Values education has always been a high priority for Better World. Whether creating children’s books or advocacy videos, Better World has sought to give meaningful lessons and insights to our audience, young and old.
Last year, Better World conducted a number of chastity talks with teen-agers from poor communities. The half-day sessions, which included games and activities to help reinforce the lesson, taught teens about love, sex and marriage, and the values of chastity and purity. The teenagers found the sessions to be eye-openers, while Better World volunteers were pleased to see how open and eager the teens were to listen and participate.
In June of last year, we held a session with the teens of Happyland community and surrounding areas, through the help of the Holy Trinity Parish Education Program. After the session, parish priest Father Luciano, met with us and requested our help to come up with a values education program for the youth in the area.
In response to that request, Better World came up with the Birtud! values education modules. In October, we conducted a seminar with volunteers on how to teach values education and how to use the Birtud! curriculum. After that, the first volunteer began teaching students from Holy Trinity’s Alternative Learning System Center. ALS students are out-of-school youths who are being taught academics a few days a week in preparation for their high school equivalency exam. Since the end of last year, these students have also been receiving values education lessons, based on the Birtud! curriculum.
The students have responded well to the program and Holy Trinity hopes to expand the project to reach more
and more young people in its various barangays.
Better World’s Birtud! curriculum has both teens’ and kids’ versions. All the lessons are specifically designed for Filipino children and teens, taking into consideration language, culture and values-learning style. Each lesson has both discussions and interesting activities that keep the students engaged and make learning fun and enjoyable. Aside from learning values, the students are also building their confidence and exercising skills in critical thinking, creative and visual arts, writing and communication, and much more. 
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