Mobile Classroom Update

Hello everyone. Thanks to the help of interested parties we have started making the first steps towards bringing a mobile classroom to Cabanatuan City.

Through the last blog post and with a mass plea through Facebook, the logo for this project is being cobbled together. There were questions over the vision for the logo and what the actual name of the mobile classroom would be, we have some answers.

The name of the program is currently: EduK (A Mobile Classroom)

Edukasyon is the spelling of education in Tagalog. Obviously it came from the English form. The reason the "K" is to apply to words such as kabataan (Children, Pronounced: kah-bah-tah-ahn) and knowledge. There were other words in Tagalog but I wasn't able to keep up with the stream of suggestions. It's a short name and it looks and sounds nice.

The "(A Mobile Classroom)" portion acts as an emergency descriptor for people who don't know what EduK is. Also, it makes it sound like a classy perfume or cologne.

The actual image is still undecided but I know I have at least one person currently working on it. I gave suggestions of using a transportation theme (wheels, cars, trikes, etc) and gave a short list of pride items from my city. We love to brag about all the trikes we have and we grow rice like no other here, both are trotted out as bragging rights in conversation in other cities.

The logo is a big deal and when it is finalized I expect to really get moving. I'll have my eyes set on making a trailer for our project for potential donors and I'll need to start coming up with ideas for donor incentives. A large project for sure but taken piecemeal will ease my load.

Thanks for the support and interest and I hope to update you soon on more progress.

A Inquiry for Help

Hello Friends and Family!

I'm writing you all in an effort to make a large and important project actually get off the ground. I'm currently proposing a plan for an all inclusive mobile classroom for the Street Children of Cabanatuan City.

In the city where I live and work, Cabanatuan City, there is a large population of street children. Currently there we reach out to 50 Street Children but my estimates put the actual population over 600 Street Children. These are children who often live on the street, work very basic jobs instead of going to school, or are simply unsupervised a majority of the day. The severity of their poverty is astounding by my American standards. Often I see Street Children in my market without sandals on their feet,

begging for money or food from passerbys.

In an effort to provide some form of education to these Street Children, my city has assigned me the task of building a mobile classroom. Thankfully this type of endeavor has been been proven multiple times before to be worth the effort. CNN awarded the 2009 CNN Hero Award to Efren Peñaflorida (Philippines) for his groundbreaking efforts in mobile education, dubbed “Mobile Kariton.” This last week, July 9th-13^th, I attended a Street Education training and shadowing. This training was performed by Bahay Tuluyan, a Manila based non-profit that directly supports Street Children and their families. The purpose of the training was multifaceted; training for Cabanatuan City's only two Street Educators, appraisal of a successful program, and for inspection of design of their mobile classroom. There was even two days dedicated to in-depth review of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This training showed us how a successful operation works with street education.

The plan now is to start our own mobile classroom here in Cabanatuan City to reach the Street Children. The mobile classroom would teach more than the usual educational fare found in typical schools but will also cover life-skills. Life-skills is a broad category that includes everything from hand-washing, nutrition, conflict resolution, to livelihood skills like jewelry making. This synthesis of basic education and life-skills is to give the forgotten street children a chance to grow and work towards a life off the streets.

The planning for a mobile classroom is simple enough but getting to the finish line presents a more difficult task when reviewing the price tag. With efforts to design an all inclusive mobile classroom that covers the price of the vehicle, renovations, materials, and even a one year spartan salary for a dedicated Street Educator my estimates come to around $7,500 US.

This price is large for one person but if we can get a large number of people to donate small amounts, I think we can reach this number quickly and easily. Here's where I need help:

Indiegogo.com is a website for crowd-sourcing funds for varied projects and endeavors. This is where I propose to start the ball rolling (after this letter) for making street education a reality in Cabanatuan City.

Even before asking for your money, I need help with marketing materials, this includes:

• Mobile Classroom logo design
• Video editing of web video
• suggestions for donor gifts (Indiegogo projects often give tokens to donors, I want the same)

This is a pre-call for help. I lack the professional ability to create a logo, edit a web video, and I don't know what a group of compassionate people would like in return for their donation towards Street Children education.

