Barefoot but all smiles, 7-year old Cyril Rocafort of Payapa Elementary School vibrantly utters the sound of the first letter that identifies the object in the colored picture she is holding up. “D-d-d-dress,” she says in Filipino. The task is easy and it encourages Cyril to move on to other fun activity.

Just like Cyril, kinder and grade 1 pupils in the municipality of Padre Garcia, Batangas are learning how to read while having fun. It is the result of the training for teachers initiated over the summer by the local government of Padre Garcia with technical support from USAID’s Education Governance Effectiveness (EdGE) Program through Synergeia Foundation.

Vice Mayor Noel Cantos, who heads Padre Garcia’s education committee and an active EdGE member, initiated the training to address children’s difficulty in learning in the classroom. “We cannot just proceed with our reading program if our teachers are not properly equipped with the right teaching skills first,” he said. The objective is to reduce the need for intervention by equipping teachers effective methods to teach reading to early grade pupils.ies to practice phonemic recognition. Very soon she will be able to combine the sounds of the alphabet and read whole words on her own.

“Teaching beginning readers is a challenging task,” Grade 1 Teacher Maricris Acusa of Payapa ES says.  “The skills we learned from the seminar help a lot to make pupils participate in class discussion and group work,” she adds. Acusa says the new methods help boost children’s self-confidence that enable them to express ideas more openly.

Payapa ES Principal Wilfredo Dimapasok, who is also  an active EdGE participant, is grateful for the summer training his teachers attended. “90 percent of our pupils are children of poor farmers,” says principal Dimapasok. “The most important thing we learned is to take it step by step. We should not rush children and instead ensure that they learn each lesson well,” he adds. Giving these poor children careful attention in the classroom is a testament that equal access to quality education is possible.

“The children have definitely become more active in group activities,” Principal Liza Linatoc of Manggas-Tamak Elementary School observes. Linatoc, like other Padre Garcia school heads, has been monitoring and supporting teachers as they committed to do during the training.

Prof. Shirley Equipado headed Synergeia’s team that conducted training specifically focused on Kinder and Grade 1 teachers so that they will be able to effectively lay a good foundation in children in the earliest learning stage possible.

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Children residing in an off-grid mountain village in Balindong, Lanao Del Sur can now improve their learning capacity with solar lanterns regularly lighting their once dark classroom. Synergeia is one of the organizations in the Philippines chosen to distribute a number of Panasonic solar lanterns as part of its 100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project in celebration of the multinational corporation’s 100th anniversary.

Synergeia distributed a total 48 solar lanterns to selected towns in partner municipalities where they can be of most help to improve children’s education. We chose Balindong as among the recipients because it has community learning centers located in the far mountain villages without electricity.

Balindong Mayor Raysalam Mangondato, together with our Synergeia coordinator, hiked 3 kilometers on foot up a mountainous terrain to bring 24 solar lanterns to the learning centers of barangays Dado and Bualan. The mayor personally saw to the installation of the lamps and briefed the recipients about the source and purpose of the donation.

From left: Mayor Mangondato and company hike 3 kms. to deliver Panasonic solar lamps to a mountain village; Synergeia Coordinator Dino Aguam and the Mayor unpack a solar lamp inside the community learning center in Barangay Bualan; Residents stand outside the learning center to witness the installation of solar lamps that will benefit their children’s education. Encircled in red is the solar panel placed on top of the center’s roof.

The learning centers of these two towns previously had to use primitive light sources such as kerosene lamps, candles and “sulo” (bamboo torch) to conduct classes. The village leaders purchased rechargeable lights to lessen the risk of fire, injuries and eye damage to children. Unfortunately, they had to travel 15 kilometers to the nearest town with electricity just to recharge the lamps. They also ran the risk of getting to the town only to find that there is a power outage that commonly occurs throughout the whole province. Ordinary rechargeable lamps, therefore, proved to be a poor investment despite the village leaders’ good intentions.

Panasonic’s gift of solar lamps are the best solution to the difficult circumstances these communities face each day. “We had rechargeable lights before but they were impractical because we had to go down to the nearest village to recharge it. Now we only need the sunlight which we have all day in the mountain,” a barangay leader said in his native dialect.

From left: The old rechargeable lamps rendered useless for lack of electrical power source; Children look on while a technician installs the first solar lamp from Panasonic above the ceiling of their learning center.

“Magic”

The children sitting on the floor were in awe as they witnessed the solar lantern light up for the first time above the ceiling of their learning center after installation. “Magic!” they proclaimed. They cherished the knowledge that the light source they were enjoying was naturally powered by the sun.  “Natutuwa ang lahat ng mga bata.” (The children are so happy), a volunteer teacher in Bualan said.

