A nine-member delegation from Bhutan’s Ministry of Education visited the Tan Yan Kee Foundation, Inc. (TYKFI) farm compound in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija on September 4, 2018 for an interchange on best practices and experiences taken from the Foundation’s programs particularly on early childhood care and development.
The delegates previously came from a dialogue held in Metro Manila with their counterparts in the Early Childhood Care and Development Council (ECCD).
The nine delegates were headed by Sherab Phuntshok, chief program officer of the Ministry of Education, together with his program officers from the districts of Mongar, Jongkhar, Pemagatshel, Trongsa, Lhuentse, and Wangdue. They were joined by Ms. Andrea See, representative of the Asia Pacific Regional Network on Early Childhood (ARNEC) in Singapore.
All the guests shared on the nature of their work and responsibilities as education officers in their country. They also shared some facts on their country and culture, i.e., Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy and is located in the Eastern Himalayas. TYKFI officers, led by Foundation Head Philip Sing, were able to share some of the Foundation’s best practices concerning environmental, social, and governance issues.
TYKFI officers shared about the Foundation’s quality education advocacy which includes scholarship projects with partner universities and schools, medical specialty training, and law scholarships. Its collaboration with the ECCD Council involves child development worker training as well as a concerted effort with the ECCD and local government units to bring quality education into reality for marginalized children aged 0-4 years old. Together, TYKFI and the stakeholders are motivated by the belief that the marginalized children are not a case of social welfare but are a magnificent promise and each a miraculous phenomenon. It is the aim of the Foundation and the stakeholders to see this come to fruition in the young ones’ lives as they grow up to become accomplished lifelong learners.
In addition, the two pronged goals of environmental and social sustainability can be seen in TYKFI’s community focus in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, where a challenging reforestation and biodiversity preservation project has been underway since its inception in 2014.
The Bhutanese delegation commended the Foundation on having a “holistic” approach to its projects. On September 5, 2018, TYKFI officers joined the delegation on a courtesy call at the Office of Aritao Mayor Lucita Tan in Nueva Vizcaya to share experiences in implementing the ECCD program at the local government level.
The delegates also visited a National Child Development Center more commonly known as Bulilit Center, which is a joint project of the ECCD Council and the LGUs to provide a ground level or convergence center for the implementation of ECCD activities, in Barangay Beti, Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya, where the center’s day care worker was previously trained through TYKFI’s collaboration with the ECCD council.
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