THE Barangay Langub in partnership with Run Out Of Poverty (ROOP) launched the Barangay Langub Fitness Program dubbed as "Bawal Magkasakit", a walk-jog-run program towards better health in the barangay, Saturday morning at the Captain Pamat Circuit.
ROOP performance coach and external coordinator Eustaquio "Stax" Savellano, in an interview with SunStar Davao, said around 50 participants of all ages attended the launching that was spearheaded by ROOP director and Australian Olympian Tony Benson and Barangay Langub chairman Esmeraldo Pamat.
"Maganda (ang turn out) kasi well accepted ng barangay community from the chairman, kagawads and the parents of the kids," Savellano said.
The program was designed for all the people in the barangay who aspire to have a healthy lifestyle.
Benson, a 1979-83 Gintong Alay coach, designed a daily walk-jog-run program that was posted within the areas of Captain Pamat Circuit that serves as guide for the participants.
Benson, in last Thursday's Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) Forum held at the Annex of SM City Davao, lauded the efforts of Barangay Langub for upgrading the field for training.
"Barangay Langub is always been fantastic most especially for setting an area for the kids to train," he said pertaining to the Captain Pamat Circuit.
The training schedule is every Tuesday and Thursday starting 6am.
Meantime, the ROOP notched its first year by producing quality athletes who came from Barangay Maa and Langub, the program's place of origin.
From the year ROOP was established, Benson and Savellano with the rest of the Australia Track and Field Association (ATFA)-accredited coaches trained more than 50 promising runners.
The main agenda of the program is to train the less-fortunate kids for them to acquire scholarships through running.
"ROOP is all about allowing the kids to perform academically," Benson said.
Since ROOP is an independent group, daughter of Benson from Australia allotted $6,000 to $10,000 annually to fuel the program towards its quest of providing better future for the children of Davao City.