Despite the exhaustion from travelling the distance on foot, Mayor Mangondato beamed while recounting the children’s reaction to the solar lamps. “It was very rewarding when I saw the children’s happiness after the solar lanterns were turned on.” As a former educator herself, the mayor is passionate about elevating the standard of education in her municipality. However, the topography, poor economy and peace and order situation remain her biggest challenges. She is extremely grateful for the solar lantern donation and hopes for Panasonic and Synergeia’s continued support to provide additional solar lanterns to help more children in the mountain villages.

Panasonic’s 100 Thousand Lanterns Project is an initiative that began in 2013 to help resolve various social challenges faced by those living in areas with severe electrical power problems. Panasonic aims to deliver 100,000 solar lanterns to off-grid areas in Asia and Africa by 2018.

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Community representatives from Navotas City had a rare chance to meet with famous media personality and economist Prof. Solita “Mareng Winnie” Monsod in a forum provided by Synergeia Foundation during the USAID-funded Education Governance Effectiveness (EdGE) Convergence Workshop early this month. Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco also visited the workshop and graciously answered questions with regard to education.

In an open forum during the EdGE workshop, school heads, PTA members and barangay officials raised concerns about the implementation of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). They said that beneficiaries in their localities abuse the privilege by reportedly pawning their ATM cards used for the conditional cash transfer (CCT). This prompted Synergeia President Dr. Nene Guevara to invite Prof. Monsod to help the participants address issues about 4Ps of which Mareng Winnie is a member of the advisory committee.

Apart from erring beneficiaries who pawn their ATMs, the participants reported that the number of 4Ps beneficiaries reflected in City Link records did not match actual number of beneficiaries in a school. City/Municipal Links are persons assigned to oversee program operations at the city/municipality level. They are in close contact with beneficiary households. “Ang actual number ng 4Ps namin ay 900 pero sa Citylink, 1, 600,” a principal related of her school’s situation. “Doble yung name nung ibang pupils, yung iba nasa high school na, o kaya naman namatay na yung bata.”

CCT regulations stipulate that 4Ps parents should send their children to school regularly and keep them in good health. A violation of these two conditions is immediate grounds for disqualification. However, many who violate the terms, according to the Navotas workshop participants, remain within the program.

Prof. Monsod graciously offered to set up a meeting with DSWD Dinky Soliman. “Dinky should hear it from you personally. You present the problem and the possible solution. Surely something will be done about this,” she said.

After further discussing the issue, some principals admitted that the problem may also stem from implementing agents within the school. Teachers who check the attendance do not report the absences because they pity the family’s economic situation, they said. Some principals reportedly sign the documents for the same reason. One of the principals, on the other hand, said she faced the same problems upon her entry to her school but she enforced 4Ps strictly and refused to sign documents until they reflected the true number of beneficiary children who were in her school.

This prompted Prof. Monsod to encourage the  participants to hold a meeting among themselves first in order to share best practices that would address the issue of erring 4Ps implementers and beneficiaries. Afterward, Prof. Monsod assured that she would gladly provide a way to meet with Sec. Soliman for a focus group discussion on matters that should be addressed from the top level. “The program has been proven to work in other countries where it was implemented. It would be too bad if the Philippines would be the only country who cannot make it work,” she said.

Prof. Monsod discusses 4Ps with Navotas stakeholders

An Audience with the Mayor

 

Later in the day, participants were given another treat upon the arrival of Mayor John Rey Tiangco who expressed his gratitude for Synergeia’s support of the city’s educational programs. “We owe our little successes to Synergeia,” he said.

 

Mayor Tiangco emphasized the importance of improving the city’s participation rate in order to improve the city’s overall social and economic situation. “We know why kids need to go to school.  The bigger percentage of the youth population that commit crime are those who are not in school. The solution is education.”

 

Mayor John Rey Tiangco talk education with his consituents

He appealed to the participants to exert more effort in convincing parents to send their children to school. He noted that many are still not convinced that education is important. “Pag medyo malaki na ng konti, puede na magtrabaho,” Mayor Tiangco noted of some parents’ attitude. He said everyone must work together to make sure kids enjoy while learning so that they will stay in school. “It is our role as leaders to not waste the effort of parents in sending their kids to school. We need to raise the quality of education so all that time will not be wasted.”

The participants then had the privilege to air their specific concerns regarding school programs and budgets, which Mayor graciously addressed one by one. As a parting message, Mayor Tiangco stressed the importance of sustainability through the development of good values in children. “Each school and each barangay has its own plans. It’s not only important that they get educated, it’s more important that they develop good characters so that our programs will be sustained.”

The Convergence workshop was held on May 7-8, 2015 at the Ateneo Professional Schools in Rockwell, Makati City. The open discussion between stakeholders and their leaders is a privilege made possible through the  EdGE program. It is a five-year USAID-funded project which runs from 2013 to 2018 and seeks to improve education governance with the end goal of improving learning outcomes, particularly early grade reading, for at least 1 million children.

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