REMEDIAL CLASSES
On 19th January 2024, in a fantastic display of talent and cultural diversity, students of English for Village program took the spotlight at the Ekiriyagala SANASA Community Hall. The highlight of the event was their performance of the folk drama ‘Nari Bena’ (The Fox, Son-in-law).
I first joined GFF in 2018 as a volunteer based for three months in Kalimpong, India and two months in Kathmandu, Nepal. As a then 19 year-old, the opportunity to give back to those in need while embedding myself in, and learning from, a culture totally foreign to my own is an opportunity I will always be incredibly grateful to Sir Owen for. While in India, I worked alongside the GFF India team to run projects across their three learning centres in Kalimpong; as well as working in the office for the BSA Trust. A project that remains particularly memorable was setting up a village football program in Chibbo Busty.
I started out by running a one-week coaching class for passionate football fans who were keen to pass on their love of the game to young players. We had seven coaches who turned out for the week long class, and after some long mornings in the classroom and on the grass, we had a strong group of coaches ready to pass on their skills to eager young players. Also, as some of the coaches were based in Chibbo, we started inviting children down to train with us every morning from 6-8am. Word quickly spread, and by the time I left Kalimpong, we had a dedicated group of 20+ children, coming down 7 days a week to play football and improve their skills. And, given we had other coaches helping out, the project was able to continue in my absence. Seeing this project thrive showed me how far passion for community can go.
The coaches were willing to get up at the crack of dawn every morning to provide football training to children, receiving nothing more than seeing smiling children in return. After three months in India, Sophie (my fellow volunteer) and I moved across to Nepal for the two months, becoming the first GFF representatives to spend time in the country. Our main focus was figuring out how GFF could best establish itself in the country, so we worked alongside CDS (Child Development Society) who have extensive experience with development projects in Nepal. We were particularly inspired by CDS’ SEEP program (Self-Employment and Education Program), a microfinance education program in which groups of women learn valuable skills and are then given seed funding to apply these skills to start small businesses.
We interviewed women who participated in these programs, and were truly blown away to hear about how the program had helped change their lives. Many of these women were denied a basic education when they were children and never had an opportunity to earn a stable income. But, after participating in the program, they had their own income, helping them to put their children through school and afford basic necessities such as food and clothing without the stress they may have had in the past to figure out how to pay for it.
Since returning from Nepal I have continued to support GFF HELPS as an advisor and by helping with digital communications and marketing. Then, last month, I was lucky enough to be hosted by Saom in Kalimpong and revisit the area I spent three months living in, in 2018.
My overall experience with GFF Helps Nepal was very enriching and full of learning. My first volunteering journey with the organisation began in February 2019 which ended in August 2019. During that period, everyone was so friendly, supportive and appreciative. Since there was a request from the community for a free Gynaecological Health check up camp, with the support of the partner NGO of Nepal, I got an opportunity to organize a free health check up camp for women of all age groups suffering from various health issues in the rural area called Kavre. After this health camp, a General Health check up camp was organized for men, women, children and elderly from the community. One of the interesting project under my tenure was the Eco Brick Project where children from the community school was mobilised to make Eco Bricks (Empty plastic bottles filled with plastic waste), which was used to make a school bench in the school playground. This activity was supported with an awareness session on management of plastic waste at home and school. Solar panels were distributed to the two SEEP (Women Literacy) centres in Kavre since the learning centres did not have access to electricity during that point of time. Computer classes were conducted in the community school of Kavre which was requested by the school principal during our visit to the school, a fan was donated to the school as there was no such facility in the school.
I, once again got an opportunity to join GFF Helps Nepal for the second time from October 2021 to October 2022. This time, I felt that working for the project was more fun and not a chore, getting involved with the community women, school children and other organisations. Supporting the women and children was very inspiring. My new experience working at the day care centre of CDS was a very enjoyable moment. The children were absolutely adorable and happy. We were able to paint the wall of sleeping hall with educative alphabets, letters, numbers, shapes and pictures and change the carpet of the sleeping room. Working with kids daily with rhymes and playful activities was rewarding. This opportunity helped me to use the skills I had and at the same time felt useful to the organisation.
I felt that my year’s time had a big impact in the lives of many women and children. Radhika Didi prepared the most amazing meals and was always ready to extend her help to GFF Helps Team. Our partner NGO was incredible and made our stay comfortable. I am thoroughly impressed and satisfied with GFF Helps for having given us this opportunity to serve the communities of Nepal. Many thanks to Sir Owen and Sir Saom for relentlessly being there to support the undeserved.
