyfish and cards out of the materials that we brought. It doesn’t have to be expensive to be creative. The children learned that they could use available materials to create something. Almost 20 kids participated in the activity and proudly showed their work. This activity made us closer to them, and their parents, who are part of the community of Muguing Village. We are happy to ignite their creativity and inspire them to explore their skills.

The GFF HELPS Philippines Team provided Free Blood Pressure Check to almost 50 people from the mountains of Madalag Town. We communicated and sent Letter of Intent to their Village Leader and after getting the GO signal, we gathered all the materials that we need in that time such as the Sphygmomanometer, the Manual and Automatic BP Machine, the GF HELPS PH Flex, tables and sanitizers and BP Checklist to where the participants write their names and BP results. We needed to ride on a motortaxi from the center town going up to the village It was raining that time but we proceeded because people are waiting for us there. Most of the beneficiaries haven’t taken their Blood Pressure for quite some time because most of them are seniors and cannot easily travel to their clinics. The people living in Mercedes Village in the mountainous area of Madalag are quite humble and happy. We cannot forget how grateful they were while they were in queue observing us getting their Blood Pressure one by one and waiting for their turns. We have interviewed a grandfather who is taking his maintenance due to high blood pressure. He is quite happy for our service.

Remediation is a word that means improving and correcting a situation. Most students in different schools were in a situation of educational stagnation. They are stationary at a level where they can’t even comprehend a simple sentence, can’t read a CVC word, and worst, can’t read their own language Filipino. There have been different theories for this problem, but a major factor is the pandemic quarantine. Without personal guidance from the teachers and with the poor support of most parents, the children were greatly affected. The GFF PH Team is on the move as part of the remediation class. We keep on going to schools regularly, print our learning materials, and communicate with teachers. We forgot the days that passed, and we saw how they improved. From a blank page to ongoing writing, the kids’ progress is unstoppable. It only proves that focused attention to the learners and keen supervision results in academic progress.

Projects under the Health Programme is one of the things that we are working hard with. We need to engage with a number of people and organizations involving the medical field like Red Cross Philippines, volunteer nurses and even doctors. As we start to call the attention of the people from the medical field, we initiated the Medical Camp Program where collaboration with the Red Cross Youth Philippines (RCY) was done during their Peer Educators Training: HIV Awareness in Kalibo. After a series of conversation with their President, Mr. Errol Ordines, we were approved to collaborate with them to do the Medical Camp. On October 15th-16th, the Philippines Team went in their venue in Kalibo, bringing our Manual and Automatic Blood Pressure Machine and provided a free Blood Pressure monitoring for the 25 members of the LGBTQ since they are the primary participants of the said training. They were really grateful for such service that they seldom do a Blood Pressure monitor for the few months, and they were glad we have this kind of program. We are planning to continue this Medical Camp: Blood Pressure Monitoring and Blood Sugar Testing in the schools, and the community especially those living in faraway villages, i.e., Madalag Town where villagers won’t able to travel down in the center town or can’t even afford service like the Blood Sugar Monitoring.

We continue to provide reading and arithmetic tutorials to a group of kids living in different towns. The support that we give serves as a refresher class for them. The pandemic made them stationary at home and became stagnant in academic progress. We can see the impact of modular learning when we go to their houses and monitor how they answer their modules. As school reopened and kids have been alternately attending schools by sets, the teachers have a hard time teaching them. The kids that regularly attend our home visit and workshops are noticeably at edge among their classmates in school. The parents thanked us for the worksheets that we provided and the company that we gave to their children. Their emotional and cognitive skills have been improving.

The Department of Education implemented mandatory remedial classes for students who have low marks and do not manifest academic progress. These enrichment classes are conducted during a specific time agreed by the teachers and parents. The GFF HELPS Philippines Team understood the needs of the learners and offered to be a remedial class teacher. The team is consisting of Licensed Teachers who have expertise in General Education and English. We sent a letter of intent to schools, and there are three of them where we regularly visit and conduct remedial classes. Materials like modules are provided by the school, but we also bring our own resources to reinforce. The support that we give to teachers and students were recognized. Parents have been very supportive of their kids and appreciate our efforts. 

School visitation gives us a great understanding of every school’s needs. This October, we began visiting schools where we worked before. Most of them had been a beneficiary of the Digital Learning Program and received tablets to support the learning of their students. As we started the school visitation, we saw the main problem that every teacher tries to mend, the poor comprehension and numeracy of the students. Thus, we provided support by volunteering as remedial class teachers. Some of the schools also reported a lack of teaching facilities, like classrooms, to accommodate students. They are hoping for a makeshift classroom to avoid dividing a single room into two. We are glad to work with teachers and to know the situation on the ground. We will provide support within our capacity.

