Park Road Church Blog

WELLOFLIFE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INC.

CHE "Community Health

Education"

Ministry Overview

CHE Home Visitations

Visitations are done regularly to the same families in target

areas, evangelism and follow-up visits to families facilitates

discipleship and lasting change. The CHE's (community

health educators) network with existing agencies to inform

families what services are available to them, where to go to

avail of services and the requirements of eligibility. CHE's

visit families with problems and counsel them; teach

physical and spiritual topics, using picture books; teach

disease prevention and home remedies; offer healthy home

awards as incentive to make homes a safe and healthy

environment for all who live and play there; teach how to

build faith gardens; recommend small home improvement

projects needed to the committee for possible seed

projects. Real needs and felt needs are identified through

baseline surveys.

CHEPS - CHE Perinatal Support

The CHEPS program was created to address the high maternal/infant morbidity and mortality rates in developing countries. A CHEPS is a CHE who has been trained in prenatal care and support. She (or he) will be able to meet regularly with pregnant women in their homes for the purpose of physical, emotional and spiritual preparation in prenatal care, childbirth and infant care. The goal is to affect women and their families to make behavioral changes that will benefit the pregnancy both physically and spiritually. The subjects addressed are related to the prevention of pregnancy and infant complications. CHEPS are the answer to the need.

 

PAD - Participatory Agriculture Development

PAD is small scale agricultural research by a small group (4-6) local farmers who apply what they have learned followed by the transfer of their newfound knowledge to their neighbors and then to nearby villages. The community is trained in organic farming methods through a 12 week farmers class. The training is taught in theory and hands on, the people participate in the learning. The Bible is taught through farming. Low cost/high quality organic fertilizers, composting and foliar spray production using common waste products, Square Foot & FAITH gardening methods are taught.

 

Children's CHE Program

It is critically important that we reach children for Christ. They can become strong disciples, and what we teach them now is an investment in future generations. Children can be used to educate other children as well as having some influence on their family. They should be part of improving the health of the community. Primary school students are a good resource for helping to teach physical and spiritual truth. The children meet once a week to learn physical and spiritual topics, do baseline surveys, seed projects and other activities.

Livelihoods and Micro Enterprise Training

WELLOFLIFE volunteers are currently learning a variety of livelihood projects which will be taught to community members. They currently can teach gardening, soap making, pressed flower greeting cards, snack foods and looking for more ideas. Many of the very poor desire to begin very small micro-businesses (microenterprises) to help provide the very basic needs of their families. Many of the poor have some skills or a business idea, but lack the encouragement, business training and startup funding necessary to get a start and succeed. The ME course contains 27 (one hour) lessons covering basic business and moral value topics. These lessons are used to communicate to both the ME trainers and the potential Microentrepreneurs the essentials of running a business. The ME course lessons are designed to help the poor decide if starting a microenterprise is best for them.

 

Growth Group - 53-Week Bible Study of the Book of Acts

A Growth Group is a group of believers who meet regularly for fellowship, vision, Bible study, prayer, physical and spiritual training and service. The expectation is that members become mature Christians and multiplying disciples who will help reach a target area for Christ. Individual members are expected to start their own Growth Group from those that they have led to Christ and individually followed up. Growth Groups dissolve at the end of the 53-week study, and participants form new groups.

Eye Screening

WELLOFLIFE has formed a partnership with Dr. Bernard Al-Ag O.D. from "Davao Jubilee Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled, Inc.", who taught us how to screen eyes in the community using a Snellen eye chart. He holds his clinic at St. Johns Hospital, we refer him patients with eye sight of 20/100 or poorer. The poor patients can then avail of free cataract or other eye surgery needed. We have an agreement to give free reading glasses to the poor, we pay 50 pesos and Dr. Al-Ag pays the other 50 pesos. If we can help people to see they can read their Bibles!

Adult and Children Literacy Training

Cito Casquite from an NGO "Literacy Evangelism International" conducted a two day workshop for our volunteers teaching us how to train children and adults how to become literate. Why train people to teach literacy? 1 out of 5 adults in the world today is pre-literate (unable to read, write, count and comprehend; and 750 million children don't have access to primary education. One of them could be our neighbor or relative and we can help these helpless ones! We will to start literacy clubs in communities that need them most, and also teach individuals one-on-one. We plan to also offer ESL "English as a Second Language" in the future.

 

CHE Training, Workshops and Seminars

Workshops are regularly conducted for training teams and community members. Seminars on medicinal herbs, child evangelism and soap making have been conducted. Training workshops like TOT1,2 & 3, Awareness meetings, Visioning Seminars, CHE's training, Servant Leadership, Micro Enterprising, Farmers classes, pregnancy and new mother's classes, Bible studies, committee training, parenting, business and NGO development etc. are being conducted.

 

Organic School Garden/Park

The project known as "Tanaman sa Kinabuhi" (Garden of Life), consists of the construction of an organic school garden/park, with greenhouse, high value fruit and vegetable crops, vermiculture cultivation, organic fertilizer and livestock feeds processing, flowers, park benches, fence around garden area, fish ponds, livestock such as goats, rabbits, chickens, herbs, mushroom cultivation, and other projects the Department of Agriculture and DepEd agrees will benefit the educational experience of the students. San Miguel Elementary School is located in our pilot area, the principal is allowing us to use the 1 hectare of land on the school property. This is a 10 year project, cooking and vegetable preparation will be included. Students can learn all subjects through gardening like math, science, history, geography etc. The project will be made possible and recognized by the Department of Education Philippines through the "Adopt-A-School Program" instituted by Philippine Law.

 

Seed Projects

Seed Projects are very small scale low cost projects that are carried out by the local church and completed in one or two days that demonstrate God’s love to the people of the community. Seed projects involve community members so ownership takes place and team work through the spirit of volunteering is achieved. Projects are usually done with local resources. Examples are a garbage clean up, or a community seminar on nutrition. A seed project is not painting a room in the church.

Multi-function Training Center

The multi-function training center is located on the same compound as the WELLOFLIFE office. The center is still needing to be set up with furniture, computers, materials, resources, supplies and equipment as it's currently an empty house. There are 3 bedrooms a living room, kitchen and bathroom. We plan to turn one room into a small clinic, another room into a resource center with computers to cater to school students for study purposes; to teach out of school youth and adults computer and job skills; and serve as an office for volunteers. The living room will be set up for a small lecture hall for conducting our trainings, seminars and workshops. The bedroom upstairs will be a housing facility for interns, staff, volunteers, or guests. We plan to purchase an oven and freezer for the kitchen to do fund raisers by producing goods for bake sales like breads, cookies, cakes, healthy ice creams and ice candy made from our organically grown fruits and vegetables. This center will also serve as a health and nutrition post for the community.

 

"I AM sought of them that asked not for Me; I AM found of them that sought Me not; I said, Behold Me, unto a nation that was not called by My Name. I have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts"

Isaiah 65:1-2

"GOD be merciful to us; and cause His face to be upon us; Selah."

Psalms 67:1

"Where there is no vision, the people perish"

Proverbs 29:18a