Gabriella Tilbury donates her birthday money to the Capinahan School.
Amy’s daughter, Gabriella has very kindly donated her birthday money to the Capinahan School where we now have 82 children enrolled from the village.ÂÂ
The money has already been put to good use, with the parents buying the provisions to build tables for the classrooms.  In just a day, they had made a variety of shapes and painted them in different colours to brighten up the classrooms.  Such quick work – well done team.
The blackboard was also re-furbished with a new layer of blackboard paint.ÂÂ
A donation like Gabriella’s goes a long way.  Thank you Gabriella – a huge inspiration for others to do the same.  If you would like to help in some way, please do - every bit really does make a difference. 
Three new teachers to join our Capinahan School.
We are delighted to announce that due to a huge rise in enrolment figures from 20 to 80 children, at our newly refurbished Capinahan School, we have secured an additional 3 teachers with the Department of Education.
Amy and the GSF team met with Celisa Beriong – OIC Division Chief Superintendant who oversees all 900 Iloilo Junior schools and 115 Secondary Schools, Gilbert Solidum – Division Head for School Governance and Operations and Juan Tamano – Supervisor in School Operations. They discussed the needs of GSF village and Capinahan Barangay in general in respect of the school and agreed that more than one teacher was now needed.  Both GSF and the Department of Education will enter into a partnership to improve the school in the future. Norma Palmejar (on behalf of GSF) will sit on the school council to ensure input and will have an oversight on the school governance.ÂÂ
This is such a fantastic step in the right direction for the children. The longer they are able to stay in full time education the better and having 3 extra teachers will now ensure this happens.  Thank you to the Department of Education for your time and helping us give the children the best start in life.ÂÂ
We must finally say a huge thank you to Gabriella Tilbury who kindly donated her birthday money towards the tables and chairs in the school.  ÂÂ
If you would like to help the future of the GSF children by donating please do. Every bit helps. Thank you.ÂÂ
Ric Patricio holds a ‘Wash Seminar’ in the village.
A week after the transfer of the Living Water Treatment System (LWTS) from the town hall of Lemery, to the village, Ric Patricio held a ‘Wash Seminar’ for the beneficiaries.ÂÂ
He taught them about safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), as well as to make them aware about the availability of safe water for everyone in the community.
The seminar covered topics on how water gets contaminated, how microbes get into the stomach, how water can be purified and treated using the LWTS, how to store treated water in containers, how to wash hands properly, and how healthy hygiene and sanitation behaviours can protect everyone from upset stomachs.
Ric’s future commitment is to hold other community-based training not only on WASH but also on emerging and sustainable technologies to help ensure food security in the village.ÂÂ
The Turn-over ceremony of Capinahan Primary School.
After several months of hard work refurbishing the two classrooms at Capinahan Primary School, we are pleased to announce that the work is complete.ÂÂ
 
Amy Leverson-Gower who is on the Board of Directors at GSF, flew out from the UK to officially hand over the school, and joined DR Sanico, a representative from the Division office of Department of Education and the Barangay chairman-elect of Capinahan.ÂÂ
There are 82 children from the village enrolled in the Capinahan School from Kindergarten up to year 4 which is 10 years old, and they all attended the ceremony where school bags and supplies were handed out to them after the speeches.ÂÂ
In the short time that Amy had in the village she certainly packed a lot into one day!  Having left Iloilo City at 6am she drove to the the GSF Village and started off by visiting the Talipapa market for a much needed cup of native coffee. From there she had a little wander around the village and was amazed at how much everything had grown in six months; runner beans, tomatoes, aubergine and papaya were all looking fantastic.ÂÂ
She then had a quick cuddle with baby Greg who was born in February, a lesson on Moringa planting, learnt how to do hydroponics and mushroom cultivation,  and then on to the school!ÂÂ
Amy did mention that the one thing she really noticed was that there was a real sense of community and happiness in the village. It is great to hear that our beneficiaries are doing well.ÂÂ
After a long day, the GSF team then returned back to Iloilo with Amy, where they all treated to  a “Happy Birthday DR” and “Team Building” dinner. Well done to the GSF team for all your hard work.ÂÂ
Mushroom Farming in the village.
Thirty five beneficiaries from the village attended a training seminar on Mushroom production, that was held at the Integrated Research Centre Regional Office of the Department of Agriculture in Iloilo.ÂÂ
The seminar taught the beneficiaries how to produce mushrooms using the materials and land that they have available at home in the village. Part of the lecture included propagation and the process on how to do it from start to finish, each taking it in turns to have a hands on go!
After a break for lunch it was back to the afternoon session where they were taught how to make “Mushroom Ice-cream”. They all got a taste and it was delicious – something new to make back at home.ÂÂ
Before leaving, every beneficiary was given a starter kit for mushroom production so once they are back they can start straight away.  They were told to expect to be able to harvest mushrooms after 3 months.  Another great source of food and income for those that sell their produce.ÂÂ
The Department of Agriculture will do a site visit after 4 months to check the progress of the mushroom growing and then the beneficiaries hope to attend a second seminar in November about mushroom packaging, marketing and other strategies on mushroom products.ÂÂ
We are so pleased that another means of farming has been introduced into the village and over a short time can be sold at market too!
The hugest spring onions!
