In November, 2019, on a wing and a prayer, we established UNLAD, with the ambitious mission of new and additional pathways for our underserved youth to find access education. To manage our expectations, we took on the motto, “small acts matter”.
Four years later, we couldn’t be more grateful and humbled over the many small acts that add up to UNLAD’s progress, from zero to where we are today.
We’ve been in the Philippines since early February, staying mostly in our farmhouse near the school. It is a slow life, as each day starts with the sound of a rooster crowing and ends with the sight of birds flying home at sunset. The highlight of our days is visiting BES, observing the progress on our “Library Literacy and Numeracy” program, listening to the teachers’ wishes and aspirations, and delighting in watching the students’ enthusiasm and sense of wonder.
Last week, I returned to the war-torn city of Marawi with our local partners, Save the Children, Philippines (STC-RP). The pictures here belie the difficulties these students and teachers feel everyday when they walk into the classroom. The students gave an impromptu performance for us, their guests, dancing and singing, performing as any normal happy kid would do. They are inspiring….
In November, 2019, on a wing and a prayer, we established UNLAD, with the ambitious mission of new and additional pathways for our underserved youth to find access education. To manage our expectations, we took on the motto, “small acts matter”.
Four years later, we couldn’t be more grateful and humbled over the many small acts that add up to UNLAD’s progress, from zero to where we are today.
We’ve completed another school year, and are pleased to share this year’s highlights:
In the Philippines…
Baruyan Elementary School
Literacy /Numeracy Program:
To mitigate the learning gaps from schools being closed as a result of the pandemic, UNLAD facilitated launching this program in November, 2022. Teachers identified 178 3rd-6th graders needing intervention ; we refurbished the library'; and hired a librarian to help organize materials and track student progress. The program aimed to increase each participant’s reading literacy at least 2%, create a functional reading place in the school library, and to foster genuine love for reading. We are pleased to report that at the end of this school year, only 10 of the 178 students tested as “non-readers”.
Scholarships:
15 Students from K-6, identified by the teachers as having the strongest financial need, received monthly financial aid to pay for their supplies, uniforms, and food allowance. These students have not only received passing grades, some of them have demonstrated excellent class standings.
Teacher Achievement Awards:
This school year marked the initiation of the LIto Cantos Award, in honor of a BES teacher who exemplified dedication and commitment. Mr. Cantos passed away suddenly in 2021. Following a rigorous application process, this year’s awardees , Ms. Ligaya Rayos and Ms. Donalyn Calanog, were selected by the School Principal, supported by the BES teachers. They individually received a laptop.
Transportation Services to the High-School :
Responding to the discovery that the cost of transportation to the local high-school had become an impediment to attending school, we undertook providing transportation to 20 students based on financial need. The attendance records of these students have markedly improved, as have their grades.
Collegiate Scholarships:
Our four college female scholars have completed this year’s courses and moving forward to: Third Year in Civil Engineering; Third Year in Architecture; Second Year in Nursing and Second Year in Teaching.
In the U.S. A. …
Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC)
We are focusing on providing access to immigrants or first generation American youth who demonstrate financial need. This year, the UNLAD scholarship fund supported a female immigrant from China and a male immigrant from Iran. They both enrolled in PVCC”s Workforce Services Division providing skills-training and readiness for employment.
Other Scholarships in the US
We continue to seek and support youth at all levels; our high-school scholar is thriving, completing this past year with stellar grades!
Thank you for your interest and support…
We are ever so grateful for the progress we have made, and for the encouragement and support you have generously provided. Wishing you a joyful and restful summer!
We’ve been in the Philippines since early February, staying mostly in our farmhouse near the school. It is a slow life, as each day starts with the sound of a rooster crowing and ends with the sight of birds flying home at sunset. The highlight of our days is visiting BES, observing the progress on our “Library Literacy and Numeracy” program, listening to the teachers’ wishes and aspirations, and delighting in watching the students’ enthusiasm and sense of wonder.
In our July 2022 newsletter, we reported the completion of our six-month long community collaborative (“Bayanihan Pabasa”) program to help bridge the literacy and numeracy gap resulting from the almost two years (Covid-imposed) school shut-down at the Baruyan Elementary School (BES).
The home-schooling modular teaching approach during this time proved that it only worked so far, as some families did not have the wherewithal to substitute for the learning that traditionally took place with the students and a teacher in the classroom .
While this program mitigated some of the literacy gaps, the start of the new school year this September demonstrated the need to sustain our efforts. The struggle to catch up on their reading grade levels continue for some of the 400 students at BES continue. Absent any sustained intervention, ,many students will continue to fall below their grade levels in literacy and numeracy; for some it may mean a life-long deterioration in learning and development.
We encouraged the Principal and the teachers to design a literacy and numeracy program, identify the students at risk, with the promise of funding such program in the school’s library.