Do you know a graphic artist (or are one) that can do charity work? Or maybe your neighbor makes great YouTube videos weekly for her Vlog and is willing to edit for us? How about Wade, the guy who works at the YMCA, didn't he say he loved making logos? Could you ask if they are willing to help?

I'm hoping this is only the beginning of a grand collaboration that brings education to the Street Children of Cabanatuan City.

Thanks for reading. Please share with people who might be able to help. If you have any questions please contact me.

Email: aokincaid@gmail.com

Padayon

Oh, boy. Over the last week, I was involved with a group effort to run a camp. This was quite the experience since it was my first camp I'd ever planned and set into motion. It was a ambitious camp to boot. I'm still resting and catching up on work this weekend so I'll just let you read my summary of the camp below. This summary was sent to my superiors in Peace Corps. If you have any questions please post them!

Padayon Summary

What is Padayon? Padayon is a Visayan word that means “to continue,” in Tagalog the equivalent is Pagpapatuloy. The idea for the Padayon camp is to teach a selected group of participants how to run a two day camp for Street Children (with minimal assistance) as a lesson for them to see how it is to be in charge of a event that has the chance to change the lives of those who live in their community.

Padayons come in all shapes and sizes and mine is unique to my city. My camp ran five days, starting on a Monday and ending on Friday. The first two days were dedicated to training the PYAP Youth in working with each other, learning to be facilitators, and planning camp activities. Day 3 and 4 was when the youth had to pull together to run a camp for local Street Children, 43 children in all. On day 5 the participants were given the opportunity to create their own community project proposal. After helping them through the whole process, the PYAP participants were congratulated and given a sheet to fill out for meeting with me and my counter-part.

The meetings have yet to begin but will shortly. The purpose of the meetings is to further assist the PYAP volunteers in their own Barangay projects. Each Barangay has its own issue to address and these newly trained PYAP participants can go back to their community and PYAP organization to start the planning process. If the PYAP participants want advice or assistance in planning, my counter-part and I will be ready.

The Padayon was only a tool to show how much effect the youth can have on their own community. While the Street Children they worked with were most likely not from their own Barangay, the PYAP participants could see how happy the children were to have a whole event dedicated to their having fun. My hope is that they can find their own project to take home and show their community how they're also contributing to improvements.

CSWDO Staff Training

Day -1: CSWDO training with the four CSWDO staff who would be facilitators in Padayon. Trainees included: Joey, Luchie, Janet, and Marlon. The training was a complete run through of the first two days activities and games. I thankfully had Emily (nearby PCV) help out. We performed each activity and game as best we could and for the ones we didn't have supplies for (candy bags) we were able to imagine. This was my effort to show the CSWDO staff from my office that they would be in charge of running the camp. The training seemed successful.

The PCVs (minus Bob, he was on the bus still)

Day 0: PCVs arrive in Cabanatuan City. The PCVs who were invited were Bob, Amy, Matt, Emily, and Anna, . It was Anna's birthday. I stocked up on food for the visiting PCVs since I was able to request funds for the cause.

The PCV Facilitators

Day 1: Since the camp wasn't scheduled to have any activities start til around 10am, the PCVs and I went to my office before going to the camp grounds. After introducing the PCVs to my staff and after Matt was finished impressing everyone with his Ilocano speaking skills, we left for the camp grounds.

The camp was held at a local resort in Barangay Pagas in Cabanatuan City. The resort itself was very nice and all the volunteers were impressed. It was simple and modest but had the amenities we needed to be comfortable for the whole week (multiple oscillating ceiling fans). There was even a pool the Padayon participants could use after sessions.

The Padayon participants slowly started trickling in around 9:30am. The participants were all selected PYAP (Pag-Asa Youth Association of the Philippines) members, most of the twenty invitees were from different Barangays. The mix of boys and girls was mostly even with slightly more boys and ages ranged from 15-23 years old. All of the participants were amassed by 11:00am.

