In The News

Thursday February 23 , 2012

In The News

Since the summer of 2005, SEALNet's work has been featured in various local and international media.

English ( 12 Articles )
Vietnamese ( 3 Articles )

Thai ( 3 Articles )
Korean ( 1 Articles )

English

Putting a human face to migrant workers Photo exhibition by students tells stories of workers here The Straits Times (Singapore), Eisen Teo Project Singapore 2011 Read More	10 Sep 2011
SJHS grad taking service across Pacific The Santa Maria Times, Brian Bullock Project Philippines 2010 Read More	22 Jul 2010
Pilipinos rally for victims of typhoon The Stanford Daily Read More	30 Sep 2009
UP High Students Cited for Award Cebu Daily (Philippines) Read More	21 Dec 2008
UP High School group receive TAYO awards CEBU – A group of students from the University of the Philippines Cebu High School recently topped the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) award for their organization’s accomplishment on a recent project that made an impact in the community. The South East Asian Service Leadership Network Entrepreneurs Club (Seal.Net) of UP Cebu High School was awarded for their project “Gubat Batok Bitok”, a drive against gastrointestinal worm infection for pupils of the Alaska Mambaling Elementary School (AMES) in barangay Mambaling, Cebu City. The Gubat Batok Bitok project was the winning entry presented by Seal.Net former president Patrick Pata last December 13 in Manila. The project was launched on June 28, 2007 after two weeks of preparation by the students and the members of Seal.Net United States. Members from US and UPHS went to AMES for a one-day activity of fun and information drives. Students together with their mentors from Seal.Net US taught AMES pupils from Grades 1 to 6 how to prevent gastrointestinal worm infection, initiated games to entertain the kids and gave out freebies like t-shirts, paper fans, calendars and coloring books designed with informative graphics like the four steps to prevent worm infection. These four steps are washing of hands, wearing of shoes and slippers, cutting of nails and intake of deworming pills. Pata said that what they did was a supplement to the initiative of the City Health Department that was also doing its deworming of kids from different barangays in the city at the time. Pata said if these children will not learn how to prevent the infection after deworming they might still get infected and the cycle will go on. Being worm-free is very important because a child with worm infection cannot concentrate in class and is frequently absent due to stomach pains, Pata said. Seal.Net chose barangay Mambaling because according to the National Health Institute survey last year Mambaling had the most number of children infected with gastrointestinal worms. Pata said nine out of 10 kids nurture parasites in their intestines. On December of the same year, Seal.Net painted a mural on a wall near the school gate. Pata said it was to always remind them of the things they should do to keep themselves healthy and worm-free. AMES has already installed a hand-washing area near the mural to encourage students to get into the habit of washing their hands. The city health has also assigned a school nurse to AMES to monitor the health of the students. Pata reported that according to the recent survey this year, Mambaling has now only the sixth most worm-infected child populace, barangay Sawang Calero ranks first this year. Pata said that as they continue their project, they will go to other barangays and partner with the various Sangguniang Kabataan councils to extend their community service. The Seal.Net of UPHS was founded last June 2007 when a group of 17 Seal.Net members from US came to Cebu and chose a school where they could partner with 17 students. The Gubat Batok Bitok was their first project and the group is hoping to create more projects to give back to the community. Pata said that if not for the taxes from the people, they might not be enjoying the quality education with free tuition fee for four years in UPHS. “We might not be able to pay them back in cash, but we are trying to pay them through community service and our efforts in nation building,” Pata said. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/BRP (THE FREEMAN) The Freeman - Project Philippines 2008 Read More	21 Dec 2008
A "Plastic" Reputation Sabah Can Do Without New Straits Times - Project Malaysia 2008 Read More	09 Jun 2008
Shell, SJA Join Forces To Support Environmental Leadership Programme Bernama News - Project Malaysia 2008 Read More	29 May 2008
