Can you believe that a year has already gone by since the families moved into their new homes?  The village is thriving with the community spirit stronger than ever.ÂÂ
Throughout the year many competitions have been held in the village – from sporting achievements, to talent competitions, a search for Super lolo and Super lola and more. To celebrate a year of living together in the village it was the turn of the teenagers to hold their contest. Who would win best in sports attire, best in production attire and best in talent?
The day began with a thanksgiving mass to celebrate the anniversary of moving into the GSF Village. In the afternoon the village filled up with neighbouring villagers who travelled to come and watch the finals of the Teen Competition.  People travelled from miles around to see who would win.
It was a close competition as all the girls took great pride in making their costumes but there has to be one winner, and she was Mitchelle Bermudez.
Runner up was Athea Lozare and second Runner up was Via Olayon.
Well done girls you all did so well and we are so proud of not only what you achieved today, but what you have achieved throughout the year.ÂÂ
What competition do you think should be next? … we’d love to hear your thoughts …..
Sharing this page
The children celebrate Children’s Month with a party in the GSF Village.
On Wednesday, 112 of our GSF children celebrated the end of Children’s Month by having a big party in the village.  There were songs, a short film, some delicious chicken porridge served by the mothers, and then finally one of their favourite games, known as Pabitin.
Pabitin is a wooden lattice frame tied with various goodie bags suspended mid air and lowered up and down. The children then jump up as high as they can to grab the goodies.
The GSF team made sure that everyone received a goodie at the end of the evening. It was a lovely end to Children’s Month celebrating all together.ÂÂ
On Friday the children from the GSF village travelled to Iloilo City ready for their performance on Saturday. For most of them, this was not only their first time ever in a big city, but also the first time they had ever left the Barangay of Lemery.ÂÂ
The children were treated to a delicious meal at Jollibee which was kindly sponsored by, Norman Agbas. Thank you Norms.ÂÂ
It was then time for a little tour around SM City Iloilo which is one of the biggest malls in the Philippines. All the Christmas decorations were up which got everyone very excited.ÂÂ
The children then had the chance to go grocery shopping to buy their breakfast for the morning. This was the first time many of them had ever been grocery shopping and the selection of food for them was just overwhelming.ÂÂ
We look forward to hearing how you got on at the parade … pictures and story to follow…..ÂÂ
Sharing this page
The children from the village represent GSF at the Children’s Month Celebrations in Iloilo.
There is a huge amount of excitement in the village as fifteen of our children make their last rehearsals before heading to Iloilo tomorrow morning.ÂÂ
On Saturday, the children will be representing GSF in a performance for the Children’s Month Celebrations held by the Department of Social Welfare and Development at one of the biggest malls in Iloilo, the Sm City Iloilo.  The program will have performances from different social welfare and development agencies where the children will be able to showcase their talents.
For many of these children, this is the first time they will leave Lemery to travel to the big city. Very exciting times. We wish you all the luck and can’t wait to see and hear how you get on.ÂÂ
Sharing this page
Queen of Barangay Capinahan, is our very own “April Rose”.
In celebration of Children’s Month in the Philippines, all the Barangay’s of Lemery took part in a parade of floats that went around the town. We are so proud of one very special little girl, April Rose Barcemo, who was the Queen of Barangay Capinahan. April Rose is the sister of Fatima and the daughter of Annabelle and Raffy.  She looked so beautiful sitting on the float amongst all the colour.   ÂÂ
The night before the parade, the mothers in the village all helped until 1am making sure that the GSF float really stood out. The flowers were picked from Annabelle’s garden, DR sponsored the lovely dress and yet again, this lovely community all rallied together.ÂÂ
Five years ago today, our families were all going through the most terrifying night of their lives as Typhoon Haiyan hit their community – rain, darkness, wind and noise, but today, thankfully, we see a very different day, sunshine, vibrant colours, laughter and above all happiness. ÂÂ
Sharing this page
Benbert Beniero kindly donates enough money to buy a bus for the GSF Village.
The generosity from Benbert Beniero now means that the children are able to get to school every day. Already in just a few months, the attendance levels have quadrupled. The parents told us that they can now go to work knowing that their children are able to get to and from school safely.
Thank you Benbert for helping give these children the opportunity to attend school and get the education that they so deserve.
