No place too far for these youth volunteers bringing school supplies, hope to remote communities
Streets to Schools volunteers turn over learning materials to Panay-Bukidnon children in Calinog, Iloilo on Friday, April 29, 2022. (Photo from Streets to Schools)
MANILA, Philippines – When traveling by sea, it takes about 15 hours for volunteers of youth-led organization Streets to Schools (STS) to reach learners in a far-flung village in Tawi-Tawi.
But no place is too far when fueled by their goal to bridge education gaps in the country, said STS founder Qjiel Mariano.
With its seventeen chapters across the regions, STS has helped out at least 873 students since April of this year by distributing school supply kits and building community libraries in their so-called priority areas – remote communities, which STS believes, need assistance from their organization.
“We’re still trying to get to the other schools but the first [few] schools identified by the people there, we’ve already given them their needed materials,” Mariano told INQUIRER.net over the phone.
Bringing education closer to communities
In the village of Buan in Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi, a community library is slowly coming together through joint efforts from STS in Bangsamoro, and other youth-led organizations such as Angat Buhay Youth and Tau-Spartan.
“We want this library to be like a bridge,” Mariano said. “We just need a little money for the furniture and the bookshelves, but we envision it to be a space for our Tawi-Tawi volunteers kasi it’s very difficult to go there.”
Mariano noted that it takes a 15-hour boat ride for volunteers coming from Zamboanga to reach Buan, and while a plane ride would speed up the estimated travel time, he said this would be too costly.
“Nahihirapan sila to get books, school supplies (It’s hard for them to get books and school supplies). Even teachers are having a hard time going up the mountain just to get to some of the students,” he explained.
But according to Mariano, their soon-to-open community library would only be a short walk away from Buan.
A halfway-finished community library in the village of Buan in Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi put together by youth-led organizations Streets to Schools, Angat Buhay Youth and Tau-Spartan. (Photo from Streets to Schools)
“For communities living in poverty, as simple as ‘wala naman akong materyales para mag-aral,’ can convince them na hindi na lang mag-aral for this year. So we want this community library to be, at least, their source of hope na kaya pa naman mag-aral kasi we’ll help provide the materials,” Mariano further noted.
(For communities living in poverty, simply not having learning materials can convince students to not continue with their studies for the school year. So we want this community library to be, at least, their source of hope to pursue their studies because we’ll help provide their materials.)
Aside from Buan, STS is also in the process of building a community library in the village of Kabbon Takas in Patikul, Sulu. This, however, is still in its proposal stage, Mariano said.
Among its string of initiatives across the archipelago, STS volunteers – as part of their “Connect the Unconnected” project in Western Visayas – also gave out tablets and routers last April to improve the learning conditions of 80 Panay-Bukidnon children in Calinog, Iloilo.
“They also received reading glasses, storybooks, and basic learning materials for their online classes,” Mariano said.
This initiative later expanded to other areas in Iloilo and Aklan, he added.