There was confusion on when the camp would actually begin. I had planned on started around 10am but in the official schedule printed up by my counter-part, the morning activities had been axed unbeknownst to me. Since I had neglected to proof the final schedule this mistake went through and the camp didn't officially start til 1:00pm.

The PYAP participants were split into four groups. The teams were allowed to participate in several team-building activities and even one large activity that brought all the staff and participants together to play (Cross-Hand Pass). After the team-building sessions I had my other counter-part Vanessa speak with the PYAP participants about the current situation of Street Children in Cabanatuan City. After the talk about the Street Children the camp closed for the day due to time constrictions. We decided to push the facilitation skills session into the next day.

Playing Evolution

There were some bumps here and there in the facilitation thanks to misunderstandings of game rules and activities going on far longer than expected/desired. Despite the bumps we were able to start connecting with the youth.

Day 2: Thankfully the camp was able to start on time this day and we picked up right where we left off with facilitation skills. The facilitation of the CSWDO finally started hitting a stride and finding a groove, mainly thanks to Joey.

One of the best sessions of the day was the gender awareness activity. The activity allowed the participants to free sort photos of different items. Some went by men and women and some by objects. The most eye opening part was when the participants sorted situation cards like “I own a successful business” and “I like to draw and paint.” The latter situation was adamantly defended as man's domain and the former was a toss up since so many woman own successful businesses.

Due to the scheduling conflict from the day before we had to axe one session completely, mentoring. Mentoring was chosen because I felt it wasn't necessary for either the camp of the project design at the end of the camp. I understand mentoring skills are important but as it was, it was the weakest link in my curriculum.

The day's planned activities wrapped up early to give the PYAP participants a chance to start planning for the camp. There were many games pitched and lists were quickly drawn up. The PCVs worried the PYAP participants weren't preparing completely; there was a lack of communication between groups about repeat games, scheduling, and how they should split the Street Children up (if at all). After several attempts to address the concerns the PCVs had to accept the outcome for what it would be in the following days.

Day 3: the Street Children arrived in two van loads. There were a total of 43 Street Children mainly from two Barangays surrounding the Cabanatuan City Bus Terminal. The Street Children ranged from 4-13 years old. Some of the Street Children were bajau (transplanted indigenous group).

The PYAP participants began rushing to get the supplies in order as soon as the Children arrived. By the time the second load of Street Children arrived the PYAP participants were mostly prepared.

The games were many and diverse. Some lasted hours while others were very short. The Street Children appeared very pleased. Lunch and snacks were provided for all of the Street Children.

The Street Children were taken home at the end of the day.

Day 4: The Street Children arrived a little late due to the van running behind schedule. The Street Children enjoyed just as many great games as the day before.

The PCVs prepared thank-you cards for each Street Child, each one personalized and custom-made. The CSWDO provided a simple gift set for each child full of school supplies. After lunch there was a gift giving ceremony from the PYAP participants (facilitators) to the Street Children.

After the Street Children went home (around 2pm), the PYAP participants were given an opportunity to process the camp. The main feeling was of deep happiness to have been given the chance to show the Street Children a good time. There were many PYAP participants who shared their joy at seeing the smiles on the Street Children's faces. The day finished with the PYAP participants being told to start thinking of what they can bring back to their Barangay for a project proposal.

Day 5: Finally, the day the whole camp was leading up to. The day started late but materials were prepared so the activities started strong. The PYAP followed a modified PDM format:

Community Mapping (PACA styled)

Community Needs Assessment

Community Resources

Vision

Goals

Tasks

Budget

Monitoring and evaluations were cut because I felt they would only extend and confuse the situation. I added in a follow-up component where I would begin calling in each PYAP participant for personal one-on-one interviews about starting a community project in their community.

The planning went smoothly for the most part. Only one team needed extra assistance and that assistance was provided by other PYAP participants. The PYAP Participants received a round of applause on completing their proposals.

The camp ended with an awards ceremony and photo-op. Impromptu evaluations were collected.

Comments

Food Lesson:

I wrote a menu for the PCVs who were to attend. I excluded myself from the budget. I wish I had included myself and figured in more food purchases from restaurants. The funds only lasted to Wednesday Night.

