MISSION KAPOTE
Mission Kapote was a successful program serving five
schools, one foundation, and was the product of personal experience – one that
was shared with others locally and across oceans to make a difference in a
number of communities in Baguio City and Tuba, Benguet.
Mission Kapote began as an outreach program to raise
sufficient funds to provide raincoats for 132 students, from Kindergarten to
Grade 6 at Yagyagan Elementary School. However, with the generous outpouring of
donations, Mission Kapote expanded itself to provide raincoats for Lubas
Elementary School, Labney Elementary School, Taloy Norte Elementary School,
Mariano Sabarino Elementary School, Save Our School Children Foundation, Inc.,
and select students from neighboring school, Sioco Carino Elementary School,
located in Tuba, Benguet.
However, not only raincoats were provided, but also school
supplies for every student at Lubas, Labney, Taloy Norte, and Mariano Sabarino.
Within three weeks of Mission Kapote lift-off, the abundance of funds collected
made me realize I needed to find more schools to provide raincoats for –
besides, there were plenty in need! With the help of Cabrini Mission Foundation
in New York, NY, donors from around the world had the opportunity to donate to
this program, and all donations were centralized. Thank you technology (and
Facebook)! After teaming up with the principal at Yagyagan, she introduced me
to other schools in the Benguet region, mostly in Tuba, an area composed of
rural municipalities outside of Baguio City.
After looking for more schools to donate raincoats to, and
after personally conducting school visits, I found that the schools were of
perfect size to provide additional raincoats to, but still, there were extra
funds that I would be able to use for the schools. Ah, what a great problem to
have, right? Well, that also meant more work! More work that I was happy to
take on.
After venturing to these schools, crossing rivers, hiking,
and experiencing the everyday commute for the families and children getting to
and from school, I experienced truly how far these barangays or “towns” are
from the major cities where the families would have to commute to buy their
food and goods. Given this firsthand experience, I thought it would help even
if a little bit, to lift the burden off of these families, by saving them
trips, money and effort, to get to town, by providing them with raincoats and
school supplies for the upcoming school year. I was always taught on mission to
“go where the people are.” And so I did!
I also learned that from mid-June to
September, there is no nearby transportation available to some of these areas
because the river gets too high for the jeepneys to cross. Presented with that
reality, I immediately told the principal, “Yes, po. We will return!” Perhaps
reluctant at first, she joyfully accompanied me throughout the process.
I recall working on another outreach program at Yagyagan
Elementary School last year with one of my friends, where we also gave school
supplies and played some games with the children. For some reason I wanted some
affirmation that school supplies would be of use for the children, and that
this would be of assistance to their well-being. Was there something else
concrete that I could do with the money? I remember asking some of the college
students at the Foundation, “Hey, do you guys think school supplies would be of
help to these students?” They immediately replied, “Yes, Ate, the kids would be
more motivated to go to school if they had school supplies.” Boom. Done.
So, after taking a look at the total funds collected, not
only were all of these schools able to be provided with raincoats, but also a
complete set of school supplies were provided for every student. What? Thank you, Jesus!
For the next two weeks, I spent time with the assistance of
some of the college students from the Foundation, ordering the supplies,
picking up the supplies, ordering the raincoats, packing the materials, and
boxing all of it up for distribution. What did I discover? I’m horrible at
tying up and securing the boxes, but I’m pretty good at counting and ensuring
that the correct number of materials were packed in each box! And so, the week
of June 4 was the scheduled distribution week, given that June 4 was also the
first day of school for the students.
Monday, June 4, I was joined with one of the college
students, and a friend of mine to distribute the supplies to Taloy Norte and
Mariano Sabarino Elementary School. Originally, the plan was to also visit
Lubas and Labney Elementary School in the morning, however, because monsoon
rains had occurred just two days prior, the river was way too high for the
truck (carrying us and all of the supplies) to pass through. Yes, there is a
river that trucks and jeepneys must pass through. Crazy! As a result, that trip
was to be rescheduled for Thursday of that week, again, weather permitting.
This was a bummer because I wanted the students to receive their school
supplies and raincoats sooner than later, but I also realized, safety first!
Norlyn (the college student), Cherry (my friend), the
driver, and the Principal of Yagyagan Elementary School accompanied me to Taloy
Norte and Mariano Sabarino where we passed out the school supplies and
raincoats for the students, and also provided some supplies for the teachers
and staff. We were able to transport these goods through the assistance of the
Principal, who was able to hire the Emergency Vehicle of the Office of the
Congressman of Tuba, Benguet. Thank goodness! It was of great help.
First to Taloy Norte, then to Mariano Sabarino, the children
were all very excited and grateful for the donations. At each school, we were
greeted with merienda (“snacks”) and also lunch. It was a beautiful day!
Upon meeting the students, I recalled my first days of
school, especially during elementary school, and remembered that the weeks
prior to the first day of school were the most exciting for me. New notebooks,
a new backpack, some new clothes, sharpened pencils, and fresh everything, so
that I could start off the year energized and complete with all the materials I
needed.
When I visited the first school, Taloy Norte, the students were quiet,
reserved, and they were so little also! I saw their clothes, their worn out
feet, and thought to myself, wow, this is so different than what I am used to
for the first day of school. It was just another day for them, and immediately
I recalled what the first day of school was probably like for the kids back at
home – much different than this. I was extremely grateful to be with the students
of Tuba that day.
