A room full of hope

MANILA, Philippines - The last presidential elections may have been one of the most contentious in recent history, but in the bitter clash of green, yellow, orange, blue, and what-have-you, a unique phenomenon emerged: mass volunteerism.

For the first time in an election, volunteers were at the forefront of the campaign, establishing their own chapters, making their own campaign materials, and organizing their own rallies.

It’s the same spirit of volunteerism that is now powering Aklat, Gabay, Aruga Tungo sa Pag-Angat at Pag-Asa (AGAPP), a foundation led by presidential sister Pinky Aquino-Abellada and former volunteers of President Benigno Aquino III’s campaign.

From helping elect a president, the volunteers are now taking on a less political but equally ambitious goal: building 100 Silid Pangarap pre-school classrooms cum libraries in its first year, to give poor children in the public school system a shot at a better future.

“AGAPP was formally launched on the first death anniversary of the late President Corazon Aquino. It’s a private initiative focused on the poorest pre-school Filipino children, aged three to six, who at the moment have no access to education, who are hungry, even malnourished. We want to reach that poor pre-school child in time, before it is too late,” says Aquino-Abellada.

“The conditions in some of our public schools are heart-breaking. I’ve seen rooms with sawali walls and no floor, so much so that when it’s the rainy season, the children get wet. In other schools, the principal’s office doubles as a room— they just put up a curtain,” she adds.

Teaching students and teachers

With help from volunteers and from partners like the San Miguel Foundation, the group is now building its 108th Silid Pangarap seven months since the project officially started. It is already well beyond the target, but the whirlwind pace continues as more Silid Pangaraps are in the pipeline. Already, the classrooms benefit more than 5,000 pre-school children.

What makes this endeavour truly exceptional is the fact that the rooms come with free training for teachers, aimed at upgrading their teaching methods. Feny de los Angeles-Bautista, an educator and child development specialist and Pinky’s former classmate, is in charge. She teaches teachers, school heads, and even parents on how they can educate and nurture the skills and competencies of children.

“What we are actually doing is complimenting the efforts of the Department of Education. With the training we provide, we’re also teaching teachers to use their improved curriculum,” she says.

“One thing we realized,” adds Pinky, “is that the lack of classrooms is not the only problem, especially in far-flung areas. There’s also a problem with the number of teachers and their training. You look at the national budget and it will say that a pre-school teacher is allotted for this small town. You go there and wala, kase yung mga naka-allot na pre-school teachers in that area, nagiging grade 1, grade 2 teachers.”

She also recalls a public school in Cavite, where they met a pre-school teacher whose training was in foreign affairs. “The classroom was not a problem because they already had a non-instructional room which we converted to a library. Then we recommended to the Division that they provide qualified teachers as they had the means to do it. So with some inputs, a little training, we were able to help.”

Currently, Feny travels to the locations to deliver her training module. But as more and more rooms are built and opened, she admits that the task has simply become more daunting.

That is why AGGAP is currently in talks with another potential partner, who will provide satellite receivers for the Silid Pangaraps, so the training can be done on video and transmitted to the remotest areas.

“Even if they are not our recipients, we can still share the training,” says Pinky. “Kahit hindi namin kayo ma-afford mabigyan ng class—because sometimes the population is so small and we’d rather have economies of scale—at least, ito muna yung tulong namin, yung ‘gabay’.”

“We’re also working on having permanent pre-school teachers, kasi that is one of our most important criteria. We require that there should be an existing teacher for the Silid Pangarap class, so that it will really serve its purpose,” adds Gel Caguioa, a former country manager of an investment bank who is now focusing all her energies on AGAPP.

Sound body, sound mind

To have a sound mind, you need a sound body. This is the rationale behind the next phase of the project. “We want to feed the kids, we want to have something for the nanays,” says Pinky.

“To be honest, wala pa kami sa step na iyan, but we are working on it. This is another area where I think we can benefit from our partners, like the San Miguel Foundation. They’re very good at CSR. For their feeding program, they work with teachers and parents, who decide on what the kids need. Then the foundation provides the funding. And it’s not just a one-time thing. They will feed the kids for six months, at the end of which they will monitor and check their nutritional status.”

“They’re also very good at livelihood training, adds Gel. “They give livelihood seminars and scholarships for technical and vocational courses. We also want to help in livelihood and microfinance, and our recipients can use the Silid Pangarap after school hours. It then becomes a community hub.”

Full-time advocacy

Asked how much of their time is devoted to AGAPP, Gel says: “We chose to do it. When you choose to do something, you make time for it. It’s the same with our volunteers, who have really been a big help.”

As for Pinky, it feels like a full-time advocacy.

“It’s what’s needed to encourage more people to help out. We want to encourage more people who have the time and energy. They can visit and join. Try n’yo lang for one school, hanggang ma-turnover. Anyway, it will not take more than two months. Ibang klaseng kaligayahan.