Celebrating Learning
Tiwala has been blessed by God to be able to continue reaching out to more than 220 poor children in Legazpi City and providing educational services. We are doing this because we believe that this is a crucial step in combating the vicious cycle of poverty here. This last quarter of the year, we took some time to celebrate the progress of the children in the different programs we have. Here are some snapshots of the celebrations:
Scholarship Program
During the semester break we organized a Scholars’ Day, a one-day activity aimed at celebrating the achievements of our eighteen full scholars. We had more than enough reason to celebrate, because this batch of scholars has done beyond normal in their academic success. Aside from high grades, the scholars have also shown great progress in school attendance, school event participation, assigned class roles, and class assignments/project completions. For poor children lacking resources and opportunities, these kinds of accomplishments often don’t come as easily as they do for other kids. By recognizing and celebrating such small, everyday successes, we hope to reinforce the scholars’ self-esteem so that they will be motivated to do their best and finish the school year well.
STEP Classes
More than 150 children in six villages finished the 3rd quarter curriculum of our weekend classes with the theme, “A Journey through the Psalms.” The children enjoyed learning songs and dances, listening to stories, writing on their journals, playing games, and responding to the Psalms through arts and crafts. On the last day of class, they received awards and prizes, and were able to bring home their art portfolio and journal to serve as reminders, not only of the things they learned, but also of the fun they had in class!
Digi-Eskwela Project
Tiwala Kids & Communities, in partnership with The Patatas, expanded its digital learning project to Puro Elementary School in Legazpi City. The said school has a student population of about 600 but owns only seven desktop computers, which are mainly used by the teachers. Tiwala’s Digi-Eskwela project provides online access, digital resources, and training on tablet education to Grades 5 and 6 students. The beneficiaries of the program are from low level income families, who cannot afford to buy tablets or computers for their children and do not have Internet access at home.
Through the Digi-Eskwela project in Puro Elementary School, Tiwala Kids & Communities has observed among the children a new interest in researching their classroom lessons on the Internet, increased skills in tablet computing, and more consistent submission of homework and projects.
On November 5, Tiwala offered additional training to the children on how to create slide presentations using educational tablets. The students were so happy and impressed with themselves that they could actually create slide presentations just like their teachers! At the end of the training, everyone received prizes for their active participation in the project.
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support. It is with your partnership and the Lord’s abundant grace that until now Tiwala has been able to continue helping these kids have a brighter future. Thank you so much for choosing to invest in the lives of these precious children. We pray that the Lord will continue to bless you, and grant you success too in all aspects of your life!