2021 January/February Newsletter

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. 

In the Philippines…  

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”.

In the USA…

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. 

Our goals for 2021 include:

• 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

2020 Celebrating our First Anniversary!

Dear Friends and Partners,

We are celebrating our first anniversary in the month of October!

When we launched UNLAD this time last year, we couldn’t have imagined how the world and life as we know it, would change.  More than ever, providing our underserved youth with access to educational opportunities has become pivotal. 

Schools have re-opened and re-closed, with teachers and administrators navigating through uncharted territory, working tirelessly to deliver the best education possible.  Schools in the US are trying out the “hybrid” model – that is, partly remotely (at home) and partly in school; in the Philippines, most schools are operating 100% remotely.

Looking back …in the last 12 months, despite the pandemic, we are pleased and proud to share with you how far we have come! 

We have launched the first ever Arts and Athletics after-school programs at the Baruyan Elementary School (BES) in the Philippines with over 50 students participating.

We are creating scale and impact through strategic partnerships: In the US, with Charlottesville City Schools Athletics and Arts Departments, Computers4Kids and Cville1stGen;  and with Save the Children in the Philippines

We continue to award opportunistic scholarships both in the US and the Philippines.  Scholarships that will fund books, internet access, and other critical school supplies for elementary students with financial need.

We hosted a zoom conference among US-based college student organizations. Joining Terry in the panel of speakers were Dr. Gabriel Esteban, President of DePaul University, and Ms. Narni Yoder Co-Founder of Simple Laboratories. Topics included how to navigate the college campus; finding jobs; mental health; racial tension; resiliency, hope and purpose.

We are providing food and safety supplies to 42 families in an underserved farm community in the Philippines. Most of their children are students at BES.  This is in support of the belief that our youth’s well-being and safety is directly dependent on their family’s living conditions.

Looking forward… as we all figure out how to live, work and learn in our new world in real time, providing our underserved youth with access to education couldn’t be more urgent.  We cannot afford to leave them further behind.  In addition to access to “traditional” education, as learned in school, the pandemic has taught us that life skills is just as important.  With this in mind:

We are launching a “community garden initiative” in the farm community of Baruyan, Philippines.  The goal of the initiative is for extended families – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings and cousins – to come together to plant and harvest vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers –and in the process learn the important lesson of food self-sufficiency.  The initiative will culminate around Christmas time, with UNLAD awards given to the participating families.

We are supporting “Project ARAL” (the Tagalog word “aral” means study in English and stands for Access to Resources for Alternative Learning) with Save the Children Philippines, and will introduce a modular version to students ages 6-12 attending BES. The program covers parent training, the distribution of learning equipment and material that require little to no technology, with regular monitoring and tracking of results.

The American author, Zora Neale Hurston famously said, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” At UNLAD, we will continue to ask the important question: how can we provide our underserved youth access to education? We will not stop searching for answers, even if we have years, like 2020, that threw us all into chaos and uncertainty.   We will endure the questions that go unanswered and will find the courage to accept the answers when they come. 

For the sake of and for our youth, let us believe and hope that something bigger and better lies ahead. Faithful to what our name stands for, UNLAD will pursue Progress towards providing our underserved youth with direct access to educational opportunities. Together, we can make a difference.

Small acts matter!

Thank you, maraming salamat po!

Terry & Allen de Guzman

Alexandra & Michelle, Philip & Amanda

2020 July/August Newsletter

Dear Friends of UNLAD,

 If you’ve found the narrow and steep path to handle your family’s school needs this August, you belong to the lucky few. While we all want to stay healthy and keep safe, we need to find ways to give our youth – particularly the most vulnerable and under-served – with an ability to sustain their education and learning.

Undeterred, we at UNLAD have sustained our commitment to initiate lead and participate in efforts to provide our under-served youth access to educational opportunities, keeping faithful to the hope that these opportunities will improve their lives.

We are providing basic food and safety supplies…

 In addition to the challenge of sustaining education and learning, the vulnerable communities still grapple with the necessities of food and protection from COVID-19. In the community where the Baruyan Elementary School, site of our first after-school programs in the Philippines, UNLAD has been providing 42 families with basic food and soap supplies. 

With our encouragement, this community is now more actively planting and harvesting vegetables within their backyards, planted vegetables as a sustainable source of their family’s food.  

 In the Philippines…

 On August 11th, we hosted a virtual conference, “Protecting a Generation of Filipino Children: A Call to Action”.  During the conference, with participants from the US and the Philippines, Save the Children, Philippines presented a ground-breaking and novel low-cost program to deliver virtual learning to under-served neighborhoods.  This program’s name, “Project ARAL” (the Tagalog word “aral”is“study”in English) stands for Access to Resources for Alternative Learning and is being launched in August, 2020.

The program covers parent training, the distribution of learning equipment and material that require little to no technology, with regular monitoring and tracking of results. Our goal is to spread the word, building the understanding and momentum necessary to support this important program thus ultimately providing our under-served youth with sustained access to education and learning. 

