The Evolution of EduCare

During the period from 2008 to 2016 the EduCare Program has been offered to 46 rural schools in Bali.

Initially, EduCare was designed with the primary goal of giving elementary school children an opportunity to immerse themselves in a fun learning experience. The Program was held in the schools either on Saturdays or Sundays and provided an opportunity where our One Year scholarship students can pay-forward, extending the kindness they experienced to others. Later on, we also involved volunteers from universities, especially the teacher candidates, to give them a  chance to experience a different kind of teaching; facilitating. Much later, we included the teachers, providing training and experience necessary to continue using EduCare methods in their daily activity.

With a solid team in place to run the program the demand was very high, sometimes a waiting list of 20 schools as teachers saw very significant and positive impacts with students who received EduCare Program. The measure was based on the level of self-confident, happiness, engagement, and their attendance. While the result with students fulfilled our intention, the number of teachers willing to participate personally was low.

As Karuna Bali was aiming for each school to have ongoing commitment to the program, teachers’ participation in the Living Values Workshop and EduCare program was intrinsic for sustainability. Despite teachers’ expressed strong desire in participating, their assigned administrative tasks on top of normal teaching responsibilities left little time to learn and develop new skills, and this, became a big challenge.

In 2016 we trailed a new focus for EduCare, providing all the teachers in an Elementary School a weekly Living Values Workshop demonstrating facilitation skills for values based activities to use immediately in their class rooms. The year-long Teacher Training Program was designed for one year with the aim to ensure awareness and skills to create the environment of the Values Based School of their dreams.

One school in particular in Bangli district was so excited about the Program the staff agreed to adopt EduCare as a pilot project. The workshop was carried out in the school each Saturday until early this year an unexpected change of policy by the government was implemented making it impossible to continue.  This has resulted in Teacher Training being put on hold.  Notwithstanding this particular setback our Living Values Program for teachers is still in place, see below.  

Our own One Year Leadership students at Campuhan College requested a continuity of their paying forward concept inspiring EduCare to move to a new level and Let’s Talk was born, mentored by the alumnae and the student’s teachers.

Let’s Talk - a fun project

While previously EduCare carried out the program in the schools now “Let’s Talk” is offered annually in villages and sub-villages, directly interfacing the community. The first “Let’s Talk” commenced in an villages community hall at the behest of the local village chief, being held  each Sunday for three months from February – March 2017 with astonishing number of participants and warm welcome from the villagers, who have now requested for the program to be continued.

Maintaining our faith in school teachers

Recognising the need we continue to assist teachers through, “Campuhan Life Long Learning” (CL3) which encompasses a series of three primary workshops; Living Values training, Opening to Self Compassion, Leadership From Within – A Journey to Sustainable Changes at the Open Heart of Karuna Bali.

To the circle of Friends of Karuna Bali, thank you for all the years of your tremendous support towards the EduCare program, we would like to invite you to continue to do so by supporting teachers to attend these workshops.  Please go to sponsorship option for more information.

Recognising all circumstances come to serve our growth and growth of others we are so curious what is awaiting ahead. All of us here at Karuna Bali know that by simply holding the Vision and Intention and be the one that we are longing for, everything will fall naturally into place, just as it always has.

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