On November 2, 2022, such program was launched, with 150 students from Grades 3-6 participating. UNLAD is funding a librarian; additional reading and reading material were also provided, some of which came directly from our benefactors. Note that the teachers all voluntarily support this program, dedicating their own time and energy over and beyond their already heavy load.
The program goals include: to have a functional reading space - the library; increase reading literacy of the participants by at least 2% from a baseline of 78%; and to foster a genuine love for reading. BES administration and teachers are committed to monitor this outcome on a quarterly basis, with each participant expected to produce the following projects respectively:
3rd Grade: Word flashcards; picture dictionary; album of poems
4th Grade: Simple note cards; booklet of fables; anecdotes
5th Grade: Reading journals; Album, story elements; Self-made poems
6th Grade: Reading journals; Collection of sayings; Self-made stories
We are excited to support this work and cannot wait to see the achievement of these goals, specially the students’ completed projects! We are grateful to the BES School Principal, Ms. Erlinda Laguerta, Master Teacher Lorenda Hatulan, and Teachers Ligaya Rayos and Donna Calanog for their leadership and to each of the teachers - for their unwavering commitment to the students’ learning.
Last week, I returned to the war-torn city of Marawi with our local partners, Save the Children, Philippines (STC-RP). The pictures here belie the difficulties these students and teachers feel everyday when they walk into the classroom. The students gave an impromptu performance for us, their guests, dancing and singing, performing as any normal happy kid would do. They are inspiring….
When we founded UNLAD two years ago, we were not sure what to expect. What has since far exceeded our expectations is the warm reception and generous support of our loyal benefactors, and how we have been able to sustain and grow our work since then, despite the pandemic.
As we continue to battle COVID-19 and its variants, we feel confident that we can and will overcome the ever-evolving challenges of providing our underserved youth, in the US and the Philippines, with increased access to educational opportunities fundamental to their growth and development.
We find ourselves looking forward to 2022 with a stronger resolve to work more vigilantly to serve this mission.
We had all hoped that by now, the world would have completely recovered from Covid-19 and back to normalcy as we knew it: kids in their classrooms, resuming their activities, parents back to work and their daily lives. Sadly, the euphoria we felt in the early spring following our vaccinations turned to lethargy as the summer months brought us a new wave of infections from the Delta variant.
With the promise of the COVID-19 vaccine, we welcomed 2021 hopeful that we can more actively pursue our work to provide our underserved youth with access to educational opportunities. It is hard to imagine and believe how students, teachers and families have adopted in the last 11 months of some form of virtual learning. And yet, they have. As schools remain closed and had to postpone the programmatic activities supported by UNLAD, we pivoted to provide critical learning support as students, teachers and families continue to navigate this unexpected major turn of events.
At the Baruyan Elementary School (BES), the lack of internet connectivity and necessary hardware meant that learning had to be sustained through the physical printing and distribution of educational modules to each of the 400+ students by their 15 teachers. By January, the inadequate government funding for the paper and ink necessary to produce these learning pamphlets threatened the teachers’ ability to distribute complete sets to all the students. Working with BES’ Principal Dulce Ramirez, UNLAD has stepped in to provide supplemental funding and enable every student to receive complete learning materials through the end of this school year.
In Principal Ramirez’ words, “Our heartfelt and sincere gratitude to UNLAD for your great help to our teachers, our students and their families in facilitating the printing of these learning modules”.
Starting this month, six students – one each from grades 1 through 6 - have been selected by their home teachers to become UNLAD scholars. The scholarship will cover the cost of school supplies and other necessary items that are not provided by the public school system. The scholars were selected based on financial need, the students’ academic performance, and the parents’ support.
The father of one of the scholars said, “This is a major help to my son’s education. Please expect me to be present to guide him in his studies. Your assistance so that my son can finish school is a big thing”. The mother of a 3rd grader said, “To the best of my ability I will assist my child in her studies and will work with the teachers in guiding my child”.
One of our scholars in Charlottesville, a first-generation Latina 9th grader said, “The UNLAD scholarship has helped me get the supplies I need for school without making my mom too worried about the expenses. The scholarship has also helped me get sports equipment so I can practice and try out for the sports team that I am hoping to join”.
The UNLAD board, comprised of Allen, Terry, Alexandra and Philip de Guzman met to review our mission and set our goals for 2021. We reconfirmed and renewed our commitment to provide our underserved youth with access to educational opportunities. One important lesson we learned in 2020, under COVID conditions, is how important it is to maintain a bias for action, even as we needed to adjust our work during the prolonged crisis.
Increasing scholarship opportunities based on financial need and academic performance and potential. In the US, focus will be for first-generation or under-represented minorities.
Partnering with school administrators in providing programmatic funding support.
Continuing to partner with Save the Children Philippines to increase scale and reach.
Identifying opportunities to help youth develop skills and become employable by age 18.
Engaging and stewarding donors and like-minded partners through regular communications and updates.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions. We’re always eager to hear from you and ever-grateful for your interest and support.
Thank you, maraming salamat po!
Terry and Allen de Guzman