Joining the Colors of Youth Straits Times Singapore Read More	07 Aug 2007
Youth in Region Finds Special Ways to Bond Straits Times Singapore Read More	07 Aug 2007
Foreigners help raise awareness on health The Sun Star - Project Philippines 2007 REPORTS that nine out of 10 Alaska Elementary School pupils have intestinal worms shocked Stanford University students Ryan Torres and Art Thiti Tosborvorn. Both based in Thailand, Torres, 19, and Tosborvorn, 20, got so concerned about the issue that they decided to come to Cebu City to help cure and educate the children of Sitio Alaska in Barangay Mambaling. Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage Instead of spending their vacation with friends and families in their countries, 17 students and young professionals from the Southeast Asian Service Leadership Network (SEALNet) opted to launch their Wormbusters Project in Cebu. The project is being implemented by volunteers from Australia, the United States, South Africa, Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and Switzerland. Torres, co-leader of SEALNet Project Philippines 2007, said they chose Cebu City as their project site because of its problem with children infected with intestinal worms. Highest incidence Alaska Elementary School was specifically chosen because it has the highest incidence of intestinal worms among children, according to the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH). "I was really shocked by the figures from UP. I could not believe that seven out of 10 students in Cebu City have worms and in this community, nine out of 10. This is a concern that SEALNet wants to give attention to because it's a grassroots issue, one of those things that pull children back from a good education," Torres told Sun.Star Cebu. At the Alaska Elementary School yesterday morning, SEALNet volunteers from eight countries trained the students on how to win the War on Worms, a project of the UP-NIH and the City Government. Through games, activity books, storytelling and colorful posters, they reminded the children to regularly wash their hands, cut their nails, wear their shoes and take deworming tablets. "The City Government has the medicines but there doesn't seem to be enough means to raise awareness... The children have to practice the four steps because a lot of them are getting sick, they miss school or when they are in school, their performance level goes down," said Tosborvorn, co-leader of the project. For their part, teachers have included proper sanitation in their subjects so children can learn how to avoid getting infected with intestinal worms and other illnesses. Community But the schools can only do so much, said Dr. Josephine Valencia, medical officer of the Cebu City Schools Division. "If we must control intestinal worm infection, we should start in the community, in the children's homes. There should be one toilet per household and one in every classroom. We can train the students here but the community should also be aware," she said yesterday. So their activity will not be a one-shot deal, SEALNet has trained volunteers from UP High School in Cebu who can follow up on their campaign to promote the War on Worms project. They will also submit a report on their activities to UP-NIH, which they hope will be used by other NGOs advocating the health of children. Founded in Stanford University in California in 2004, SEALNet is a non-government organization and community of professionals and students who are interested in Southeast Asian issuesThe Sun Star - Project Philippines 2007 Read More	28 Jun 2007
Young Changemakers Serving and Leading for Southeast Asia Read More	04 Jun 2007
SEALNet to promote service spirit The Stanford Daily Read More	25 Apr 2007

Vietnamese

Các bạn trẻ VN trong Mạng lưới Lãnh đạo và Phục vụ Đông Nam Á Voice of America Tiếng Việt - Project Vietnam 2010 Read More	30 Mar 2010
Ngôn Ngữ Của Tình Bạn Đà Nẵng City News - Project Vietnam 2006 Read More	30 Jun 2006
Gần 100 Sinh Viên Quốc Tế Tham Gia Mùa Hè Xanh Saigon News - Project Vietnam 2005 Read More	04 Jun 2005

Thai

Get to Know SEALNet- An Organization That Builds Future Leaders Manager Daily Read More	20 Oct 2008
DTAC joins SEALNet to enhance life quality Manager Daily - Project Thailand 2008 Read More	03 Oct 2008
SEALNet Brings Improved Sanitation to Buriram Campus Manager Online - Project Thailand 2008 Read More	23 Sep 2008

Korean

글로벌 ‘WE 세대’가 뜬다

해외 봉사 세계시민-국제기구 활약 꿈꾸며 제3세계로 떠나는 젊은이들 늘어
Newsweek Korea, (Click for Partial Translation)

Read More

16 Jul 2008