In this video, Benbert visits the GSF Village and attends a ‘blessing of the bus’. Whilst there he was also a judge at the Super Lolo and Super Lola competition too!ÂÂ
Sharing this page
Pupils from Capinahan Primary School attend a “Scout Camporee”.
A huge thank you to both DR June Sanico and Brgy Captain of Capinahan, Mr Ismael Bagonoc for sponsoring the children of The Capinahan Primary School so that they were able to attend a Scout Camporee last weekend.
24 lucky pupils made up of twinklers, kid scouts-kinder, star and lab scouts – lab scouts – 1st and 2nd graders all joined the “District Boy and Girl Scout Camporee” at Camp Cristito Lapating, Brgy Marapal, Lemery for a weekend of fun.
There were over a thousand scouts from all over the district of Lemery with the first day involving a foot parade around the grounds. All our scouts took an active part in the activities that were scheduled and absolutely loved their weekend out.ÂÂ
ÂÂ
ÂÂ
Thank you DR and Mr Ismael Bagonoc for making this possible for the children to experience activities outside of school and the village.ÂÂ
ÂÂ
Sharing this page
In just a year the number of Pupils at Capinahan Primary School climbs from 31 to 119 pupils!
It’s been over a month now, that our nutrition program was implemented at Capinahan Primary School with every child in kindergarten, first and second grade and now this week third and fourth grade receiving a free nutritious lunch from Monday to Friday.
Aside from loving their lunches, it has been noted that the children are now showing a positive attitude towards school. The 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Shello Garcia, confirmed that absenteeism has been minimised with the children hardly ever skipping school and puts it down to the fact that they are not only well fed but are able to get to school on the free shuttle service.  Earlier this week we mentioned the awards that the children have received and how many of these awards went to GSF children!
The feeding program has also given the parents a sense of camaraderie as they work closely together every day preparing the meals and volunteering to stay and help serve it too. ÂÂ
We are also thrilled to announce that this week (3 Sept) Grade 3 and 4 have now joined the school bringing the numbers up to 119 pupils.ÂÂ
The children are all taught in a multigrade system – very similar to many schools in the UK. In the classrooms we now have kindergarten and 1st graders together in one room with a teacher:
2nd graders have their own classroom:
and … 3rd and 4th graders share a classroom with one teacher:
The District Education Supervisor from the Department of Education has promised that additional teachers will be starting in October which will be so important in ensuring that our children receive the best possible education.ÂÂ
In just a year, the expansion of this small community school has been incredible, with numbers increasing from 31 children to 119 children.  There is still a lot more work to be done at the school, and if you are reading this, and can help in anyway, please do contact us. These children are the future and they need our help in ensuring they have the best possible education.ÂÂ
Sharing this page
Our GSF Children receive awards for: “Perfect Attendance, Most Courteous and Top Achievers”
Capinahan Primary School held their first quarterly awards and the children that attend school from the GSF Village stand out as the best achievers in academic learning, general behaviour and attendance.ÂÂ
We are so proud of not only our children but everyone who has helped make this  possible. The children are transported daily to school in the bus and without this free shuttle service, many children could not attend. Once at school they receive a nutritious meal every day, kindly cooked by our mothers and we all know that a well fed child is a well fed mind.  Because of these two factors, the children are motivated to attend school daily and their achievement levels increase. ÂÂ
We also have to thank Central Philippines University who come to the village every week to hold a class for the children. During the holidays it was during the week and now during term time back to Saturdays. Because of their commitment, our children have the edge academically compared to other children. CPU have developed their confidence and academically they are thriving – the children are notably more active during discussions, story telling and games.ÂÂ
The future is looking bright for our GSF Children – Education is the foundation upon which they will build their future.ÂÂ
One of our GSF Board of Directors, Amy Leverson-Gower visited the GSF Village in June to see how the families were doing since she last saw them in January.ÂÂ
As she walked around the village she noticed that their houses were immaculate and the gardens were flourishing. This community have really embraced their new homes and life in the village. There was a real sense of pride as she was shown around by some of the families. Livelihood programmes are in place with mushroom farming, Moringa plants being grown and their own produce outside each house; runner beans, tomatoes and more.ÂÂ
Before leaving she also made a visit to the Capinahan School to see the children happy in their new classrooms.  It was a very rewarding visit to the village as you can see from the video:
