Community
Cheyor, Kep!
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008I met Sokleap over the weekend and we got into talking about the recent developments with iREACH Project. I was part of this project since the beginning and quit early this year. Sokleap was telling me how successful the launching of iREACH Headquarters and Community Centers in Kep was. I was pleasantly surprised at the news, mainly because when I was still with iREACH, Kep was lagging behind in terms of project implementation. I was expecting the Kamchai Mear Pilot would be the first to launch. I initiated the first phase of the project in Kep in 2006. Then in 2007, a Pilot Coordinator was hired and I was assigned back to Phnom Penh. Sokleap was hired as the Community Radio Coordinator, but eventually took the reins when the Pilot Coordinator, Dara, left just months after joining the project. Not only did Sokleap stepped up to the plate, he had also outdone the KCM Pilot Project in terms of accomplishments. Way to go, Sokleap.
The Minister of Commerce, Excellency Cham Prasidh himself graced the occasion along with other local government figures and witnessed by the villagers. As part of the day-long activities, the Minister and his group visited several village hubs to see how the village hubs are operating in Kep. And he was not disappointed. Students were in the hubs, learning how to type in Khmer unicode, searching the Internet, and older people using the community VoIP talking to their relatives working in Phnom Penh, 180kilometers away.
It is still too early to see the outcomes of the project yet. But so far, the reports show, that there is quite an interest not only among the young ones but also among the older members of the village. Internet and computer use is increasing in the hubs. Begun in 2006, the pilot sites in Kep and Kamchai Mear now have 11 hubs each in operation. The hubs have computers, internet, and linked via wireless network centered on the headquarters. You can find the daily reports by each project staff, albeit in its raw form, through the blog I created, iREACH Project Blog, and now Kep has its own portal.
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Photo from the Kep Portal.
Brotherhood in the Word
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008Luke 8: 19-21
Prv 21: 1-6. 10-13 / Ps 119: 1, 27, 30, 34, 35, 44
My mother and my brothers are all those who hear the Word of God and obey it.
(Luke 8:21)
The Word of God provides the way
For us to become Christ’s brethren;
But we must live it day by day
If we want to be God’s [...]
The Widow at Nain
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008Luke 7: 11-17
1 Cor 12: 12-14, 27-31a / Ps 100: 1- 5
When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, “Don’t cry.”
(Luke 7:13)
Moved with pity for a mother’s pain
Jesus raised her dead son at Nain;
In His mercy what we’re praying for,
Through His Mother He will restore.
Soon afterward, Jesus went to [...]
How Do I Measure Up?
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008Luke 6: 27-38
1 Cor 8: 1b-7. 11-13 / Ps 139: 1b-3, 13-14, 23-24
But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
(Luke 6:27-28)
Let our yardstick be compassion,
To measure each mistake or wrong;
Kindness in every occasion
Lightens hearts as [...]
Prayer Power and Community
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008Luke 6: 12-19
1 Cor 6: 1-11 / Ps 149: 1-6, 9
Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
(Luke 6:12)
Jesus prayed all night to the Father
Before He began to teach and heal.
No power can ever be greater,
Believe your prayers God will fulfill!
In those days Jesus went out to a [...]
Prayer Power and Community
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008Luke 6: 12-19
1 Cor 6: 1-11 / Ps 149: 1-6, 9
Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
(Luke 6:12)
Jesus prayed all night to the Father
Before He began to teach and heal.
No power can ever be greater,
Believe your prayers God will fulfill!
In those days Jesus went out to a [...]
Resolving Conflicts
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Matthew 18: 15-20
Ez 9: 1-7; 10: 18-22 / Ps 113: 1-6
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
(Matthew 18:15-16)
Resolve conflicts without enmity,
More than justice [...]
The Transfiguration of Jesus
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008Matthew 17: 1-9
Dn 7: 9-10. 13-14 / Ps 97: 1-2. 5-6. 9 / 2 Pt 1: 16-19
Lord, it is good for us to be here.
(Matthew 17:4)
It may feel good to just remain
In the safety of God’s mountain,
But if His grace we seek to gain,
God’s fields are waiting in the plain.
Jesus took with him Peter, James [...]
The Parable of the Sower
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008Matthew 13: 1-9
Jer 1: 1. 4-10 / Ps 71: 1-6, 15 and 17
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.
(Matthew 13:9)
Our Lord Jesus reveals the Truth
To souls who seek the mysterious,
But His words will never bear [...]
