March Newsletter
By DR June Sanico Leave a comment 16 Mar 2018
Please read our March Newsletter to see what we have been up to……
Author: DR June Sanico
Search for “Super Nanay 2018” in the GSF Village.
31 Replies 19 Mar 2018
In Celebration of Women’s Month, the competition is on, for the GSF Village “Super Nanay (Super Mum) 2018”, with the final being held on March 26th in the GSF Village Social Hall. We have 11 beautiful “Super Nanay contestants” who will showcase their wit and talents to an invited panel of judges..Â
For this part of the competition we would like your vote on which photo you like the most. Please put your vote in the comment box on Facebook stating which Block No picture you like. The voting will added up and sent to the judges before the final on the 26th March. Thank you.
March is Fire Prevention Month in the Philippines.
Leave a comment 15 Mar 2018
On the 1st March sirens can be heard all over the Philippine streets – it is the start of Fire Prevention Month.  The summer months are hot and dry and March is recorded as having high fire recordings, so the Bureau Of Fire Municipality make it an advocacy that all schools, universities, public and private offices, and communities such as the Greg Secker Foundation Village are made aware of not only how to prevent a fire but what to do in one.
We were lucky to be joined by the Bureau of Fire of Municipality of Lemery again. Last December they visited the village and held some lectures in fire safety and tips. Now the beneficiaries are in their homes there are more fire hazards such as electricity for them to learn about, and how they can help one another should a fire break out in their house or indeed their neighbours house.Â
The beneficiaries split into groups and practiced different drills. How to quickly and efficiently get water to the fire – the good old fashioned “bucket brigade” system, passing a bucket of water down the line to the fire.Â
In the lecture the fire department suggested that every household has a member who would be part of the fire fighting team, to have someone in charge of contacting the fire department during a fire, to have security in charge of clearing the road for when the fire truck arrives and a rescue team.Â
All of these lessons in health and safety are very important now that they are living together in such a close community.  They have to know how to help not only themselves but also their neighbour. Â
Friday night Zumba Classes
Leave a comment 5 Mar 2018
Friday night Zumba classes have started in the village, to not only encourage everyone to get fit, but a fun way to bring the community together.
Any signs of stress from the week were quickly released as the families all danced to the music. One of our mothers said, “It’s was fast, upbeat and contagious –  and you can’t help but keep on moving!”Â
The Mothers enjoy time team building.
Leave a comment 27 Feb 2018
It is coming up to two months since the beneficiaries moved into their new homes in the GSF Village. Â The mothers in the village have spent some ‘fun’ time getting to know each other to build up camaraderie. Â
Some team work was involved for this game, “Building a structure out of straws”. The competitive streak certainly came out of a few of them and many had not played like this since they were children themselves. A lot of laughter could be heard around the village!Â
So many of these ladies lived very solitary lives when their husbands went off to work and they stayed behind in their previous homes looking after the children. It’s so lovely to see the mothers here now, making friends and living in this fantastic community – all together.Â
“MOVIE NIGHT” in the GSF Village.
Leave a comment 1 Mar 2018
Our lovely families have built up such a wonderful community spirit living in the village. They have all come together to watch movies under the stars!Â
On Wednesday night the children, mothers and fathers sat and watched, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” on the big screen, that DR set up for them outside the GSF office.Â
They were all so excited that the GSF team have decided to hold Movie Night every Wednesday. Â The families do not have TV’s so it is heart-warming to hear the children giggling, the parents laughing and everyone so happy.
The Greg Secker Foundation Homeowners Association visit Barangay Hall, Capiniahnan.
Leave a comment 26 Feb 2018
We have 36 officers from the Greg Secker Foundation Homeowners Association, who were voted in by the beneficiaries of the village. This association will oversee various aspects of the village, and day to day life.Â
Last week, the officers visited the Barangay Hall to be recognised as official residents of Barangay, Capiniahnan. During the visit, the officers introduced themselves and talked about their future plans in the village.  The GSF Association is made up of a President, a Vice President, a Treasurer, and an Auditor. Then there are the committee members who will oversee the maintenance of the houses, events held in the village, law and order, health (one of our officers/beneficiaries works as a Barangay Health worker – so naturally they are the main contact!) and each block of houses will have a block leader who will daily check the roads, canals and all surrounding areas for any problems.Â
Dorotia Toga is responsible for peace and order.Â
The government official confirmed that all programmes and services will be available to our beneficiaries which will build networking for our families.Â
This is fantastic for our families, helping them build up relationships in the surrounding areas which will in turn open the door for further work opportunities.Â
Mr Reyanaldo Sanico, the Barangay Captain and Mr Roberto Nonato Jr, the President of GSF Homeowners Association.Â
Tragic News for the Demafelis family
Leave a comment 23 Feb 2018
On Thursday 22nd February, DR, Alya and Dezen attended the wake of Joanna Daniela Demafelis who sadly passed away whilst working for a family in Kuwait.
Joanna originally from Ferraris, Sara, which is close to the Greg Secker Foundation Village, had left her home town to work for the family in Kuwait. Like many Filipinos she was determined to give her family at home a financially secure life by sending her hard earned money back too them. Â
It is so tragic that this dear lady had left her home in the hope of giving her family a better life. Â On behalf of the The Greg Secker Foundation, we offer our deepest sympathy to her family, and may her soul rest in peace. God Bless.Â
“Registration Certificate and Licence to Operate”
Leave a comment 21 Feb 2018
We are delighted to announce that we are now licensed with the Department of Social Welfare and Development to operate as a community based Social Service provider.
With this License we can work with our beneficiaries legally and are recognised by the Department. This license is vital for us to lobby social cases with the Department and other Government Agencies and means we are officially part of the legal working Non Government Organizations of Region 6 in the Philippines.
Alya, Ms Glo Templanza (Licensing Division Officer)Â and DR.Â
Metro Iloilo Water District donate 100 Water tanks to the Village.
Leave a comment 20 Feb 2018
Mr Teddy Robles, the President of Central Philippines University who is on the board of Iloilo Water District attended the Opening Ceremony in January. Whilst walking around the village he noted that the beneficiaries would really benefit from a water tank at each house to help them save water during the hot dry summer months.
On his return to Iloilo he wrote a letter to Metro Iloilo Water Supply asking if they could help. As part of the Company CSR and giving back to the community they have kindly donated 100 water tanks to the village.Â
Sir Al Orbista from Metro Iloilo Water came to the village last week to hand over the water containers to each family. Â He talked about how his Company filter the water from source to the consumers making sure it is clean. The containers normally cost 1,500 pesos so this donation is extremely generous.Â
Thank you very much to Mr Teddy Robles, Sr Levy Delos Santos and Sir Al Orbista for your continued support to our families. Â