What needs to change and improve: 

I was wildly overwhelmed in the beginning scrambling to gather materials. I was able to keep up but there were seemingly close calls. Next time I need to give myself more materials to begin with and stay on top of them as I go.

Some included materials and activities were too far reaching. I had to exclude a full lesson and did away completely with end of the day writing in journals. I would expect to exclude those activities next time.

There was one theft of a PCV's phone from that PCV's bag. It wasn't discovered missing until two days after the camp ended.

In closing:

My Padayon was a major success. It may not have run perfectly but it still went on. I was given the chance to work a project with both of my target populations and combined them to help each other. I hope to have this project lead into several more projects to be done in several Barangays throughout my city.

I want to thank all the people that helped out, I couldn't have done it without these people:

Anna (PCV)
Amy (PCV)
Bob (PCV)
Emily (PCV)
Janet (CSWDO)
Joey (CSWDO)
Luchie (CSWDO)
Marlon (CSWDO
Matt (PCV)
Odet (Street Educator)
Susan (Street Educator)

Vanessa (CSWDO)

And the PYAP for their hardwork

Congratulations

Packing Suggestions for 271 PCTs

Just a heads up, I've started a living packing list for 271 PCTs. I hope it's helpful to all who read it. I'll add photos as I go along.

Just click on the tab up above to find it!

A Visit To Laguna, With Laguna

Every year my office takes a trip somewhere for some R+R. Last year I didn't get to go as I was still in America, but this year I got to go. We decided to visit Laguna this year. I didn't know much about Laguna before we went but I agreed to go nonetheless, I wanted to spend some quality time with my office. Here's what happened.

Thursday: I payed for the trip (500php but eventually rebated 400php due to trip changes) and promised I would be at the office on time the next day. We were going to leave at 2am.

I left work and as I was riding away from the City Hall compound I heard strained mewing. A few weeks ago I saw a group of new born kittens come out from a roadside bush and retreated from it out because it was overwhelming. That was hard and this time was just as hard. There was a small kitten in the center road median mewing at me. I rode by and eventually stopped to see where the sound was coming from. I stared for a little bit but decided I couldn't grab the kitten, I was again overwhelmed. I just rode home.

After I made it home I had figured out I would go back and get the kitten. I grabbed a box and changed from my work clothes and hustled right back out the door to get the kitten. When I got back to where I had seen the kitten, it was gone. I looked around but the sun and heat was punishing so I left.

After I finished some chores around town and getting back home I went looking again. This time the sun was almost down and the heat reduced. I hoped this would allow the kitten to pop out and mew some more. Again, I did not find the kitten.

I went home sad I had missed an easy chance to get the kitten the first time. I prepared for the trip and was in bed late, 11pm.

Friday: I woke up at 1am. Grabbed all my gear for the day that I'd packed the night before and walked out the door with my bike. At 1:30am it's dark and desolate on the streets of Cabanatuan City. There's not street lights at regular intervals, there's large stretches completely dark. Thankfully the way to my work is easy with straight roads and two turns.

On the final stretch before the City Hall compound I passed the kitten. It was curled up on the far right of the road, against the curb, sleeping. Now I was back to not knowing what to do. I was about to leave with my office for a full day of R+R, what would I do with the kitten?

I decided I would try to figure it out as I went. I picked the kitten up.

I brought the kitten into my office and began doing what I could. First I gave her a rinse, she was absolutely filthy. The water helped but not by much. I eventually got a coworker to give me some shampoo and I gave the kitten a more proper bath. She protested as kittens do in water.

Kitten following the first sink rinse

I soon found out what people in my office think of cats and kittens: not much. Most everyone was confused as to why I picked her up, some were scared to be near her. Dogs are treated poorly here but cats appear to be completely disregarded. I eventually heard from my Counter-Part that it was more to do with her being a street cat (puskal, Pusa [cat] + kalye [street]), if she was a noteworthy breed things may have been different.

After washing her the second time I got her some bedding of shorts from my desk and put that with her in a borrowed waste-basket. Everyone in my office piled into the bus we had chartered and settled in for the long trip to Laguna (3ish hours).

