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….

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

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

**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!

**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.

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.

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!