#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!

by FundLife International
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#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
#StandWithGirls in the Philippines!
Capacity building with Teachers in Sta. Rosa
Capacity building with Teachers in Sta. Rosa

Dear Supporter,

We hope this report finds you well.

The end of the year is almost upon us and we have been working doubly hard in the past several months to continue strengthening ties with our partner orgnizations and communities as well as reaching out to other vulnerable groups in and around the major cities of Cebu. Although finding the perfect venue and time to do our various scheduled activities have been quite challenging as face-to-face classes have resumed, we are also grateful as this makes reaching out to our community partners a lot faster and easier.

In the month of October, we have conducted Safe Spaces and Community Mentorship activities which have been wonderfully received. We have also conducted leadership and youth empowerment training sessions to give our partners the necessary knowledge and skills to become better versions of themselves. In the month of November, we also organized and capacitated Community and school partners on key areas on child participation - a move that proved to be very beneficial in this time and age of having social media as a platform for individual free speech.

Below are some of our milestones in the last three months:

September:

  • 112 Adolescent Girls completed the Community Mentorship Sessions with topics on Personality Development, Adolescent Reproductive Health, and Mental Health for Young People

October:

  • 51 Adolescent Girls who will be the next Girls Got This Champions and future mentors underwent Leadership and Youth Empowerment Training
  • Call Center Training started its first session under Employability Pathway in Sambag 1, Cebu City
  • Capacitated 98 school and community partners on Key Areas on Child Protection to 8 different communities and schools

November:

  • Conducted Mental Health Awareness Session to 115 adolescent girls in Talisay and Mandaue during the Children’s Month Celebration

What’s Next and Why?

To deepen the impact of the Girls Got This Program from the 2022 Project, the adolescent girls and young women will undergo leadership and youth empowerment tracks, and 3-Pathway Program: Hospitality and Operations Management Pathway, Entrepreneurship Pathway, and Digital Pathway with the overall goal of equipping them with various technical and soft skills. The skills they will learn under the different pathways will prepare them for the world of work, while also ensuring their school, community and youth mentors are capacitated in addressing their issues and concerns. 

Ending 2022 will surely be a memorable year to date for these adolescent girls and young women for you have been with them throughout their journey. Here are some more details of these girls' achievement. 

Parents on Positive Discipline Workshop
Parents on Positive Discipline Workshop
Leadership and Youth Empowerment Session
Leadership and Youth Empowerment Session
Mock Interview Session with Young Women
Mock Interview Session with Young Women
One of the Call Center Training Exercises
One of the Call Center Training Exercises

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Fun learning during mentorship sessions.
Fun learning during mentorship sessions.

Dear Supporter,

We trust this report finds you well and safe.

We have been extremely busy over recent months with continuing and expanding our reach to the most vulnerable girls across Metro Cebu. While the educational fallout of COVID-19 continues to impact girls, the more immediate pressure has been the sudden cost of living for families in poverty. Essential goods cost up to 30% more than in March 2022, putting a huge burden on those living on the cusp of poverty. This added financial stress and placed more pressure on adolescent girls to take the role of income generators. 

FundLife, through Girls Got This, has been responding in real-time, delivering our mentorship, counselling and employment-ready skills training to ensure girls can stay in education and gain dignified employment. 

Below are some of the highlights we have achieved over the last three months:

June Highlights:

  • 100 more adolescent girls were reached in 4 communities during the Life Skills Plus Program
  • 5 Community Pop-Up Kitchens were put-up and handled by 13 Young Women as part of our social enterprise, healthy and affordable food livelihood program
  • 100 Adolescent Girls received their In-Learning and Safe-at-Home Packs

July Highlights:

  • A further 100 Adolescent Girls participated in the Life Skills Plus Program receiving ongoing mentorship and training sessions
  • 4 Adolescent Girls became part of the Youth Advocate Training under two (2) partner organizations. These girls were chosen as Youth Leaders for other younger girls in their communities.

August Highlights:

  • 15 Young Women started the Employability and Entrepreneurship Pathways, enrolling in the Technical, Vocational and Livelihood (TVL) Course in Cebu City
  • 200 Child-Protection Books were distributed in 8 different partner schools and communities with the help of a partner organization (Consuelo Foundation).
  • Additional 50 Adolescent Girls participated in the LifeSkills Plus Program – Community Mentorship.
  • Girls Got This delivered a 5-day Webinar Series on Key Areas in Child Protection – Child Protection Laws (OSAEC/CSAEM), Gender-Based Violence, Digital Safety, and Mental Health Awareness.