In the United States…

We are partnering with the Charlottesville City Schools Athletics and Arts Departments and like-minded organizations - Computers4Kids and Cville1stGen - to provide our under-served youth with access to programs that will otherwise not be within their reach.  Programs that will build their confidence, fuel their aspirations and motivate them to lead fulfilling and rewarding lives.

  Small acts matter!

We remain committed to our mission, ever grateful to our generous donors and friends.   These are unprecedented difficult times that call upon each one of us to remain hopeful and helpful. Let us unite to provide our underserved youth with the educational opportunities they need and deserve.  

Together, we can make a difference.

Thank you… Maraming salamat!

Terry and Allen de Guzman

2020 May/June Newsletter

Dear Friends of UNLAD,

It is hard to believe that we find ourselves in June still in a broad state of COVID-19 lockdown.

While a handful of countries have re-opened selective elementary and high-school schools, general re-opening of schools around the world is still being actively debated: when, where and how.  On one hand, it is good to know that virtual learning has gained wide adoption.  On the other hand, a broad number of parents and care givers have found home-schooling difficult to implement and sustain.

In most of the underserved and vulnerable communities around the world, the challenge of delivering virtual learning is compounded by the lack of computer equipment and access to the internet.  Learning also becomes a second priority as families grapple with the basic necessities of food and protection from COVID-19 – and so that is where UNLAD has focused our attention in the past months. 

While undoubtedly this difficult and unprecedented situation has limited UNLAD’s ability to move forward with our programs, we have not stood still.  We have continued to engage in “small acts” to help sustain our goal to provide our underserved youth access to opportunities to improve their lives.   

In the Philippines:

In the community where the Baruyan Elementary School, site of our first after-school programs is located, our small acts include:  a Mother’s Day celebration marked by distribution of bread and eggs; additional food distribution with a call to action to encourage parents to plant vegetables around their yard thus creating a sustainable and accessible food source

We are working with our strategic partners Save the Children, Philippines

• to provide the most vulnerable families with the basic preventive supplies of soap and cleaning solutions. 

• to support the launch of a novel low-cost program to deliver virtual learning to underserved neighborhoods. The program will cover parent training, the distribution of learning equipment and material that require little to no technology, and regular monitoring and feedback loop. 

In the US:

We’ve actively sought and found opportunistic situations for “small acts” to help some of our underserved youth  in Charlottesville, Virginia:  an incoming 9th grader’s school supplies; a 7th grader’s sports equipment; a 4th grader’s art supplies. Terry, in her capacity as a life coach has offered free coaching sessions to young adults seeking some clarity and direction through the maze of the pandemic and the systemic problem of racism in America. 

UNLAD organized a panel of speakers to lead the discussion on “Finding Purpose and Moving Forward for the digital conference, “Bayanihan, Pilipinx Across the Country”.  The digital conference was a week-long conference organized by Filipino-American collegiate student organizations across the US.  A first, the conference aimed to help hundreds of college students and recent graduates to develop leadership and community-building skills.  It offered an opportunity to engage in conversations on how to navigate the audience’s future careers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the bigger societal problem of racism in America. The conference also aimed to raise funds to support the Black Lives Matter national organization. 

We always welcome your comments, input and suggestions.  We are grateful to our benefactors and friends, and sincerely appreciate your continued support through these difficult times.  Providing our underserved youth with access to educational and developmental opportunities is more critical than ever.

Thank you, maraming salamat po!

2020 March / April Newsletter

Dear Friends of UNLAD,

We hope this note finds you safe and well, while we all face this this unprecedented global COVID-19 crisis.

We got back to the US on March 14th, immediately following President Trump’s declaration of closing entry to the US from Europe.  Since then, both in the Philippines and in the US, contagion has spread without any end in sight, and our communities- here and there- have locked down.  From what we hear, the lock down in the Philippines is more severe, with passes required even to buy food. 

While the gravity of this pandemic looms, we hope sharing this update will help lift our unsettled feelings and bring a smile of hope.    

When you last heard from us in early February…

UNLAD, with the support of our kind benefactors and the collaborative work of our community of teachers, parents, school administrators and students had just launched the Baruyan Elementary School’s first two new after-school programs: Arts and Athletics. Twenty-five fourth to sixth graders are participating in the Athletics program, focused on Basketball; while another twenty-five first to sixth graders are participating in the Arts program, focused on Visual Arts.

Since then, and until the mid-March lockdowns…

Visual Arts

Our kids learned basic drawing/painting techniques using watercolor, acrylic, pastels, oil.  We watched the student learn to draw with… are you ready for this?  MUD!  Yes, mud… admittedly one of the most sustainable drawing materials in this part of the world.  All you need is a canvas, some mud, and some good old cooking oil to seal the art.   And, of course, some talent!   

Under the dedicated and caring watch of our Arts coordinator, Ms. Donna Calanog, assisted by volunteer parents and local artists, the students found a new learning environment that encouraged curiosity, discovery and creativity.

The students were getting ready for an end-of-March exhibit, which, unfortunately has been postponed as all schools were required to close mid-March.

“I didn’t realize my daughter is so creative.”

“The hour goes so fast, they get so much done.”

“Our walls are now full of our son’s drawings.”