Kids have been going to school now, and most of them do not have classes in the afternoon. Our schedule is befitting this situation, and we still maintain the number of attendees. The presentation was changed a little as activities are constructed in a way that they will exhibit their critical thinking. We skipped games and formulated activities based on real-life situations. They spend most of their time thinking and reasoning. Most of the kids are in a higher level already and they liked the activities. The younger ones are coping with the changes but still showed great understanding. We are happy to hone the minds of these kids into thinking critically.

We continue to visit the students from Capitan Tazan Memorial Primary School located in Ugsod Village in the town of Banga. These kids are related to each other and live in the same neighborhood. The opening of classes already started, and these kids were also going to school for a half-day class. In the afternoon, they spent time with us with activities to enhance their vocabulary. We saw how they improved every day, and this motivated us to collaborate with schools. We noticed that most students in the Elementary level especially in the lower section, are non-readers. The Government implemented Remedial Classes for these kids under their assigned teachers. We understand the work that teachers do every day and how they struggle to juggle all. We sent a Letter of Intent to the School Principal of Banga Elementary School to volunteer as Remedial Class Teachers for a specific section. It was approved and we will begin in the later part of this month. We are always happy with the trust that the schools have in us.

The Group Workshop was inspired by the Summer Program initiated and facilitated by Willyn and Michael last 2019. It was held in different towns in Banga, Aklan. When the pandemic started, everything was halted. We decided to do it again but in smaller groups. The Episode 2 of this Group Workshop is Arts and Crafts Day. We invited kids from the Town of Kalibo and the Town of Banga. The Flores Family lent us a wide and comfortable place for free in their place in Banga, Aklan. The kids participated in making different crafts made from scratch materials. They also watched informative videos about the different seasons and made a drawing of their favorite ones. We also had a reading workshop outside the Bermuda grass where we sat and read books. The kids showed exemplary skills in comprehension and craftsmanship despite most of them being levels 0-1.

There are two groups of kids located in different towns that GFF Philippines visit once a week. This month, Stefany and LPchanged location and visited the students from Capitan Tazan Memorial Primary School located in Ugsod Village in the town of Banga. These kids are related to each other and live in the same neighborhood. The opening of classes already started, and these kids were also going to school for a half-day class. In the afternoon, they spent time with us and do many activities to enhance their vocabulary. We prepared worksheets for them and they mainly focus on vocabulary and letters. This is a good reinforcement for them after going to school. One of the mothers commented that instead of playing after school, they are looking forward to an after-class workshop with us. They are very happy that their kids had this free workshop something that only privileged children could afford. An after-class workshop that will further help them in their studies, will cost them a good amount, but we are giving it for free. That made them responsible and active. 

Mr. Vincent with his family at their wide vegetable garden in Ugsod Village, Banga, Aklan, Philippines.

The Vegetable Garden Project Phase 3 continues to give nutrition and living to our families who are members of GFF HELPS Aklan Workers ’Association  in Banga Town, Province of Aklan. It has been their everyday routine to weed, to water and to involve their children in taking care of the vegetables since Summer Time of this year- wherein some of the seeds got withered but somehow survived and were taken notice by our farmers. Now that the rainy season is coming, most of our farmers are thinking of a solution to where they could still continue planting their vegetables despite unpleasant weather – perfect timing is the secret. Most of them had reserved matured seeds out from matured vegetable fruits that they could plant anytime on a fertile soil. We are grateful that our members are doing their best to not waste any of our seeds.

Stifhany, LP, together with the kids holding their reflection paper and mud volcano.

The kids poured ingredients inside the mud volcano under the instruction of LP.

The Group Workshop was inspired by the Summer Program initiated and facilitated by Willyn and Michael last 2019. It was held in different towns in Banga, Aklan. When the pandemic started, everything was halted. We decided to do it again but in smaller groups. Ten students have been selected for this workshop and all of them are living in Tabayon Village in the Town of Banga. Seven kids participated in the activity. The Workshop was divided into 5 days and depending on the available schedule of the kids, we will conduct each day. The First Day of the Group Workshop was successfully conducted. The topic was about Volcanoes, their types, and examples. The kids participated in an energizer activity, proceeded with the discussion, and made their volcanoes. They are monitored and instructed throughout the activity. The kids were assured that a failure to make a volcanic eruption is okay. In the end, they successfully made active volcanoes and were fascinated with the eruption. They wrote their reflection on the activity. Testimonials of the parents and the kids were collected and all of them were satisfied by the outcome.

The kids enjoyed reading the funny story of the girl who had her first wriggly tooth. They also shared memories of their first loose tooth.

Kids have been busy preparing for the opening of classes. They will be engage into different setting and lessons. Most of their classes will be half-day and they are not allowed to go out until 12 noon. But, the kids have been hooked into Thursday afternoon that they would still join Online Storytelling. One mother said that Thursday afternoon and the stories have been the only thing that they are looking forward to during the pandemic. Somehow, they got used to the time and the session. We are very glad for our avid attendees. The Storytelling Gala that we will be having soon will be a great opportunity for them to meet children from other countries.