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