In talking more about the ministry and the events of this past weekend, some revelations came to awareness from the Holy Spirit:
- Being sick prevented me from going to Barangay Arboretum where every Saturday I volunteer in kids ministry and outreach to a poor community. This made me reflect that if there is a set schedule and people to go (there are plenty volunteers now), then it can be self running. I was now able to think about what else I can do there such as going back to the initial vision God gave me in bringing technology to these communities and having online based or computer-based educational software to teach the kids how to read, write or math skills, or even to teach the older kids business skills.
- Being sick also prevented me from going to Cebu, so I spent time with my cousin that was visiting Manila from Calbayog. While I was in Project 4 visiting their church office, I met a distant cousin of mine named Charter that works at HP computer services. I got his number as I thought of being able to purchase discounted refurbished laptops or to inquire about the corporation in donating to NGOs (Non-Government Organizations). This is great as I'm concentrating more on who else I can ask.
Inquiring more about laptops got me back into looking into the One Laptop Per Child program that I came across before I moved to the Philippines. It costs $399 to donate one to a poor nation and to receive one. The organization’s mission is to provide an educational device for children in developing nations. From what I read before, the unit is cool, it has educational software that is localized to the language of that nation, it operates on minimal battery and has a new technology to always remain connected to the internet and to other OLPC laptops locally so they can communicate with each other. I’m eager to look more into this and see if I can bring it into this nation. I have come across recently on wikipedia that there is a pilot project so I will begin researching if the program has developed further and if I can help facilitate trying out the laptop and see how well it helps. Some things to consider are: updatability of software, level of education, maintenance and support availability.
God has me exactly where I need to be. The first 3 months here I concentrated on contributing to starting, organizing, and coordinating the events every Saturday at Barangay Arboretum with all the volunteers from Victory Church. Everyone is essential in being able to make the day and plan successful and God is faithful in providing the people and their efforts. The first 3 months have been blessed with donations from the States and I was privileged to provide suggestions on what to give out on Saturdays for the kids and community. This ranged from crayons, illustrations, craft materials, snacks, drinks and any supporting materials needed. Now it’s time to bring the core of education and technology packaged all with love.
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