“Experience is the best teacher, that is why my experience with the GFF HELPS Philippines Team teaches me a lot. As we go to the field with the PH Team to visit various schools, I’ve experienced riding a tricycle that runs on rough and narrow roads. I felt dizzy because of too much smoke coming from heavy vehicles like trucks. When it is raining, we use an umbrella to cover our bodies as we walk along the road. If we can’t find any vehicle to ride on, we’ll walk from the beneficiaries’ house or school for 1 km or so. As we got there, facing the students is pleasing to the eyes, heart, and mind because our sacrifices, effort, and time is worth it. I teach them to read, write, draw, spell, count, identify things, describe, and many more. As they’re learning and participating actively even though some are too hard to be taught, I am learning from them too.”
The internship is one of the most fulfilling jobs an individual could experience, especially if it involves working in an environment suited to your current degree. In GFF HELPS, our intern Erica, a BS Secondary Education Major in Social Studies sophomore at Aklan State University. She has been gaining memorable experiences from the field where the GFF HELPS Philippine Team goes and does projects every day. She has been meeting a lot of school staff and school children. She has been working with us since July with the Reading Workshop and Mobile Library, Remedial Classes, Vegetable Garden project visitation, and others. Her experiences in teaching the children at their houses and schools have given her a lot of exposure that she could bring when she emerges in a real-life situation once she graduates and seeks a career. The whole GFF PH Team wishes Intern Erica a sound mind as she emerges in our works and be inspired by Sir Owen’s dedication, and the whole Team’s commitment towards a sustainable future in the Philippines.
I have learned that sharing and giving can be just as rewarding as receiving. There is a big hospitality culture in the Philippines and people will try make you feel at home whenever they can. If you find yourself at a Filipino home, they will more than likely offer you food and drink and to join in with the whole family. I am blessed to come from Ireland, which has relatively low poverty, a great education system, low crime and plenty of jobs on offer. I should not take my education and the morals I have learned for granted and I should share with those who have not yet had the same opportunity.
I have learned to care for the environment even more so than before. The environment is lush and abundant in greenery and wildlife here. I have found that a lot of people here don’t respect the environment enough and throw so much rubbish on the ground, burn all types of rubbish including plastic and recycling simply doesn’t exist.
A good few of my highlights and enjoyable times so far working with YARP and GFF have been going out on the truck, because I’ve always been sitting in the back I mostly attributed this to seeing the beautiful landscape and being able to soak up some nice sun on the way, along with chatting with the local workers, even if some of it was very basic due to the language barriers.
Naturally I have enjoyed teaching the kids here too and seeing their smiles and faces of understanding when they understand what we are teaching. I’m looking forward to plenty more classes in 2019.
Despite spending half of my life in the Philippines, I have found myself being culture shocked by the hierarchy system in all parts of the Filipino society. From government to organisations, leaders or bosses must be obeyed or informed of any actions that the employees are doing. This is one of the reasons why it took a while for them to give us clearance to conduct our GFF projects.
My personal highlight was doing morning football coaching in Chibbo village. Many of the people that I coached had never had the opportunity to receive formal coaching in the past, despite being incredibly passionate about the sport. So, it was incredibly rewarding to provide this for them and see their smiles as they arrived for the sessions each day. Football is something I am very passionate about, so it was fantastic to share something that I love with people in a totally different part of the world. It was also awesome to see the group grow from only two people for my first session to over thirty by the time that I left, making me feel as though it was doing a good job and adding something beneficial to the community.
I learnt to appreciate that on the whole people are generally good and want to do what they can to help others. Almost every person I met during our stay was incredibly welcoming and couldn’t do enough to help us be comfortable in their country. Whenever I did something to help someone such as running a football training session, they couldn’t be more appreciative of me giving up my time. It can be easy to forget that most people are good people that want to make the best of themselves and others around them, no matter what their background may be.
One of the things that working with the beneficiaries of Bal Suraksha Abhiyan Trust taught me was that children have more resilience than most people believe or give them credit for and can endure a number of horrific hardships and still maintain a smile and pure enjoyment. They can make many decisions on their own about their wellbeing and we should listen to what they have to say. They deserve the ability to make decisions about their own lives and we can provide good guidance, support and positive learning environments for them.
From my experience in Kavre, Nepal, I learnt the value of community support for individuals and how critical it is. Working in these communities it is clear to see that without the network and social support of their neighbours and family, individuals would suffer a great deal more. From the perspective of working in these environments, it is integral to have community support for projects, not just individual interest, and to be able to see the needs of the community as a whole. The relationship is often reciprocal – what benefits and empowers an individual will benefit the community and vice versa, and knowing and working with that in mind you can create a greater difference. This has also given me cause to reflect on my sense of community in New Zealand, and how I can foster change and growth in the people and community around me.