RECYCLE your school stuff and learn a thing or two about stewardship.
This was the appeal of Fr. Conegundo Garganta, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Youth of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, to students doing their last-minute preparations for Monday’s school opening.
Garganta also called on parents to encourage their children to recycle old school materials, stressing that this would help instill in the youth the value of stewardship.
“If this becomes an attitude it will help them become responsible [citizens]. If they learn to start with recycling school stuff and maximize the use of resources, the value of being ‘masinop’ (careful or orderly) will be internalized,” Garganta said.
But the priest admitted that some schools are not that supportive of such initiatives.
Garganta said institutional structures should help parents with these initiatives so they can deffray the cost of school supplies for themselves.
“Like in private schools where students have to buy new sets of notebooks with the name of the school printed on it, will it support the use of recycled notebooks?” said Garganta.
“If parents and institutions would support [recycling], many concrete lessons will be passed on to the students, like saving the environment, creativity and more,” he added.
Elsewhere in Cebu, more parents are looking for cheaper, durable school supplies days ahead of this week’s school opening.
Cherlie Inoc, a 34-year-old resident of Santa Rosa, Lapu-Lapu City, budgeted P600 for her two kids.
Jenalyn Delgado, a 33-year-old resident of Consolacion town, Cebu has a slightly bigger budget of P1000 for her two kids in elementary school and a daughter in high school.
“Ari lang ko diri sa Carbon kay makapili ko unya barato pa gyud (I’ll just buy in Carbon public market so I can choose cheaper brands),” Delgado told Cebu Daily News
At Carbon market, shoes are sold for only P100 for any size, while three pairs of socks sell for only P50.
School bags for kids are sold for only P150 and P170 for teens. Inquirer with a report from CNU Intern Allet Mary Teves