Building future community capacity

GARC is passionate about empowering individuals to become community coordinators and educators! 

A Training of Trainers approach: Future Rabies Champions 

To ensure that the coming generations know what they can do to eliminate rabies for everyone, we believe in helping to educate children in communities most at risk. GARC collaborates with Departments of Education and other relevant authorities to provide age-appropriate education on rabies awareness, dog bite prevention, and animal welfare. This initiative targets preschool, primary, and secondary school children. 

We work on developing curricula, educational materials, and training courses. Through a Training of Trainers approach, GARC equips educators with the knowledge and certification that they need to effectively educate children. These classroom-based Dog Health Champions ensure long-term sustainability, inspiring and educating new intakes each year on how to behave responsibly around dogs and how to get help when they are bitten. 

Case study: Philippines

The national integration of rabies education in the Philippines began with a successful pilot project by GARC in Ilocos Norte in 2014. After five months of classroom lessons, elementary students showed improved knowledge on rabies prevention, bite management, and responsible pet ownership. Building on this success, and supported by the development of engaging materials like videos, storybooks, and activity books, GARC partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the National Rabies Prevention and Control Committee (NRPCC) in 2016 to advocate for national curriculum integration under the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007.

By 2018, DepEd and GARC had integrated rabies education into the K to 10 national curricula. Together, we had developed 78 lesson plans across multiple subjects, rolling them out through a phased approach that included curriculum mapping, lesson validation, and nationwide training-of-trainers workshops. Over 180 school divisions participated. We created teacher guides to support the use of rabies lessons in classrooms and to help schools develop localized implementation plans, ensuring consistent rabies education nationwide.