News | 10th Global Peace Youth Exchange

10th Global Peace Youth Exchange

GPYE is a leadership development course of the Global Peace Foundation and Global Peace Youth that provides multiple opportunities for young aspiring leaders to strengthen and discover inherent qualities within them through learning service and cultural exchange.

The program engages both local and international participants in a service project for a community with specific need; a homestay experience at a rural village; school immersion with elementary students and environmental activities.

Following Global Peace Youth’s educational methodology, Global Peace Youth Exchange combines the experiential with the cognitive learning aspect.

The 10th Global Peace Youth Exchange was held in an indigenous peoples community in Cagayan and Tarlac province in the Philippines with participants from USA, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and the Philippines with the theme Enhancing Youth’s Global Citizenship through cultural exchange and service.

Global Peace Foundation Philippines' Ann Montejo (GlobALS program director) and Leonard Faustino (Global Peace Youth president), together with Yejin Bae (Global Peace Youth Asia-Pacific coordinator) conducted a Participants Orientation for the 10th Global Peace Youth Exchange at Cagayan State University in Sanchez Mira.

The Participants Orientation then started with an introduction to GPF by Ann Montejo, a talk on the Agta community in Sitio Pureg by Sister Pat, and an introduction to GPY and a run-through of the 3-day project by Leonard Faustino. Yejin Bae also gave a short message to the participants.

International Delegates Orientation was held at NEAP, DepEd Regional Office in Tuguegarao. Dr. Macrino Raymundo, OIC Chief of Human Resource Development Division gave the welcoming remarks in behalf of Regional Director Dr. Lorna Dino. His remarks were followed by a talk on Indigenous Peoples Education by Dr. Emelynne Agcaoili, Education Program Supervisor.

From NEAP, DepEd Regional Office, the Global Peace Youth Exchange (GPYE) team set off to Alcala, Cagayan at 6:30AM for a courtesy call to the Governor of Cagayan, Hon. Alvaro Antonio. Welcomed at his residence, the Governor met with the team and offered breakfast.

At 8AM, the team departed to Sanchez Mira for the Opening Program at Cagayan State University (CSU). There, the international delegates met their local counterparts for the first time.

GlobALS Program Director Ann Montejo hosted the program. Dr. Allan Dela Cruz, Coordinator of Student Affairs and Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at CSU, gave the welcoming remarks. Then Joy Remigio, All-Lights Village Program Director, shared the background on the partnerships between GPF, DepEd, LGU of Sanchez Mira, and CSU which led to the 10th GPYE. Leonard Faustino, GPY President, then gave an introduction to GPYE.

Inspirational messages were given by Sanchez Mira Mayor Asela Sacramed and Mr. Ricarte Makabunga, CSU Administrative Officer (reading the message of CEO Dr. Froilan Pacris Jr. of CSU).

Afterward, three international delegates gave talks on the vision of One Family under God, GPF core values, and their experiences in the Philippines: Nyamka Dork (Mongolia), Harashi Sano (USA), and Homare Kato (Japan).

CSU volunteers then presented a dance and the international delegates sang Korean and American songs.

Then the Brotherhood-Sisterhood Ceremony followed. This ceremony builds bonds of friendship between international and local volunteers leading to ties between their families and countries.
Call-to-Action messages were then delivered by Saturnino Perdido III (CSU campus leader) and Ho-On Yoshida (USA youth leader).

The opening ceremony concluded with the singing of GPF's theme song, "One Family Under God", where everyone held hands while singing.

After the Opening Ceremony the team set off to Sitio Pureg in Barangay Callungan. The team was warmly welcomed by the entire Agta community.

A few Agta pupils presented a dance and a song. Mayor Sacramed introduced the GPYE volunteers and the service that they will render to the community. The paired GPYE volunteers were then introduced to their foster families and were brought to their foster homes.

After visitation, they started to work on the construction of the Community Learning Center (CLC).

Construction was underway, through the municipal engineer's office, but had to stop due to poor weather. The youth volunteers dug and dumped soil to even out the building's flooring. Despite the light rain and cold weather, the volunteers worked joyfully.

At 7:30 in the morning, the volunteers are already up in Sitio Pureg. Earlier they were organized into smaller teams: one construction team and two character education teams. Although eager to make substantial progress, construction work was discontinued due to the rain. The volunteers then focused on character education and teaching basic hygiene to the pupils of Pureg Elementary School.

The solar generator set was then brought to Pureg and immediately set up for the Turnover.
The Turnover Program started at 3PM. Holy Spirit Sis. Florita Tapucol opened with a prayer, followed by the singing of the Philippine national anthem led by Jonalyn Baguio, Pureg school teacher. Barangay Kagawad Winniefred Guira gave the welcoming remarks.

Then the character education teams presented a song -- they learned to sing "Country Roads" -- and the top three drawings representing the dreams of the pupils were awarded Korean bracelets.
The international and local volunteers were presented to the guests from the Department of Education in Cagayan. Tom Yoo (Korea) spoke in behalf of the international team and Mary Grace Rapanut (CSU) spoke for the local team. The international team then sang a Korean song about determination while the CSU students sang their university hymn.

Afterwards messages were delivered by Sanchez Mira Mayor Asela Sacramed; Assistant Schools Division Superintendent of DepEd Cagayan, Dr. Jess Maggay; and Assistant Regional Director, Atty. Sebastian Tayaban. They thanked Global Peace Foundation and the Global Peace Youth Exchange while encouraging the pupils, teachers and parents of Pureg to take responsibility of the blessings they received by striving hard in their education.

Acceptance speeches were also given by Pureg Elementary School Teacher-In-Charge Napoleon Quina and by Pureg Chieftain Elpidio Tiene.

The Turnover of Donations then followed. From the international team: the solar generator set, the Community Learning Center, hygiene materials, and books. From the CSU team, school supplies, which they raised through a school drive.

To demonstrate the use of the solar genset, a video of the launching on August 8th was shown, to the delight of everyone and much excitement from the children.

Through the Global Peace Youth Exchange, Global Peace Foundation Philippines welcomes the birth of GLOBAL PEACE YOUTH PHILIPPINES - CAGAYAN STATE UNIVERSITY CHAPTER.

REFLECTION

" When meeting the IP community at Sitio Pureg, I expected a very different world that would be completely alien from us. Instead, I was presented with a very different atmosphere. The Agta community welcomed us with warm feelings and my homestay family was no different than any kind of family that would greet guests in any part of the world. They were kind, the parents were just like any other parents in any other culture. Children played and laughed like any other children. The parents wanted to make us feel at home and talked about their children with pride and joy" -Yoshitaka Goto (University of Washington)

"…with the light of hope brought by you friends from different countries, with this, it only shows that even though we came from different races, cultures, and beliefs, still, we are uniting for one common goal." – Sonny Padua (Cagayan State University)