My first TIESEA field mission

I've had a few questions about what I actually do as the Team Lead for TIESEA, and I think the best description was provided by Deborah - I do everything the other consultants don’t want to do! And I'm still working out exactly what that is.

But I do get to travel to the countries where the interventions are happening, and this trip was for monitoring and evaluation and to attend the equipment handover ceremony – more detail on that below.

For more detail on the TIESEA project go to the website: www.tiesea.org

My first trip to the Philippines – ever!

My first stop was Manila, where I met the amazing Dr Deborah Wyburn and had the pleasure of learning about her passion for rescue dogs - she runs a dog rescue sanctuary in Sri Lanka - and all things International Development Consultancy. After spending two decades at Microsoft, I have quite a lot to learn about life on the outside.

After plying Deborah for detail, we made our way to Tacloban, a city in the Eastern Visayas region, where I met another two members of the TIESEA team. Dr Tim Denny and Ms. Zenida Domingo.

First Stop – the City of Tacloban

The following morning, we met the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) team and started the journey to Balangiga. A two-hour trip full of interesting conversation and wonderful sights. Although Tim slept most of the way and didn't get much of either.

Below are a couple of the tourist attractions that we passed.

M/V Eva Jocelyn

On the way we saw the M/V Eva Jocelyn, one of eight ships that were washed ashore at Anibong District in Tacloban City during Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013. The typhoon was one of the strongest storms in history, killing more than 6,000 people and displacing millions more. Yolanda Shrine - Wikipedia

San Juanico Bridge

What an amazing bridge. It stretches from Samar to Leyte across the San Uanico Strait. The bridge is 2.16km long and is the second longest bridge in the Philippines. San Juanico Bridge - Wikipedia

Balangiga Bells

As we arrived in Balangiga we passed Balangiga Bells – three church bells that were taken by the US Army from the Church of San Lorenzo de Martir as war trophies after reprisals following the Battle of Balangiga in 1901 during the Philippine-American War. The bells were returned to the Philippines on December 11, 2018, after 117 years. Balangiga bells – Wikipedia

Balangiga National Agricultural School Team (BNAS)

We arrived at Balangiga National Agricultural School to a very friendly welcome, where the team started the evaluation and monitoring visit.

What is the intervention at BANAS?

The objective of the intervention is to look at different ways to deliver courses in regions where internet connectivity is weak or non-existent. At BANAS the intervention is using the TESDA mobile app (TOP), tablet devices and a Raspberry Pi device. More detail here: Reports - TIESEA

Observation and Focus Group Discussions (FGD)

The TIESEA team spent time in the classroom observing the trainees and then conducted focus group discussions.

The trainees were using tablets to access learning and the students reported a positive experience as the tablets allowed them to access the course modules offline if they were in an area with no internet access.

One student talked about using the skills he had learnt to install a solar panel at his house!

Back to Tacloban

We made our way back to Tacloban (Tim and Deborah slept on the way back - clearly a skill I need to develop) and the next morning we set off to Pili Regional Training Centre where the Equipment Handover Ceremony was being held.

Pili

We arrived at Naga Airport and were met by the amazing Pili Regional Training Centre team who delivered us safely to our accommodation to get ready for the turnover ceremony the next day.

The Turnover Ceremony

The ceremony was held in person at Pili RTC and staff and trainees from the other three pilot intervention sites joined the ceremony by Zoom.?

At the completion of the ceremony the Administrator of Pili Regional Training Centre took us on a tour of the center and then we conducted our monitoring and evaluation focus group discussions.

The Trainees’ Engagement

The trainees were super engaged, and I loved meeting them. They all agreed that the tablets were the best choice of device for completing the PV course modules.?RTC Pili provide most of its courses in a blended modality and the students appreciated this modality.?

The Amazing Raquel (and that is Tim in the background)

Whilst in Pili I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Raquel. Raquel was the Administrator at RTC Pili and is now working at the TESDA Regional Office in Legazpi – we were very lucky to have Raquel at the ceremony as she has been busy working with the evacuees from the surrounding area due to the volcanic activity at Mayon. Raquel has been supporting people at the centres to do TESDA courses and training – just amazing!

After I finished in the Philippines, I had a quick visit to Vietnam that I’ll include at another time and then I was back on the plane to New Zealand.

A Huge Thank You

I would like to say a huge thank you to the team from everyone who supported the trip, including:?

? Ms. Redilyn C. Agub, Division Chief for NITESD/eTESDA,?

? Ms Zenaida Domingo, TIESEA Philippines Focal Point,?

? Dr Deborah Wyburn, M+E Expert TIESEA?

? Dr Tim Denny, Technical Expert TIESEA

? All the crew from the eTESDA team

? The TESDA regional staff and trainers

? And of course, the AMAZING trainees I met over the course of the week.

If you want to learn more about TIESEA, please visit our website or reach out to me directly through LinkedIn.

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