August 7, 2017 – The Badjao Students of Don Carlos A. Gothong Memorial National High School had its 1st learning session for its Wellness Program entitled 3KB: Kaayuhan, Kalambuan sa Kabataang Badjao.
This is one of the major projects under the Revitalization of Life and Spirit Program of the Gothong Southern Foundation, Gothong Southern Group of Companies' social arm. It's a 4-part program that is slated to be completed in 4 months. This is the realization of the MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) signing which was launched last July 13, 2018 held at the school between Gothong Southern Foundation with its partner - University of San Carlos Psychology Department - and Don Carlos A. Gothong Memorial National High School.
The MOA was crafted to address the alarming dropout rate of Badjao students. 3KB's goal is to provide an avenue for the Badjao students to know themselves and to share in an open and accepting environment their experiences in school while being members of an indigenous community.
Through sharing and other group activities, they will have more awareness about themselves, their situation and the various challenges they encounter; increase social relationships through building of trust and proper communication, and creation of a strong support group for them. By the end of the program, the participants will have an awareness of their resiliency in dealing with the situation they are in and they will have a support network that will be composed of individuals who are going through the same situation as them. All forty-five Badjao students, coming from Grades 7 to 11, will be the beneficiaries of this endeavor.
Part 1 module was all about Character and Values Awareness - the impact of choices in one's life, the effects of the choices made and the benefits and risks of the choices made. The session lasted for four hours starting at 1:00pm and ending at 5:00pm. It was facilitated by Ms. Justine Beltran from the Psychology Department of San Carlos University with the help of twelve Psychology students from the same school.
The session started with a big group discussion for the orientation, expectation setting and rules agreement. It was followed with a lecture about Choices & Consequences, Beliefs & Paradigms and Essences & Principles. The participants were then given different group activities to further ingrain the topics at hand.
After the lecture the students were given an assignment for the next session - a narration about themselves in different scenarios where they were at their best. It was not all business though; the students provided a brief respite with their dance presentation after snacks were served. The customary group photo taking capped off the day.