We had to share this photograph with you, of one of our beneficiaries, with her home grown “spring onions!”  Nanay Nelia Adrigado, who lives in the village with her two children is a keen gardener … and it shows.   Nelia was walking past the GSF office – off to market to sell her onions when Alya our social worker spotted her and her produce! Neila has been growing vegetables and taking them to the market regularly now, to earn extra income for her and her two children.  Alya told us that she also sells “Puto Cheese” which is a rice cake and she is a great dress maker too.ÂÂ
Just fantastic – well done Nelia, its a shame we are so far away in the UK. We would have loved to have tried them.ÂÂ
Thank you “Shiplake College”.
The week before half term, Josh Hamer’s school, Shiplake College, held a cake sale, fundraising for the children that Josh met in the Greg Secker Foundation Village when he visited in January.ÂÂ
Josh made some close friends in a short time in the village and wanted to help in some way when he returned to the UK.ÂÂ
After seeing Josh’s video from his time in the village, and listening to him talk about his time there, his school decided to support him and arranged for the cake sale to take place. The Shiplake boys brought in delicious home made cakes from home, and then sold them to the teachers and other pupils over three days. A fantastic amount was made and the money has gone towards buying the GSF children their new school book bags, books and pens. The children had their first day back at school today so already they are being put to good use!
The children in the village were so excited that a school in the UK had arranged a cake sale to help them and that Josh was a part of this. He was known as the piped piper in the village with the children following him around all day.
On behalf of everyone at the Greg Secker Foundation and the children in the village, thank you Shiplake College for all your support and kind donation.ÂÂ
The next exciting fundraiser that Josh and his friends will be doing is the Muddy Mayhem Run on Sunday 7th October 2018.  Money raised from this event will go towards a playground for the children.ÂÂ
“Brigade Eskwela” at Capinahan Primary School.
Monday June 4th, and, another school year begins!
Summer holidays in the Philippines are over, and today our children in the Greg Secker Foundation Village go back to school. ÂÂ
Last week, the parents, community, non-government organisations and other stakeholders were all involved in “Brigada Eskwela” which is a programme organised by the Department of Education whereby everyone comes together to prepare the school campus for the opening of classes.
Brigada Eskwela, also known as the “Bayanihan Para sa Paaralan (Working Together for Schools)”, added a new meaning to the Filipino concept of unity. From the image of barrio men bearing together the weight of a bahay kubo (nipa hut) on their shoulders to the image of volunteers braving storms and floods to help calamity-stricken communities, Brigada Eskwela brings to us a picture of people from different sectors of society repainting walls and blackboards, cleaning windows and doors, repairing fences and tidying the school grounds.
Capinahan Primary School has many children from our village attending so parents joined the local community and had a great day in helping tidy up, planting new plants and clearing away any old foliage.  The children made the most of playing in the play area too.
It is great to see the whole community come together like this to get the children’s school ready for the first day of term.  Even the primary teacher himself got stuck in and helped tidy up!
Read our May Newsletter.
Hello from the team at the Greg Secker Foundation,
In our latest newsletter we take a look at:
The Miracle Tree: Find out about this amazing herbal plant being grown in the village.
Fatima’s story: Part II – Find out how life has changed for Fatima and her family since moving into their new home.
What have the Livelihood Consultants been up to: We now have sanitised water in the village.
GSF Summer Olympics: Who won the Basketball, Volleyball and Chess Tournaments.
CSR and Philanthropy: Our founder, Greg has been busy too – not only speaking but appearing in magazines.
Shiplake College: Hold a cake sale to raise money for the children’s school bags.
And much more…
Click on the image below to read to the latest newsletter
We hope you all enjoy reading it…
Greg, Rachel, Amy, Rosario, Sammy, Hannah, DR, Alya and Dzen
https://issuu.com/gregseckerfoundation/docs/gsf-nl-may2018
Our very own GSF Village ‘Flower show’.
With the famous Chelsea Flower show happening in London this week, we wanted to keep the emphasis on flowers and other plants too.  Alya our social worker, took a little walk around the GSF village and has sent over the most amazing pictures of the village in full bloom – our very own “GSF Flower show.”
It is nearly 6 months since the beneficiaries moved into the village and already they have so many different varieties of vegetables; long beans, eggplant, tomato, lady finger, papaya and leafy green vegetables, all of which are part of their daily diet.  Nothing goes to waste when growing their vegetables either – all the pots are recycled bottles, cans and car tyres which are all used as planters!
Not only do they grow vegetables but also herbal plants such as the Moringa plant which can be used as a vitamin supplement and is amazing for cuts and burns too.
The beneficiaries have really looked after their gardens and it really shows – the produce looks fantastic.  We mustn’t forget that they are in the middle of summer too, so all the watering must be hard work to maintain such healthy crops.
The provincial government have a program in place called “Laswa sa lamesa” which means every table must have vegetables during meal times and every household must plant vegetables for their own consumption.  It is a great way to encourage the children to eat healthily. Every family that plants vegetables receives a certificate from the Chief Captain of Barangay as an incentive to grow their own produce.ÂÂ
The village has come a long way in six months. To go from jungle, to bare land, to a building site, and now a thriving village.  A lot of hard work but look at the rewards.  Well done to all our families, we are so proud of you.ÂÂ
