When we started TRails to Empower Kids or TREK in 2007, there were only fifteen mountaineers who went to Sitio Saybuan in
Itogon, Benguet. Now, the number of our volunteers multiplied by tenfold and along with it were the amount of donations we are able to gather.
Our 9th project is TREK Kasibu. Our beneficiaries are the students of Atan Elementary School located at Barangay Runruno in Quezon, Nueva Vizcaya.
The trail that led us there was long
and difficult.
We took a five-hour bus ride from Manila to Barangay Antutot in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, then another
30 minutes jeep ride to the jump off point. Some participants opted to start
their trek from Barangay Antutot. From
the jump-off point, it was another two and a
half-hour trek to the school.
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| Our destination |
Students and their parents
met us at the jump-off point. They were there to help us carry the donations.
That was part of the counterpart we requested from the school. A week ago, the
parents also started building the school's water supply system and comfort room
from the construction materials donated by the donors of TREK.
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Unloading the boxes |
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The trek |
Being used to walking this
route, the children and their parents didn't have as much difficulty in
carrying the donations. They didn't look as tired as us.
Good thing, the weather
cooperated. The past few weeks, the country has been wrestling with rains. That
day, we were blessed with really good weather with enough sunshine and cool
breeze. We could imagine how slippery the trail might have been if it were
raining that day.
There's not much forest
cover left in the trail that we passed. Most farmers here resort to Kaingin,
which proves how difficult life is for the residents of Kasibu and Quezon.
We reached the school before
lunchtime.
The Program
The students were already
gathered on the school grounds. Some of the parents have already started
preparing the students' lunch.
We immediately started
unpacking our boxes to prepare for the gift
exchange ceremonies. It was really volunteering power at work. Most of
the participants showed initiative and helped in coordinating the program. All
stations were full - from unpacking the boxes, to the loading of the backpacks and loot bags, to fixing the solar panels,
to decorating the area with our donations.
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| Repacking |
Some of the students watched
us from outside the classroom windows while we fix the donations while others
participated in our mini art contest, which was
organized with the help of their schoolteachers.
After about an hour, lunch
was ready and the parents started serving the students. We bought a native pig,
which was cooked using the traditional
way by their parents. They called it "wat wat," which is basically
boiled pork.
After that, we started with
our program with welcome remarks from the school principal Mario Manzano and
another school official, Virgie Aroco.
Both expressed their gratitude to the group for reaching out to the students of
Atan. They said that it was the first time they received donations for the
school.
We also had a local barangay
official present, who expressed his apprehensions about the group's
intentions. He thought we were miners or
connected to a mining firm. After realizing
that we were just a group of friends who want to help and reach out to
communities, he expressed his happiness over our decision to come to their
place.
Their expression of
appreciation continued with the local dances performed by the students and
their parents. We are lucky we still get to experience and see these.
Slowly we could feel the
students being more receptive to the guests of their village. We brought out
our earthen jar and pabitins and
introduced to them two traditional Filipino party games. Soon, we could see the
kids smiling, giggling and laughing.
After the games was the most
awaited part of the program. All our volunteers lined up to pass the backpacks
filled with school supplies to the students, while others led them to one area
where they chose their new slippers, raincoats,
and boots. We thought it was really important for the children to have these,
as most walk by as much as two hours just to go to school.
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| Artworks |
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| Games |
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| Fitting of boots |
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| Our entertainment |
Then, it was more surprise for the students as we distributed loot bags filled with goodies from Universal
Robina Corporation and toys from Pherica
Corporation.
Meantime, in the classroom,
we held a more formal turnover of the books donated by Diwa Learning Systems, the
Bato Balani Foundation, and the Department of Education to the teachers and
school principal.
For most schools in isolated
areas, the burden of providing the students with school supplies are usually
passed on to teachers. That is why Ma'am Virgie and all the other teachers are
so thankful not just for the new set of school supplies but also for the other
educational materials that will aid them in their teaching.
We felt and saw the joy and
gratitude on the faces of the students and the teachers. They conveyed this
through this simple piece:
S -
Sa inyong pagbisita
A-
Ang Atan Elementary School
L -
Lubos na nagagalak
A -
Aming Iingatan at pahahalagahan
M-
Mga regalo nyong handog
A -
At nagpapasalamat
T -
Tagumpay ay aming makamtan
P-
Poong Maykapal sa inyos pumatnubay
O -
Oo, siya na
ang bahala
sa inyo
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| Group shot |
Rommel Duyapat, the Supreme
Student Government Council Head of Atan Elementary School spoke last and he
assured us that they would take care of the donations and will make full use of
them in achieving their dreams.
(some photos by Gary Concepcion)
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