MASANTOL -- The Rotary Club of Central Pampanga (RCCP) and Fourth District Board Member Ricardo Yabut have donated some 1,500 books to six elementary schools in far-flung coastal areas here Thursday.

What's your take on the Mindanao crisis? Discuss views with other readers

The group's president, Jennifer Bonifacio, said the books came from the RCCP and Rotary International book program that aims to distribute more than P1 million worth of books to indigent schools in the province.

"Schools in the province have a lot of needs that requires not just the attention of the local and national government but of the community and civil society sectors. There are still more and more schools that could actually provide quality education to their students," Bonifacio told Sun.Star.

According to Yabut, they have chosen the coastal barangays here because of their distance from bigger communities and the lack of enough basic services extended to the education sector here.

"These schools are among those that could be actually considered as the most depressed. If you would compare the depressed schools in other municipalities you would actually be surprised since students here study in the worst conditions," he said.

Yabut and RCCP distributed 200 new books to each of the six elementary schools and 50 pre-elementary books to each of their component pre-schools. The books will replace old, dilapidated books being used by the students.

The recipient schools usually get inundated during the rainy season and during ordinary rains.

Marcela Perez, an elementary teacher here, said their pupils come from the poor fishermen families.

"If you can see we sometimes hold our classes on wet floors. Our students are so poor that some go to school in slippers," Perez said. The school buildings of the said school that plays host to almost 300 pupils are also dilapidated.

Yabut said they are now looking for other support groups, along with RCCP, to help these coastal villages.

"These books from RCCP could actually help a lot," Yabut said.

The donated books include assorted books in English, maps, educational cassette tapes and dictionaries.

Bonifacio observed that despite the meager book supplies of the elementary schools here, most of the students could read proficiently. "This proficiency could be very much enforced if they have other supplies, good class rooms and health programs for the students," Bonifacio said.

Yabut added that they would greatly appreciate other sectors that could help the coastal elementary schools here.

"It would be a nice gift for Christmas if we could give a little of what we have to coastal schools here," said Yabut. (IOF)

For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.

(November 21, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.