Project LIBRO Phase 5 in Amancion Elementary School

Hello Steemians!

That’s two full weeks of inactivity here. Well, technically it’s just two weeks of not posting anything. I’m still active in Steemit, but it’s more of behind the scenes, lurking somewhere in the shadows. I’m still into this blogging thing, but there are some adjustments in priorities. A lot of things have transpired in the Steem blockchain and I had some trouble catching up.

All I know is how to convey my perspective in written form and I don’t have any other better means to do that. Two weeks seems to be too long for me and it seems that I have been deprived of the activity I love the most, but there are circumstances I cannot ignore. Anyway, there’s so much to talk about myself, including my difficulty in setting up my @vornix blog, but this post is focused on what happened last weekend.

Last weekend was a hectic one. Saturday, I was in Plantation Bay for our Executive Manager’s farewell party. It was a whole day affair and when I got home at around 8:30 PM, I immediately packed for another adventure for two days. I decided to spend the night at @queenielee’s house because the call time at North Bus Terminal was 4:30 AM.

Sunday, we met at North Bus Terminal for Project LIBRO Phase 5 at Amancion Elementary School in Catmon, Cebu. I introduced Project LIBRO already as the flagship project of my organization in college and we are still involved in their activities until now. This time, Project LIBRO joined the culminating activity of Amancion Elementary School’s Nutrition Month.

As one of the beneficiaries of Project LIBRO, Amancion Elementary School is still the farthest and the most challenging school that we have been. Its location is in the heart of Northern Cebu mountain range, bordering Catmon and Tuburan. We were there for two days, without any contact from the city since there’s no signal in that area. From Carmen Proper, we had to ride a habal-habal or multicab to Barangay Caurasan. Average travel time is usually 1 hour and 30 minutes. From Caurasan, we had to walk for 3-4 hours to Amancion, depending on the weather.

Taking the post from USC Chemical Engineering Society pretty sums up all the experience:

If we could give every child the right amount of health education and nutrition, not too little and not too much, we would have the investment of a healthier world.

Project LIBRO visits Amancion Elementary School in Catmon, Cebu to celebrate Nutrition Month 2018. USC ChES members and alumni took part in sharing their stories and knowledge to the young ones. Hygiene and Food Nutrition Education gave the kids a glimpse and awareness in simple ways: from washing their hands, down to taking care of themselves through living a healthy lifestyle. The culminating activity of the celebration showcased the kids’ ability to express creativity through colored food sketches and enthusiastic team cheers.

That’s one small step of awareness, one big leap on becoming healthy!

Queenie and I have always been present in all Project LIBRO activities in Amancion Elementary School. We’ve been there 5 times already and when asked if we will go back, there’s no hesitation in our answer. Amancion has been part of our lives that whenever there’s a scheduled activity there, we will always file a leave in our work just to be present in the activity. The reason is simple: We have made an impact to the lives of the children there that it’s not yet time to stop or give up.

I became committed in Project LIBRO because I saw the effect of this project to the lives of the children in our beneficiary schools. Project LIBRO has always been about consistency and sustainability. The impact is not always tangible and measurable, but it ripples throughout the lives of the pupils. When we interviewed the teachers in Amancion, they said that the children are now more open and sociable compared before. I can attest to that because during our first visit, they would rarely participate or even talk, but now, they participated in all of the activities prepared for them.

Project LIBRO started in 2013 and we still have 3 beneficiaries. That’s because unlike other projects, Project LIBRO is a commitment. Some projects might install a library in a particular beneficiary school or conduct a feeding program there, but will leave and will not come back again. Project LIBRO will always visit a beneficiary school at least once a year to check on the progress of the pupils.

Scouting a beneficiary school is not easy. One criterion is that the school should be in far-flung barangays in Cebu that a few would dare to go. We believe that it’s not about how big is our help, but it’s about showing them that there are people who cared.

All funds used in all of Project LIBRO activities came from the personal pockets of the student members and alumni of USC ChES. The good news is that most of the alumni have expressed their support about the project. In fact, we are planning for another activity this August. The details are still finalized so I might craft a @fundition post about this in the coming days.

For now, if anyone of you who reads this and wants to help. You can always contact me at [email protected] for the details or send your donation directly to me @ybanezkim26. Any amount will greatly help with this cause and I will personally make it sure that it will be used for the benefit of the children. Also, I will constantly update you the details in any Project LIBRO activity. The same way of how we handle @steemsummit, we value transparency and accountability because we believe that it’s the only way to prevent corruption.

_{“In a world where internet and phone signal are non-existent, the sound of crickets at night is a lullaby and the sound of children’s laughter in the morning is a refreshment.”}

All for the community!

Best regards,
Kim

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_{Note: All photos are from USC Chemical Engineering Society}