Article in the Kindersley Clarion

Following is an article as it appears in the local newspaper where I am from. Thanks for the great article Wayne (WAYNE GIBSON of The Press Review).

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An Eston graduate is using his knowledge of numbers to help out-of-school
youth halfway around the world.
David Wicks departed for Davao, Philippines in mid-September and has been
enjoying his new role as an inner-city math teacher so much he plans to
upgrade his stay from six months to maybe two years. Wicks is working with
Hope for the Nations, an international organization that focuses on
community development and areas of the world where poverty is severely
impacting children.
In Davao, he tutors youth at the Hope Education Centre where they can
complete their high school equivalency exams. Many of the children have been
abandoned, from as early as pre-school age and are recruited from the
streets or a nearby orphanage. Without family and financial support, they
would not receive schooling of any kind otherwise. The centre is neither an
official public or private school, however, as the legalities for both are
too complex, Wicks said.
Davao is located on the island of Mindanao. Hope for the Nations also
provides primary health care, leadership training, and shelter for abandoned
kids and orphans.
Since arriving in September, Wicks has also become an administrator,
improving the centre's website, hoping to enhance promotion of a sponsorship
program, and participating in other activities like Bible studies. Through
the sponsorship program, older students can be financed to attend university
for far less money than what western post-secondary students are accustomed
to paying.
Wicks, the son of former Eston Full Gospel Church pastor Dave Wicks and his
wife Pat, graduated Eston Composite School in 1995. After two years of
attending Bible college, he went on to complete an honours degree in
biochemistry and chemistry from Simon Fraser University.
But he always felt a pulling toward some kind of missions work, and found
the avenue to do so after meeting a pair of Hope for the Nations directors.
"I used to live with the program directors that are here now when they
lived in North Vancouver. I wanted to go and do missions somewhere, and I
figured that since I already knew them and had a contact here, that it would
just make sense to just come here," he said in a recent email.
Wicks' father, Pastor Dave Wicks said it is an adjustment to have his son
so far away, but those feelings are soothed by knowing how much the younger
Wicks is enjoying himself.
"It's been a huge turning point in his life," he said.
Wicks provides regular updates on his daily life in an online blog he
created (www.dawicks.blogspot.com). Recent entries describe how his first
two months have already brought about positive personal growth.
"I am learning a lot about myself, I guess - seeing some gifting that I
thought I never had, and seeing some of the areas of my life that still need
work. The most rewarding is seeing a smile on the kids' faces when they see
you because you have touched their lives somehow or have made a difference."
Many of the youth that frequent the education centre have difficult
circumstances to deal with outside of the classroom. Wicks was light on
specifics, but said troubled youth who opt for stealing and other small
crimes to survive are dealt with very harshly.
Despite this, and the barriers associated with communication to the non
English-speaking youth, Wicks said there is a generally positive attitude
among them. Establishing positive mentor-student relationships is one of his
goals as a teacher at the centre.
"The kids are very open and friendly and desire to learn more, but they
live in an oppressive environment with oppressive attitudes and have a real
poverty mentality," he said. "We are trying to show them that with God's
help, they can rise up and become leaders."
An experience early on also showed Wicks how the Philippines differs from
most communities back home.
"The people are amazing. I was walking home one day and saw through
someone's window the latest Oscar de la Hoya fight. I am a huge boxing fan,
so I just stood there and watched. After only about 30 seconds, they invited
me in and gave me a chair to sit in. After watching three rounds, already
late for lunch, I said I (had) to go. They did not want me to leave and said
come back anytime. Would that happen in Canada with a total stranger? I
doubt it."
Wicks will soon move to his own house for a period of months while other
missionaries return home on furlow. Visa regulations require that he leave
the country temporarily after one year to reapply, but Wicks feels convinced
his time in the Philippines is just beginning.