The bus was cold. Since it was night time and the bus had a chance to chill before everyone got on we all found ourselves in a meat-locker. Not seeing your breath cold but it seemed close. This is notable since the kitten was still wet from the bath, this was not her usual climate. Thankfully I brewed a huge mason jar's worth of coffee while I was in the office, this wound up saving the day. I put the hot jar of coffee in the waste-basket, insulated by the shorts and had the kitten right next to it. Her shivers slowed and eventually stopped as she slept.

Mason jar full of hot coffee and the kitten

The ride in the bus would have been a chance for me to rest up while we rode down to Laguna but that was before I picked up a street kitten. I stayed up and kept an eye on her, making sure she didn't crawl out of the basket or get too cold. Before long we stopped at a gas station and I was able to stock up on some food for her: milk and tuna (I've never owned a cat or a kitten, I just assumed one of both of these would do the trick of getting fat and protein to the kitten).

The rest of the day was a series of courtesy calls with a barangays within Laguna and sightseeing. We saw some cool things: old Spanish era City Halls, an underground cemetery, mountain farming, and we spent lunch at a riverside resort. Everywhere I went I had the kitten with me. She just rode along in her shorts-basket.

The underground Cemetary

Mountain farm and vegetable tram

Lunch break at a riverside resort

One of the last stops was at a town that produces hand-made sandals. I was impressed with the selection and quality of the sandals. It's always exciting to find local-made products and even more exciting to be in one of the hubs for such creation. There were dozens of sandal and shoe stores along the streets and you could easily find what you wanted in the next store if the first didn't have what you needed.

The trip was running longer than everyone expected due to overstaying at a couple stops. I was often the first person back on the bus ready to go, once an hour and a half before we left again.

It was around 7:30 when we left what I thought was our last stop but I was informed we had one more place to visit: we were going to a beauty pageant. At this point, having been up for 18ish hours, I wanted to go home. We still had to drive to the pageant and that was another two hours away. Also, my opinion of pageants is that they're boring.

Saturday:

Finally, after the pageant wrapped up and everyone loaded back into the bus we were on our way again. It was about 12am. Everyone was exhausted. There were several co-workers who brought their children and those kids were sacked-out all over the place. I even got some rest thanks to the kitten being a little more comfortable in her basket.

Until I was awoken by a jolt and loud bang. The bus quickly pulled over and the bus driver ran off into the night. Shortly after we had stopped the horn started blaring incessantly; a constant blaring horn. Along with a few others I got off the bus to see what the deal was. Kitten in tow.

What happened sounds ridiculous but here's the story: We were hit by a tire that had detached from another vehicle. The tire came up beside the bus, sheered off the front right of the plastic bumper and bounced up, denting the side of the bus and and cracked the windshield in spectacular fashion. This was all around 2am.

At this point most everyone was exhausted. Some people got up like me, others just looked down the aisle before going back to sleep. No one was hurt and we weren't even going all that fast to begin with. We had to wait around on the side of the road for maybe 20 minutes before we were back on the road again. I never saw any police.

The rest of the ride was uneventful. The bus was damaged but not so that it slowed us down in any meaningful way. We were back in Cabanatuan City by 4am. Everyone filed off the bus and I gathered up my stuff and the kitten and worked it so I could carry everything back home on my bike. I made it through my front door by 4:30am.

The trip was fun and I was happy to see another place here in the Philippines I hadn't seen before. Laguna wasn't even on my vacation or visit radar but it has some great character. The whole trip was really great with allowing me a better chance to bond with my office. I've been integrating slowly and this was a time when I saw people treating me more like a friend, it's what I would consider a big step forward

But What About The Kitten?

MEEEW

Throughout the day people asked me what her name was and I said I didn't know. I had not known her more than a day but my friends all thought she should have a name by now (even just minutes after I picked her off the road). I've named her Laguna after where we while she was dazed and recovering.

What she was like when we got home

She's all cleaned up now and on the mend. She was super dehydrated and starved when I got her. Seeing how playful and lively she is now tells me she was very weak when I first found her. Her first trip to the vet was yesterday and has another scheduled visit in two weeks. She's now ridding herself of worms*. Flea wise I was able to get her a flea collar and pick off the adult fleas and she looks great now.

