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IHHELPP recently partnered with Togoron Educational Outreach for the latter’s pilot project: the distribution of school supplies to Togoron.
The Togoron Educational Outreach was founded by Joseph Duano, a Brigham Young University-Hawaii or BYUH student who served his mission in the Philippines. “The Togoron Educational Outreach was designed with the vision similar to that of BYUH’s,” said Duano. “ We want to help children become men and women of pure gold- a people of integrity, humility, and wisdom” The Togoron Educational Project recently finished its pilot project in |
Togoron, a small fishing island south of Luzon.
Joseph shares the account of their project with IHHELPP: This summer, we held our first official visit to the village’s Togoron Elementary School as an Outreach Team. Four of us came to the island to meet the leaders of the community, to meet the children, and to deliver donations of school supplies gathered through the generosity of various donors which includes jackfruitman.com, students of BYU Hawaii, and other private donors. To begin work towards our goals as an Outreach, we focused on first establishing common goals and |
coordinating efforts with the community leaders, the school principal, and members of the faculty.
Our main goal this year was to establish our shared vision with these leaders and to clarify our roles along with our expectations of each other. This year, we strived to supplement the education of the children with much needed materials, especially books. We also brought mentors from BYU- Hawaii to motivate and to amplify their vision and dream for the future . Upon our arrival, we met with the |
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principal of Togoron Elementary for lunch at the school. Parents and children had been eager for the anticipated visit of our team. We gave the volunteers some time to spend with the children- to teach them, to interact with them, and to get to know them. We also conducted interviews and facilitated discussions with the faculty, the parents and members of the community in order to get a better feel of what |
they actually need from this program. We also delivered our purpose and shared expectations. Room after room, we brought backpacks, pencils, pens, notebooks and erasers for all the children to use. With the faculty, we released departmental materials like sports equipment, art materials, puzzles, a guitar set, and many books. We delegated the responsibility to care for these materials to the teacher in charge of the specific |
departments where each material belonged. Our message this year is clear: that all children from whatever walk of life possess the opportunity to pursue higher education if they so desire. As an Outreach, we made it clear that we can help prepare them by bringing some resources that the village cannot bring in for themselves. |
IHHELPP / RiceUp Team Inspires Cristo Rey Students
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IHHELPP and RiceUp volunteers spoke to students of Cristo Rey High School about the importance of school and dreaming big. The volunteers comprise of Togoron Outreach founder, Joseph Duano, IHHELPP’s James Astle, RiceUp volunteers Aeyah Canite, Malia Diaz, and John Diaz from Brigham Young University-Hawaii. |
Nadado and spoke to his Information and Communications Technology class. Around 100 senior high school students were in attendance. The volunteers spoke about the importance of acquiring education and honing practical skills. “We want you to be self-reliant and independent,” said Aeyah Canite. |
“Do your best in school. Don’t waste your time.” The class broke into smaller groups for a more focused session where students expressed concerns and asked questions. “You are most important,” James Astle said. “We are just regular people. You are the future. You have the most power to change the world.” “Dream big!” said Joseph Duano. “You can do it. If we did it, so can you.” |