Through the Eyes of a Haraya Partner: Sibol and Children’s Paradise Montessori School

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche 

For Jackie and a number of Haraya’s partners, helping others gain confidence, self-purpose, and empathy among others are just some of the things they love doing as life coaches. 

Haraya has always been committed to helping others reach their fullest potential through coaching and the partners (coaches) are no stranger to that. Having a community development initiative has always been on the books for them and by asking themselves the question: “Who is it that we want to help?” it was no surprise that they took that same model and helped bring it to life in the education space as it was where they would bring the most value. 

And that was how Sibol was born. Much like its name, meaning “growth” in Filipino, once you plant a seed it will grow into a sprout until it is firmly rooted. That is what Haraya’s Sibol initiative aims to do. With the right coaching, they can help bring change in education by helping students figure out their “why’s” as well as their dreams for the future. 

Sibol: From humble beginnings 

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world by storm, Sibol was already an idea that the partners and coaches had as a tool to help and contribute in the education sector. The plan was initially catered to the students, more specifically teens from high school all the way to college, and to provide them with life skills, confidence, purpose building, and empathy building. This was to be done live in the classroom and have the workshop coaches come. 

Fast forward to today – in the midst of the pandemic – a lot of industries had to pivot to navigate its way through it and Sibol was no exception to this. With the challenge of going about things online, Jackie and the partner coaches also empathized with the challenges the teachers were facing. They realized this was an opportunity to help give the teachers the skills to contribute to a more positive and better experience to the students. Sibol was that solution aimed to empower teachers with its current partnership with some educational institutions and select schools. 

The program is focused on three specific modules for now, namely: empathy and emotional intelligence (EQ), creating a purpose, and self-care. These modules would run for 90 minutes, done online where there would be follow through coaching with the teachers in between the sessions where they can better apply their learnings to real life. 

One school’s purpose

Children’s Paradise Montessori School (CPMS) was one of the schools fortunate enough to have experienced Sibol firsthand. The owner of the school was excited about the idea of the program as she wanted to create a good environment for her school that was high on compassion and empathy. She wanted, not just the teachers, but also the staff to embody this culture that she had envisioned. 

It was more than just having the skills or the right tools, but the mindset and heartset that will touch the students with each interaction. It was not just about teaching and imparting knowledge, but also about caring and nurturing them and becoming a part of the student’s journey. 

For Jackie this is where the real value of Sibol lies: that they can help create a positive value in school that will affect the experience the students have with their teachers; and what the teachers learn will seep down to their students as a good example. Jackie recalls a story at Children’s Paradise where they were talking about their purpose as teachers. When the teachers were reading their purpose statements, they really went beyond themselves with passion about why they wanted to teach in the first place. It’s this same passion that they envision Sibol will bring to each teacher and student alike. 

A vision for tomorrow 

When asked about the kind of vision Jackie has for Sibol, she says that getting the same kind of partnership with CPMS was something she wished could be applied to as many schools in the Philippines. To go further and be partnered or endorsed by educational institutions will be a great deal of help in furthering the impact of Sibol. A “Ka-Haraya” in every school in the country including public schools and making coaching available at that level will be a great deal of help moving forward most especially as teachers have such an important touchpoint in every student’s life. 

Coaching at its heart is about inspiring people to reach their fullest potential and that is what Haraya aims to do with every session and every project. With Haraya, we believe you can. Learn more about what Haraya does in our website.