We thank you for your ongoing support and hope you can take some time to read more details about the success of some of these girls that we are continuing to support 

Cook-fest with Young Women in Sambag 1
Cook-fest with Young Women in Sambag 1
Teaching girls to be active
Teaching girls to be active
TVL Enrolment of Young Women
TVL Enrolment of Young Women
Youth Advocate Training in Manila, Philippines
Youth Advocate Training in Manila, Philippines
Child-Protection Books distributed in Talisay City
Child-Protection Books distributed in Talisay City

Links:

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Girls during Social Enterprise Pop-up Kitchen
Girls during Social Enterprise Pop-up Kitchen

Dear Supporter,

 

We trust this report finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy.

 

Despite the continued impact of Typhoon Odette, it has been a hectic and rewarding three months for our 'Girls Got This' projects. Here are some of the highlights which have been delivered as a direct result of your continued support;

 

  • Graduation of 10 girls who completed our 3-month digital skills programming training. Adolescent girls were taught primary programming languages like HTML and JavaScript. Participants were introduced to digital literacy and taught about employment opportunities in the BPO sector and how they can continue their personal and professional - we look forward to following the girls' journeys and supporting them as they transition into dignified employment.

  • 418 girls reached through 'Girls Got This' Champion Sessions: 30 Community Sessions were delivered since the start of the Community Mentorship Sessions. These learning sessions teach adolescent girls about Self-Awareness, Child Rights, adolescent reproductive health, managing stress and anxiety, and being active. Girls were taught about female leaders in sports, business and entrepreneurship, and women who significantly impacted society. A total 418 adolescent girls in 9 different communities in Metro Cebu and Cebu Province through sessions in the past three months. 

  • Launch of Social Entrepreneurship Employment pathway for 30 girls30 at-risk young women (aged 18-29) joined the Girls Got This social entrepreneurship employment pathway. The project aims to support these women to launch their own plant-based community canteen. With the support of The Green Pantry, these women will be trained in confidence building, e-commerce, micro-enterprise, and food preparation. The project will culminate in July 2022.

We share below some pictures from the field and invite you to read more about these successes through the links provided. We also hope you can follow our work via our socials where we continue to provide regular updates;

IG:              https://www.instagram.com/_girlsgotthis/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GirlsGotThis/
Website:     https://www.girlsgotthis.org/

 

Thank you for your continued support!

Angel Villamor

Project Lead,

Girls Got This, Cebu

A champions session In Sambag, Cebu City
A champions session In Sambag, Cebu City
Introduction to Employment Session
Introduction to Employment Session
IWD Safe-at-home distribution
IWD Safe-at-home distribution
Girls Complete their Digital Skills Program
Girls Complete their Digital Skills Program

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Girls with their Learn from home packs
Girls with their Learn from home packs

Dear Friends,

We hope our latest project updates find you safe and well. 

It has been a very difficult few weeks for people all over Central Philippines, including many of the girls we are supporting in Cebu, as they continue to recover from the impacts of Typhoon Rai, which ravaged the communities of Surigao Del Norte, Leyte, Negros, Cebu and Palawan when it hit on Dec 16th, 2021. In total, over 4 million people were displaced from the Typhoon, which was the strongest typhoon since Super Typhoon Haiyan, which hit in 2013. Many of the most vulnerable are still trying to recover as their homes were damaged, and for so many, completely destroyed. 

The typhoon also directly impacted FundLife communities and staff from Cebu. Many communities in Cebu City were without power for almost 3 weeks and communities in the province are still without access to power or clean drinking water. 

For vulnerable girls in Cebu, the Typhoon came on the back of an almost two-year lockout from school and further threatens their right to a safe childhood and access to learning. It is vital we still continue to prioritise education for girls, despite the urgent need to ensure they have safe houses and access to water and food security. 

Prior to the typhoon, there had been great progress being made through our 'Girls Got This' programming, with the following notable updates occurring between October - December; 

  • 'Safe at Home Learning' Packs reach 750 vulnerable girls across Cebu
    More info here: https://www.fundlife.org/post/covid-19-education-response-update-750-girls-reached-with-safe-at-home-packs-across-metro-cebu
  • Celebration of Intl Day of the Girl on Oct 11 with a special 'Digital Talk' Session for girls from the GGT program and community sessions for over 100 girls across Cebu
    more info here:  https://www.girlsgotthis.org/post/fundlife-and-girls-got-this-celebrates-international-day-of-the-girl-child
  • Launch of the Girls Got This Works (GGTW) project in partnership with Marigondon High School
    more info here: https://www.girlsgotthis.org/post/programming-classes-for-the-girls-under-the-ggtw-program-officially-starts
  • The announcement of two new girls led the partnership with Women Win and Consuelo Foundation to provide new pathways and life-skills for even more adolescent girls in Cebu - More info on this soon!