Day before worm medication and looking good

This is my first cat I've ever taken care of. Now I just need a kitten sitter for this next month (I have training, camp, and so on).

*I've never seen worms passed in person but now that I have I can say they're vile.

The Day Internet Bill Went Unpaid (Photos Around The Office)

 Whoa! I realized how much I rely on the internet today when I found it wasn't working. The whole of City Hall has been cut off thanks to an overdue bill not being paid. After a good day of doing what I could without my beloved internet I figured it was a good time to write a blog post. For this one I'm going to show you my office and some points of interest around City Hall. Hold on to your sumbrero.

My Desk. There's my cup, phone, laptop, headphones, coffee maker, neglected stack of Tagalog education materials, my back pack in the corner, and my lawn/office chair. Note the locks and clasps on my desk, everyone has them in the office.

My division boss, Alice.

My silly Counter-Part Janet toying with the office fan. It's still hot here (95F).

Coworker and friend Tirso. He sits in front of my desk.

Friend in another division, Sheila or as she's often referred to “ma'am She.”

Janet again in front of the curtain-door connecting to the office sink and bathroom.

Behind the curtain-door: Sink, trash can, battered door, and bathroom.

In the sink area there's a window that people often use to hand things in and out of. As a result, things have been broken.

My back to the bathroom looking at my desk (in the middle), I have a coffee maker. Note the two-way mirror of a window. Behind that glass is my boss' office.

My Boss' office. She just got new couches.

The tinted two-way mirror/window. That light on the right is my computer.

This is our water cooler. Someone felt too many outsiders were drinking our water so it was moved behind doors.

The door to my office.

The friendly copier. She just copies all day and is not indoors. Copies are 2 pesos I think.

One side of City Hall.

Above ground piping is all over the place. Looks great.

The road running along the side of City Hall.

The Drop-In Center. Where I park my bike.

Connected to the Drop-In Center is a sewing shop run by my office. It's a livelihood venture in connection with the community. This is Olive and she's very sweet.

The Street Educators happened too be in the Sewing Center! Always happy to see me.

More great plumbing.

The best place to park a bike: under a huge thick tree.

This photo makes me laugh. Who steals letters? This is the front of City Hall.

Local street vendors.

I haven't talked much about these things but boy are they interesting. These are recreations of old WWII era jeeps and you can see them all over the place. I don't know how much a new one is. I do know they're made here in the Philippines though.

Here are two raised trikes. I first encountered these here in Cabanatuan City but I've since found they're can be seen else where. I do think we have a higher number than most though. These two look pretty cool and from the ones I've ridden in, they're the most comfortable of all trikes.

This is a common variant of the venerable Jeepney. I don't know where these come from but I think they're made here in the Philippines. They look more modern than the regular jeepney but offer no greater creature comforts.

This is a strange patrol car. I've seen it rolling along before and it seems to be used often. I actually like the design. How about a jeepney with this set-up? Might be nice, I don't know.

Here's what Cabanatuan City is known for: Tricycles. Napping is not what we are known for but trikes often double as sleeping quarters for owners when rest is desired.

Our Mayor invested a massive amount of money into what seems like hundreds of pieces of heavy machinery and vehicles. I like to imagine that's a giant rocket instead of a concrete tumbler.

The machinery often sits in this now empty lot. That's City Hall and what seems to be the “show” bulldozer, I took a close look and it's essentially pristine.

We have a pretty cool gathering area with a statue of Jose Rizal in the center out front of City Hall. Behind the statue from this angle is the local police station. I know the police captain, nice guy.

Here's a couple interior shots of those home-made jeeps. Look at how close the seat is to the “dash” and pedals. Your knees have to be put in your chest to operate the jeep.

I didn't notice this before but on this one it appears that the steering column is off-center to the seat. Fantastic.

A roofing scrap-heap.

This is what an ambulance can look like here. I've seen different versions but this would qualify as the most common in my opinion.

And that's where I work.

Thank You Very Much