January 10th marks the start of the 2nd week of 2022 but what a best way to celebrate was to recognize the hard work and persistence displayed by the completers and participants of the 3-Month Web Programming Course with one of our partners, Mentors Without Borders.
Starting in 2020, the Web Programming Course aims to help young people become efficient and passionate in computer programming. Within a duration of 3 months, these selected youth participants meet with a mentor from MWB through virtual every once a week for two hours.
Through the partnership with San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, a total of 14 young people participated in the said course from July to October 2021 wherein 5 participants have successfully completed the Web Programming Course.
As part of its culminating activity, the staff of FundLife have organized a Recognition Activity held last 10 January 2022 at San Jose National High School. This was attended by 12 out of 14 youth participants, parents and school officials who were proud to witness the achievements brought by these young people.
The activity was kicked-off by Donna Navarro with a Welcome Message, which was followed by the Presentation of 2021 Accomplishments by Kimberly Lopez. Mr. Edmund Pruteanu, the founder of Mentors Without Borders, also conveyed his warmest congratulations to the students who participated in the Web Programming Course and gave his gratitude to the school for the support that they have given to the students in their journey through a video message.
Afterwards, certificates were given to the students who participated in the 3-Month Web Programming Course, together with one MOB (Masked on Buttons) Packs. Then, separate sets of certificates were also given to the students who completed the course according to the languages that they agreed to learn with their mentors. These students are as follows:
Lawrence A. Separa (Completed the 3-Month MWB Web Development Course)
Dapfnie-Darrel Espina (Completed the 3-Month MWB Web Development Course)
Bob Louise A. Acuin (Completed the 3-Month C++ Programming Course)
Juvith John Ay-Ay (Completed the 3-Month C++ Programming Course)
Jerah Daaco (Completed the 3-Month MWB Python Programming Course)
Dapfnie, one of the few students who successfully completed the Web Programming Course, admitted that the 3-Month journey was not easy and quite challenging. Aside from taking care of her nephew, Dapfnie’s laptop which was vital in finishing the course had encountered technical problems. As a full-time student, she also needs to balance her academic life and submit all her school requirements including the modules on time. Nevertheless, Dapfnie including the other completers knew that dedication and hard work is required in order to reap the fruits of their efforts.
“Despite the challenges, our mentor was very friendly and motivated us to finish the course. We also felt lucky to have our school selected for this opportunity among others in the city. Therefore, we are thankful to FundLife and Mentors Without Borders for such an opportunity given to us and I hope that this will also be extended to other students.”, Dapfnie said.
As a way of FundLife to express our appreciation of the efforts and support extended by the school, a certificate was also given to San Jose National High School which was received by Mr. Ramil Magdua, the Senior High School Coordinator, who also gave the closing remarks to end the Recognition Activity.
In FundLife, we work with young people, creating incremental changes in their belief systems and providing development pathways through multi-stakeholders and youth-led approaches. These pathways lead to increased training, confidence, opportunity, which ultimately can help young people secure dignified and long-term employment.