Our focus this month has been ensuring all the girls we have been supporting prior to the typhoon and safe and have their basic needs met. Many of the programming activities planned for January have not been possible due to power and mobile signal being lost after the typhoon.

Our intention is to kick-start our 2022 programming early in February and remind girls that no matter what challenges we face, the right to our education and dreams should never be compromised. Adversity gives strength and for all the girls who continue to work, despite COVID-19 challenges and now the Typhoon, it will build amazing resiliency and show them that they can overcome anything!

We believe in her dreams and we are excited to see what 2022 brings for girls!

Thank you for believing in our work and for your ongoing support. 

Girls with FundLife project lead, Angel
Girls with FundLife project lead, Angel
With staff from DepEd to announce Partnership
With staff from DepEd to announce Partnership
Girls during a mentorship activity session
Girls during a mentorship activity session
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Community learning spaces
Community learning spaces

Dear friends,

I am writing to share an update report showing all the developments we have done so far with our #standwithgirls movement.

While nearly every country in the world has partially or fully reopened schools to in-person classes, the Philippines has kept them closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. School enrolments fell to 26.9 million in September 2020 and have dropped a further 5 million since, according to official figures. The current educational emergency has an immensense impact on the future of all children, and especially adolescent girls.

To cope with this educational crisis, #standwithgirls has been busy to keep adolescent girls engaged with their studies and help them not drop out of school. Since the last time we spoke, we have been able to distribute over 750 'Safe at home and in-learning packs' to the most vulnerable girls in Cebu. These packs include: educational materials, as well as internet load to join online classes, hygiene products and activity books to help girls deal with anxiety and mental health pressures during the pandemic.

To have a better grasp about the needs and struggles of the girls we work with, we conducted a survey interviewing over 750 adolescents in Cebu. Findings showed that our respondents strongly agreed that they are having a hard time finding a good wifi/data connection for their online classes. 40.8% said that they don’t have an available internet connection while 5.8% answered that they use mobile data to connect to their online classes incurring additional expenses that are hard to cover for many families in the Philippines. This shows how critical the support is that we are providing, and how much your help is needed to help us continue our efforts!

We have been able to resume with our 'Community Learning Spaces' in Leyte, providing access to safe learning zones for children who do not have access to learning spaces. In total, 105 children have been using the space since it was launched in partnership with local health authorities. To empower our girls we have organised women empowerment and mentorship sessions across Cebu and Leyte with a total 139 adolescent girls and young women joining these sessions. 

Some of the young women have been able to complete our 'Girls Got This Works' COVID-19 employment pathway program with a 60% employment success rate. Another 14 girls are currently enrolled in the program. 2 young women will be starting vocational training courses where they will develop new skills that can translate into a rewarding career.

To create more opportunities for young people we launched our Online Programming Classes last year, where 5 youth mentors graduated from at the beginning of this year. Another 12 participants have enrolled in the Online Programming Classes in Tacloban and 10 more adolescent girls will be starting the online programming courses next month in Cebu, where they will enhance their skills in coding, web design, software development, data analysis and in other technical areas.

We are still going strong with our 'stay at home' videos and 'educational' videos, which are shared on our social media platforms twice a week, to keep children informed on social issues like peer influence ,what drugs are & what are the effects and gender identity. These videos are not only created to educate children about certain topics but also to keep them sane and healthy while in lockdown.

We also continued with our community based session, and extended our mentorship sessions across Cebu. We have been delivering mentorship sessions four times a month in several communities in Cebu focusing on the topics like my changing bodypeer pressure and menstruation during the pandemic. The girls expressed that they are learning more about themselves and find the sessions useful in terms of getting different insights in life.

Thank you for all your support, which is what makes our work possible. I hope we can do more good together in helping adolescent girls during this educational crisis!

For more information, follow our Girls Got This on Facebook or Instagram!

Stay safe, healthy and active during these very difficult times. 

All the best,

Melissa Karadana

Safe at home & in-learn packs distribution
Safe at home & in-learn packs distribution
Mentorship session during pack distribution
Mentorship session during pack distribution
Online programming session
Online programming session
Group picture distribution
Group picture distribution
Champion session w FootballPro Catherine Graversen
Champion session w FootballPro Catherine Graversen
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Organization Information

FundLife International

Location: Tacloban - Philippines
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Twitter: @fundlifeint
Project Leader:
Kimberly Lopez
Tacloban, Philippines
$13,731 raised of $35,000 goal
 
257 donations
$21,269 to go
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