Tucked in the mountain was another small school called
Mariano Sabarino, composed of children from Kindergarten to Grade 6, and the
students were very similar to what I experienced at Taloy Norte, except they
had more energy. After distributing the raincoats and school supplies, we spent
time listening to the teacher-in-charge play the accordion for the students
during recess, and I raced some of the kids. For the first time, I actually won
a running race – go figure!
The teachers thanked us for thinking of their
school as a recipient of raincoats and school supplies, but I assured them that
there are people back at home, and locally here in the Philippines that do
care, and appreciate all of their hard work for the children, despite their
challenging circumstances.
Distributing the goods was when I realized, yes, there is a
need here, and if these donations could provide our young brothers and sisters
here with just a little bit more motivation to go to school and excel at that,
then it was all worth it. Never mind the rocky fields that the truck had to
maneuver through for hours on end - it was an experience, and I was glad I was
able to share my morning and afternoon with the communities of Taloy Norte and
Mariano Sabarino.
On Thursday, again with the help of the driver, the
Principal of Yagyagan, and Norlyn, we were able to venture off to Lubas and
Labney Elementary School, as the community members said that there is an
alternate route that our vehicle could use for the distribution of school
supplies and raincoats. After piling everything in the Emergency Vehicle, and
journeying for two hours, we finally made it to the area of the schools. But,
not so fast. The road became absolutely so rocky and so muddy (because of the
recent rainfall) that our vehicle got stuck and we had to wait for the husband
of one of the teachers at the school to come and pick us up.
Eventually we were
able to move the Emergency Vehicle, park it in a local town, and through the
help of some of the community members, they were able to transfer all of the
materials from the Emergency Vehicle, into this new truck that we would take
over to the school. Phew! It was quite the adventure. Thank goodness there was
cell phone service. This definitely helped in our communication efforts!
After leaving Baguio City around 8:30am, we finally reached
our destination of Lubas Elementary School at 12pm. Right in time for lunch. We
were very hungry, but it was nice to finally get to our final destination!
There was true bayanhian (“community”) spirit which I
witnessed with the community members that day, and it was beautiful to see.
Seeing that our Vehicle needed help backing up in the mud, I watched as the
people in the area threw down rocks to add traction for the tires, and I
witnessed some of the members in the community start transferring the heavy
boxes. It was such a beautiful spirit that I was able to witness that morning
prior to even arriving at the school – it’s a lovely community.
After distributing the donations at both Lubas and Labney
Elementary School, the teachers and staff were very grateful, along with the
children, and it was a blessing to have shared the entire day with them!
Because there were a few extra supplies, there was another principal present
from neighboring school, Sioco Carino Elementary School, and she was able to
bring some of the donations to the most indigent children of her school, also
located in Tuba, Benguet.
All in all, every child was provided for, and the Mission
Kapote program exceeded its original intention. It seemed to me that God had a
bigger plan than what I thought was possible. I should have known that upon
praying to the Holy Spirit for guidance, direction and assistance in the
beginning of stages of Mission Kapote, the Holy Spirit would provide, and look
what happened! I remember one night talking with my friend about this idea, and
not sleeping because I was so excited of the possibilities, that I started to
draft the advertisement for it. Little did I know that it would turn into a
true mission in itself, where more than what I imagined would actually happen,
and I would be able to meet, smile with, and join hands with a number of
beautiful children!
It was indeed a lot of work, and sure there were challenges
and stress here and there, but nothing that was enormously debilitating. This
was such a testament to me that God provides, and I feel that the communities
were also touched in the sense that they were reminded that they have not been
forgotten, despite their great distance from the major cities.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the
help of my mom, Cabrini Mission Foundation, and all of the donors and
supporters, that both prayed and/or financially contributed to these efforts.
It was such a grace to share these communities with all of you, and I thank you
again for walking with me as we do our best to reach out to the poorest of the
poor. God provided generous hearts and His timing was all on-time with
surprises every step of the way. Thank you for being a part of Mission Kapote.
Maraming Salamat po!
RECIPIENTS:
|
School or Foundation
|
# of Students
|
|
Labney Primary School
|
17
|
|
Lubas Elementary School
|
64
|
|
Mariano Sabarino
Elementary School
|
60
|
|
Save Our School Children
Foundation, Inc. (SOSCFI)
|
112
|
|
Sioco Carino Elementary
School
|
15
|
|
Taloy Norte Elementary
School
|
52
|
|
Yagyagan Elementary School
|
147
|
| TOTAL | 467 |
ITEMS PURCHASED:
|
ITEM
|
QUANTITY
|
|
Raincoat
|
467
|
|
Ballpen
|
311
|
|
Chalk
|
12
|
|
Eraser
|
109
|
|
Pack of Crayons (for
Students)
|
219
|
|
Pack of Crayons (for
Teachers)
|
12
|
|
Pencil
|
426
|
|
Pencil Sharpener
|
105
|
|
Pentel Pen
|
24
|
|
Ream of White Paper
|
12
|
|
Scissors
|
58
|
|
Spiral (Composition)
Notebook
|
632
|
|
Waterproof Canvas Bag
|
219
|
|
Writing Pad
|
424
|
|
TOTAL
|
3030
|
--end --
Written by Crystal Catalan
June 18, 2012
