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!