“I can’t wait to see what I’ll draw today!”

“Art is FUN!”

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Athletics — Basketball

Under the committed stewardship of our sports coordinator, Mr. Lito Cantos, we set up the first basketball hoop at BES.  With the skillful coaching of local Councilor Christopher Driz, the students received structured workouts and drills, and came to a full understanding of the rules of the game of Basketball. 

We watched the students engage in scrimmage sessions, with Allen jumping in to provide some defensive and offensive coaching tips!

The core team of 12 students have been selected, and “plays” were just being developed to play vs the second team when the schools were required to close in mid-March.

“Our son isn’t on his cell phone all the time anymore.”

“I like to watch my friends play.”

“It’s one thing I really love: basketball!”

See you courtside when school opens again!

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What’s Next?

Let’s do what we can to stop the spread of COVID-19.  Stay home.

Let’s grieve with everyone who have lost their loved ones. 

Let’s stand beside our front-liners: the physicians, nurses, medical workers who are tirelessly saving lives. 

Let us unite to do what we can to help our youth be safe, hopeful, kind, resilient, and strong.

Remember… small acts matter

Our partners, Save the Children, Philippines have requested us – and we have heartily agreed - as co-Founders of UNLAD and advocates for all youth, to lend our voices and participation in their COVID-19 program.  This program aims to provide the most vulnerable families in the Philippines with the basic preventive supplies of soap and cleaning solutions. 

“Small acts matter”.  Please help Save the Children in its effort to protect the most vulnerable children during this difficult time. 

2020 January / February Newsletter

Dear Friends of UNLAD,

Greetings from the Philippines!

January has been an exciting and amazing month.  We arrived in the Philippines on New Year’s Eve and after a joyful celebration in gratitude for the blessings of the past year and decade, we welcomed 2020 and set out to work on UNLAD’s 2020 Focus.

BES Arts and Athletics Program LAUNCHED!

We are delighted to share that February begins with the launch of the Baruyan Elementary School’s (BES) first two new after-school programs: Arts and Athletics.  Twenty-five fourth to sixth graders are participating in the Athletics program, focused on Basketball; while another twenty-five first to sixth graders are participating in the Arts program, focused on Visual arts.  The student sign-up was overwhelming, and the BES teachers followed a fair and transparent process in selecting the participants.  Parent volunteers stepped up to serve as class monitors. This effort is taking a village… and the students’ excitement is undeniably energizing and inspiring!  Stay tuned for updates on these ground-breaking and exciting new paths for our youth….

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The 2020-2021 BES Arts and Athletics After-School Programs Village: Teachers, Parents, Students

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The BES 2020-2021 Arts (Visual) After-School Program, Grades 1-6

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The BES 2020-2021 Athletics (Basketball) After-School Program, Boys Grades 4-6

We also took the time to acknowledge the “top 3” students in each of the 15 classes, Grades 1-6 with a bonus of extra school supplies!

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The BES “top 3” students in each class, Grades 1-6

Ongoing:  Pursuing Strategic Partnerships for Program Delivery

Ayala Foundation

We met with representatives of the Ayala Foundation  and became very interested in their CENTEX Program, The Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education.  In partnership with private sponsors and the City governments, this program provides holistic, quality education for bright children from economically disadvantaged families, honing their confidence and competencies not just inside the classroom but also through after-hours learning in the performing arts and other skill-building activities. The program is a three-year commitment, with funding requirements for BES reaching Php 1.9M (approx. US$38,000) with 40% funding from private sponsors and 60% from the City government.  

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Visit with Ayala Foundation site of CENTEX Program in Talipanan Elementary School, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro

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Save the Children, Philippines

Our meetings with representatives of  Save the Children, Philippines (STC-Ph)took us to the war-torn region of Marawi City, Mindanao, Philippines.  There we saw firsthand the ravaging effect of war, the displacement of families and children, and their extremely difficult living conditions.  The children find themselves in unsettled and remote learning environments, as schools have not yet been rebuilt and teachers are hard to find.  It is heart-breaking.

While the conditions at BES are clearly peaceful and far from the difficulties in Marawi, we thought STC-Ph had education programs that would be completely applicable.  We invited STC-Ph representatives to visit with us at BES to get a better sense of what of their education programs may be applicable. From our discussions with the BES administrators, teachers, and parents; as well as officers of the local government, the Child Safety and Protection Programs resonated with us, particularly the Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting (PDEP) and Positive Discipline in Everyday Teaching (PDET) trainings.  Partnering with private sponsors and government agencies, the programs help parents, caregivers and teachers to change the way they discipline children into more positive and non-violent ways. 

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Save the Children-Philippines site visit with BES and Baruyan Barangay office

What’s Next?

• BES After-School Programs:  Monitor and report progress, lessons learned

• Ayala Foundation, CENTEX:  Further study:  funding needs and sources, city government interest, scheduling with BES

• Save the Children Positive Parenting and Positive Teaching Training:  Further study: funding needs and sources, scheduling with BES, community engagement 

• Please expect the next update in April 2020 or sooner as exciting news develops! 

• Continue fund-raising!  Small acts matter!