KA Lite in Typhoon-Stricken Mangorocoro

This is a guest post by Daniel Hwang, who worked in the Philippines as a volunteer with International Care Ministries after the typhoon hit Mangorocoro. With limited resources and limited time, he set out to provide the children with educational resources they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to access. Here, Daniel describes his journey to the remote village of Mangorocoro, where he set up KA Lite for the local children and teachers to use.

Daniel’s Story

Mangorocoro was the first village I went to about a week after the Typhoon hit. I was with the NGO International Care Ministries, a few church (McLean Bible) members, a pair from Japan, and a man who, no joke, looked and sounded exactly like Michael Caine (he had been in the Philippines for 10+ years already). Mangorocoro was also the last place I stopped by as well — since it was a mini fishing village (Barangay) that we used to get to the other islands.

We did debris moving, water distribution, food distribution and preparation, and took names of those who were still around/alive and representing families. On one of my breaks, I talked to some of the kids who were watching all the work we were doing and asked for their personal stories. I couldn’t believe how they were all still able to smile and laugh despite having family members swept away or having had to tie themselves to trees, but I assumed they were distracted enough at seeing foreigners in their small fishing village.

I asked each of them their names and their interests. I met one kid, Charles, who was very shy but finally admitted that he liked math. I expected an answer like ‘swimming’ or ‘playing tag’ or ‘singing’ much like the other (more vocal) kids excitedly yelled out. But, maybe that’s why he was so shy (or embarrassed) about it. I knew a lot of the kids couldn’t afford to go to school, but I didn’t ask Charles in front of all his peers what specifically about math he liked because I didn’t want to embarrass him if he was one of the many kids who couldn’t afford to go to school — especially after he shyly admitted to liking something not as ‘cool’ as swimming or playing games. Regrettably, I left it at that and that was the last time I spoke to him, although I did manage to take a picture of him.

All throughout the ridiculously long plane ride back home, I couldn’t get that image of Charles out of my mind. Out of all that I had seen, that little kid who liked math kept bothering me. Of course it wasn’t fair for him to have been born into such a horrible situation, to have experienced such a traumatic event, or to not have the realistic possibility to study what he is interested in. I know I hadn’t spoken with him at length or in any intensely personal way, but it felt like I was leaving him alone back there to suffer with the consequences of an ill-fated, unrealistic desire for more. He had a hope that would likely not be fulfilled. I also felt guilty for what I stood for to him. Maybe he didn’t have the chance or understanding to internally rationalize why some people are born to drastically different lives than he is, but I understood all too well how my being there could hurt him.

When I was a student at Swarthmore, I involved myself in many projects in an economically depressed part of Chester, PA. I helped out with the juvenile youth courts, environmental justice projects, the local co-op, and the educational access and resource programs. Despite my good intentions, there was always that unfortunately common few who despised me for what I was trying to do. I brought along the burden, in their opinion, of privilege from my ivory tower of college. Although the general majority were grateful, I would be lying if I said the comments some made didn’t bother me. However, time and time again, an offer to help and show that I, as an external party, at least cared enough to work, was just the motivation some of the people I worked for needed to get going in a positive direction.

I know short-term and medium-term relief work is frowned upon by many. I know I could have donated the thousands of dollars the plane tickets, lodging, and food cost me. However, I also went on this trip for myself; I was seeking something to right myself with where I stood in the world.

The reason why I chose to set up a computer lab for the village with KA Lite was that I wanted to provide something that the kids, and other members of the village, could hold onto and use, as cliche as it sounds, the rest of their lives. I agree that the immediate needs of food, water, and shelter are primary priorities that I could have provided with the money I raised, but fortunately the NGO I worked with has been tirelessly and selflessly providing these. Many of the NGO workers I worked alongside sacrificed their immediate homes and family that had been hit by the typhoon to aid the harder hit areas like Mangorocoro. So, I decided to set up the lab and find some way to cram as much as I could onto computers so these kids, like Charles, could explore and study what they wanted!

I had been tutoring all throughout college and when I could fit it in while I was working in Washington D.C.; I think one of the most uplifting things about tutoring kids is when you can feel that palpable enthusiasm and hope some of the kids have when struggling through problems, school work, or test prep. As a part-time tutor, I can absolutely feel the hope that some kids have. It’s the hope that the kid has for understanding a concept and breaking through. The drive or motivation shows in the willingness to struggle to achieve. That’s what I wanted to provide the kids in Mangorocoro — for kids like Charles who had these interests, wishes, and weak, uncertain hopes. I wanted it to be ok to have an aspiration,a hope, or an interest in something like math.

KA Lite was a godsend in terms of all the materials that could be accessed and shared. I had honestly thought of many, albeit inefficient, ways to get material over there in digital form like getting permissions from texts and scanning etc, but KA Lite was the best way! Teachers and aspiring teachers have come into the computer center we built and taught homework for the kids who go to school and used it to teach the concepts further.

Currently, communication with the village is intermittent and completely unreliable, and there is no way to consistently be updated with the progress of KA Lite in the schools. However, both students and teachers alike are using KA Lite in order to better themselves, as this is an opportunity that most of them have never had before. KA Lite has had a lasting effect on this small town, Mangorocoro, and it will remain a visible and viable model of education for these eager students and teachers.

Originally published at learningequality.org.