At Duluan Integrated School

It was a pleasure to give school supplies once again to the students of Duluan Elementary School. They are always so warm and welcoming that the long trip to their school is well worth it. Many thanks to the Gary Steele Family Foundation for making this happen. (This school supplies distribution took place on March 13, 2024.)

We also gave new shoes to some of the children who didn't have shoes to wear to school. We are grateful to the Smiley and Kai Shoes Project for their generosity.

Thanks to the concerted efforts of UNIFFIED teachers of New York and Nieva Burdick we were able to give children's books to the school's library. 

Duluan has designated a small area in the Teachers Room to store their library materials. Hopefully they'll have the resources to build a library for their students in the near future.

These are the notes and cards the children gave me. It's heartwarming. Thank you so much.

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Images by TravelswithCharie

Update on the Book Donations by UNIFFIED, New York Chapter

Here’s an update on where the books sent by United Federation of FilAm Educators, New York Chapter and Nieva Q. Burdick were donated:

Tabuc Norte Elementary School, Panitan, February 5, 2024

Lawaan Integrated School and Basa Barangay, Roxas City, February 7, 2024

Capiz State Univ (CAPSU)

Capiz State University (CAPSU) Library, February 8, 2024. Photo courtesy of Christian George Acevedo.

St. Mary’s Academy, Roxas City, February 13, 2024

Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion, Roxas City, February 14, 2024

Lanot Elem School, Roxas City, February 15, 2024

Panitan High School, Panitan, February 19, 2024 

Balay Mapanag, Cuartero, February 20, 2024

Duluan Elementary School, Maayon, March 13, 2024

Handing of books to Maayon Ladies' Library through Ma'am Noemi Unating. March 18, 2024

Thank you UNIFFIED, New York Chapter and Nieva Q. Burdick for your generous donation.

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Images by BalayniCharie

Antonio Belo Elementary School

 

Last year we gave school supplies to the fourth, fifth and six graders at Antonio Belo Integrated School. This year we came back to give the younger kids some school supplies. Antonio Belo is in Timpas, Panitan and has a large number of students. This is why we had to divide the numbers so we could also give to other schools in Capiz. The kids were all happy to receive their school supplies.

Many thanks to our generous sponsor, Gary Steele and the Steele Family Charitable Trust. Your continued support has allowed us to reach out to more schoolchildren in Capiz. 

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Images by TravelswithChari

At Jebaca Elementary School

 

We nearly didn’t make it to Jebaca Elementary School. It is located in a remote area in Maayon, Capiz and we had a difficult time to get there. As we have a compact car, we couldn’t forge through running water that had accumulated from rains of the previous day. We had to turn back and wait for the school to send us an SUV to help us get to their school. We almost left and it would have been a huge disappointment for the kids who had been waiting for us all morning. Thank goodness we didn’t go home after the initial setback.

The school is up on the hill with a narrow road leading up to it. Some of the classrooms are situated on the lower slope.

Here are the kids who patiently waited for us.

We passed by this hanging bridge on our way to the school.

The countryside is lush and green.

Here was our Waterloo. The descent is quite steep and the water was streaming down the side like a waterfall. 

We were also able to give shoes to some families with infants from the Smiley and Kai Shoes Program.

So glad we made it to Jebaca. It was a pleasure to meet Jibbs Bigas, the principal, and his staff. Thank you so much to the STEELE Family Charitable Trust and especially to Gary Steele for this wonderful opportunity to help the children in Jebaca succeed in school with the school supplies we gave them.

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Images by TravelswithCharie 

BalayniCharie turns 18

BalayniCharie kicked off its 18th year of service to the children in Capiz, Philippines on February 5, 2024 at Tabuc Norte in Panitan, Capiz. The school has 117 students from Kinder to Grade 6. The Principal, Jessiemar Diaz, gathered all the children at the quadrangle so we could give them notebooks, pencils, and pens. Afterwards, we did a Q&A with the kids and those with correct responses received a prize.  

Some of the children receiving their school supplies.

We also delivered the books donated by Nieva Q. Burdick and the United Federation of FilAm Educators (UNIFFIED), New York Chapter.

We had the chance to tour the school's vegetable garden where they grow eggplant, upo (bottle gourd), cabbage and okra, among others. Lettuce is also thriving in a separate area. These vegetables are used for their feeding program. The best thing about this garden is that the kids not only have nutritious meals, they also learn the importance of growing vegetables for food sustenance.

Lettuce Garden

While the school is small and short of classrooms, the Principal with the teachers and PTA work hard to give their students the best education. 

Many thanks to our sponsor, Gary T. Steele of The Steele Family Charitable Trust, for his generous support of BalayniCharie throughout the years. With Gary’s support, we have been able to reach thousands of children in Capiz and provide them with the tools they need to succeed in their studies.

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Images by BalayniCharie