After years of mountain climbing, I still get nervous before each trip.

I lacked training, and my longtime traveling companion, whom I relied on so much, couldn’t make it for this activity. Bad weather also continued to ravage Metro Manila, where I live.

But much like in show business, the show must go on. We had a mission to fulfill—to deliver help to children who live in the mountains. Our group, Trails to Empower Kids or TREK firmly believes that goodness should never be delayed. My friends and I decided almost five years ago to dedicate much of our passion and energy for mountain climbing to helping people who live in the mountains.

Our mission took us to Quirino Province, a landlocked province in the Cagayan Region of the Philippines. We arrived early the following morning after an eight-hour bus ride, which included a short stop in Maddela, Quezon, where we bought our provisions for the three-day activity.

One of the group’s co-founders, Myrla Punongbayan, and three of our volunteers led the team as co-leaders. They were sisters Ponga and Judy May Jadulco, along with Doc Jo Gastador. A month prior, they had visited our target site to conduct reconnaissance.

At the jump-off point, we met Maestro Diego, the teacher of Tamsi Primary School, our beneficiary school. He had informed us about the students' immediate need for books and school supplies.

To help us carry the donations up the mountain, Maestro Diego gathered community members at the jump-off point, including some students. They brought carabao-driven sledges for the heavy boxes.

We wasted no time transferring some of the boxes from the truck to the sledges. While we didn’t understand each other due to differences in dialects, we managed to send off some carabaos just in time before it drizzled.

After a short prayer, the participants also began their ascent. I joined the lead team. With us was Teacher Mary Jane, one of the teachers at Tamsi Primary School.

After about thirty minutes of trekking, I asked if any of my trekking companions wanted to rest. I was already panting and needed to rest my legs and back. We spotted a good place to take a break. While turning back was not an option, moving forward was an easy decision. The trail seemed difficult, but it was the one that would lead us closer to our mission.

Much of the trail was sloping, up to 45 degrees. It was exhausting, but a community member who joined us at one of our rest stops said in his dialect that, yes, it was very tiring, but it was fun because all the community members were there helping to haul the donations.

Before long, my untrained muscles started giving in. From the lead team, I moved to the mid-team. Halfway through our trek, I fell behind until I was with the last team.

As a famous mountaineering quote by Barry Finlay from Kilimanjaro and Beyond goes, “Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.”

So I did. After four hours of trekking and crossing several rivers, I reached Sitio Tamsi, which is located atop one of the peaks of Nagtipunan, Quirino. The sun was already starting to set. Some participants were resting, while others were setting up their sleeping areas inside the classroom. The expedition leaders began accounting for the donations, while some started cooking dinner.

There were two classrooms made of wood. One had two small rooms for the teachers and a tiny kitchen. Maestro Diego and Teacher Mary Jane stayed there during school days and went home to their families on Fridays after class.

It was Maestro Diego who helped establish a school in this humble sitio. In 2005, he was assigned to conduct a study on setting up a school. At first, he was hesitant, but he went ahead with it. From then on, he started teaching until he became a regular teacher in 2009.

He and Teacher Mary Jane have about 50 students, ranging from kindergarten to Grade 4, belonging to an ethnic group called Ilongot.

After dinner, we began preparing meals for the next day’s program. With Maestro Diego’s approval, we decided on a pasta dish, chicken stew, chicken soup, and rice. While chopping vegetables, boiling water, and washing pots, we started what mountaineers in the Philippines call socials. Over rum, we caught up with old friends, some of whom we only saw during outreach programs. We also took the opportunity to get to know new participants and, of course, some community members.

The following day was much busier. Inside the classroom and throughout the school grounds, activities were happening at every corner. Participants and community members were cooking, repacking, unboxing, and cleaning. By mid-morning, the school grounds were already filled with children, so we decided to start the program with games.

I tried leading the games, but it wasn’t successful. The children just stared at me with confused little eyes. So we let the teachers take the lead, and we simply assisted. At first, the children were hesitant to join. They were very shy—after all, there were so many strangers at their school, which they weren’t used to. But after seeing the prizes and some encouragement from their parents, they finally warmed up to us. We struggled with communication, but their smiles and laughter conveyed everything we needed to know.

After the games, we distributed prizes, followed by slippers, boots, school supplies, and backpacks. It must have felt like Christmas for the children, if they even knew what Christmas was. After receiving their loot, they immediately ran to their parents to show them what they had gotten. We could hear joyful screams and giggles.

We put a lot of thought into what we would give these children. We consulted extensively with Maestro Diego and relied on our past experiences to provide the best help possible. Living in an isolated area, these children had been neglected and were deprived of quality educational materials. They made do with whatever little budget was allotted to them by the government. Yet, they pursued their education. That’s why we wanted to give to them.

While the kids enjoyed their new belongings, we formally turned over the books and other school materials to Maestro Diego and Teacher Mary Jane. Since the classroom had no electricity, we also brought a small solar panel to light it up at night.

After distributing the gifts, we served lunch. It was a good moment to absorb what had just happened. We had successfully distributed the donations entrusted to us by our donors. The children looked excited to return to school with their new backpacks and supplies. The parents smiled as they examined the bags with their children. The teachers were pleased with the new materials they could use in class. And the participants felt fulfilled, knowing they had made a difference.

There we were, in the middle of nowhere, on top of a mountain, experiencing one of the greatest joys of human life. From where I sat, I could see the trail leading to the next school and, eventually, to the plains. It seemed endless, but I was overwhelmed with happiness—so much so that the long trek ahead didn’t even matter.

Gray clouds filled the sky, but they didn’t look like rain and it was more like a shade to make our descent a little less tiring.

After countless goodbyes and thank-yous, we made our way down. It was already midday, and we expected to reach the second school before 3:00 PM. We didn’t talk much on the trail. We walked fast and arrived on time.

Kakidugen was a smaller community. Kakidugen Primary School had fewer than twenty students. When we arrived, the children were already there, waiting for us. We held a shorter program—no more games or feeding—but it was just as fulfilling and joyful.

We finished in less than thirty minutes, then headed back to the trail, carrying less luggage in our hands but more joy in our hearts. It was a great trek, and I am excited to trek again.