DAVAO CITY—A nongovernmental organization that earlier donated boats to a coastal community for school children, donated school items for school kids in a remote Maguindanao town.
The Proud Emergent & Empowered Pinoy (PEEP) last week donated bags and other school supplies to 400 pupils in Lower Baguinged Elementary School in Barangay Talitay, Datu Montawal town, Maguindanao. Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary, joined the distribution and represented the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“The community and our teaching force are very happy to receive this assistance.
We are thankful that ARMM officials have finally visited the place and see the condition of our school and children,” Fatima Abubacar, head teacher, told the PEEP team and ARMM officials. “The support of their parents serves as inspiration to our pupils to do well in their studies, despite the tough situation they face,” Abubacar said.
The school is 20 meters away from the Rio de Grande river bank, which overflows during heavy rains. Alamia said the regional government would look into the problem.
She urged the local government to send proposals to avail itself of assistance from programs, like the Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Security and Synergy (HELPS), a flagship program of the ARMM administration. The PEEP was the organization that “turned over learning materials and 10 bancas as a means of transport for pupils who live in communities along the riverbank and in the Liguasan Marsh.”
In its social-networking site, it said the “Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation Inc., Cotabato Funds of Little Kids and the PEEP initiated the turnover of yellow boats to the Timaco Community in Cotabato City.” It was done on August 31 last year at the Timako Primary School in Barangay Kalanganan 2.