Living beside school
Thursday, April 24th, 2008I live in a compound that sits right beside the Ateneo de Davao High School campus. I’m up early for my flight to Manila — actually, I’ve been up for an hour already. From last night till this early morning, I’d been hearing rambunctious noises over at the campus. Kids. Must’ve spent the night there [...]
Gas-saving community effort
Thursday, April 17th, 2008An emailed message sent out to mailing lists claims that we might be able to force big oil companies to lower their pump prices if we stop buying gas from them and shift to local gas stations.
What I’m up to these days
Thursday, February 28th, 2008I’m currently here in Kep, in our project area in Khan Damnak Chang’eur for a visioning workshop. I am sharing some photos with a hope that you’ll get a glimpse of the kind of work I, or shally I say, we, do in this country.
Today we are having a visioning workshop. The research team has been preparing for this activity with the (online) help of our advisors from the Philippines and Ireland. In a nutshell, the objective of this activity is to gain a common agreement and deeper understanding on what iREACH Project is about among the local management committee. This activity requires facilitation along the lines of Outcome Mapping with focus on vision, mission, boundary partners, progress markers and outcome challenge. We were trained on OM as a monitoring and evaluation tool, but not as trainers. However, our advisers and especially our Project Manager, are confident that the three of us (me and the two Pilot Project Coordinators)are capable of doing such facilitation. We had a dry run last Tuesday and there were a lot of lessons learned. This helped us revise our outline for a better workshop.
Here’s some of the things we did:
ElectronicsLab.PH
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008I recently joined this forum made for pinoy electonics engineers and electronics enthusiasts. It’s a newly created forum, so there’s still not much into it but that’s why I’m inviting other electronics enthusiasts and electronics engineering students to join ElectronicsLab.PH and help build a very informative community.
The admin is giving away prizes for the following [...]
The Light of God’s Word
Sunday, January 6th, 2008Matthew 4: 12-17, 23-25
1 Jn 3: 22 – 4: 6 / Ps 2: 7-8, 10-12
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.
(Matthew 4:17)
Jesus went all over Galilee
To heal the sick of body and soul.
We must respond to this ministry
If following Jesus be our goal.
When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, he withdrew to Galilee. [...]
Prayer, Community and Ministry
Monday, September 10th, 2007Luke 6: 12-19
Col 2:6-15/Ps 145:1-2,8-11
In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles.
(Luke 6:12-13)
We learned the power of prayer
And the love of community;
But the purpose [...]
The Adobe guy
Friday, August 24th, 2007It is not uncommon to hear about Americans, Europeans or Asians falling in love with Davao and settling down here for good. Davao City has that special appeal even to other Filipinos who hail from other cities. And from time to time, you chance upon a gold nugget in the haul. What’s not very common [...]
You want someone to represent the Philippine blogosphere? Get Sybil
Friday, August 17th, 2007Blogger Jayvee Fernandez caused quite a ruckus in several Philippine blogs recently when he accused Janette Toral of “misrepresenting the Philippine blogosphere” for her own merit.
Clueless that I was, the first person I asked, via IM, about Jayvee’s “Bloggers, MISrepresent” post was Janette. She then told me that she suspected that she was the [...]
Davao’s hospitals
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007I have a Japanese friend who’s married to a Filipina, and she recently gave birth to a healthy baby girl. My friend, Naoki, has been in Davao for about 6 months now, and got to love the city so much he made a Japanese-language website about it. However, recently, he had a truly disappointing and [...]
Davao bloggers offline
Sunday, March 18th, 2007The party got off to a rather slow start due to some unforeseen glitches, but when it got going, boy, did we have fun! What’s great was, we had so many bloggers all in one place — the registration sheet isn’t with me right now, but I believe we had more than 40 boys and [...]
Davao Blog Party - Sponsorship Call
Thursday, February 15th, 2007The Davao Blog Party #1, which will be held on 17 March 2007 @ Netfront Internet Cafe and Coffee Shop, is a sure go! We are expecting around 30 or so Davao-based bloggers to participate, plus friends who are interested in starting their own blogs. I’m happy to announce that two distinguised guests will also [...]
Blogging awards
Wednesday, February 14th, 2007Just found out — nominations for the best Pinoy blogs are open at The 2007 Philippine Blog Awards!!! You can nominate your own blog, or anyone else’s whose blog you think deserves to win.
The Award site lists 12 categories:
Best Technology Blog
Best Travel Blog
Best Entertainment Blog
Best Personal Blog
Best Home & Living Blog
Best Socio-Political Blog
Best News & [...]