Duterte Administration Helps Over 13,000 Undernourished School Children Get Proper Nutrition
More than 13,000 undernourished students from 105 public
schools attained their target healthy weight after a four-month feeding session
conducted by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) for
school year 2016-2017.
In coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd),
the Feeding Program recently culminated with Casino Filipino (CF) Angeles as
the branch with the highest number of recipients which reached 4,000.
CF Cebu and Davao came in second and third with 2,060 and
1,200 beneficiaries, respectively.
PAGCOR spent over P50
million for the four-month feeding sessions alone which helped addressed the
nutritional needs of nearly 5,000 severely wasted and over 8,000 wasted pupils
from Kinder to Grade Six.
One of the beneficiaries of the Program was seven-year-old
Faisa Jumadil, an incoming Grade 3 student at Zonta Elementary School in Davao
City.
Faisa is used to going to school on an empty stomach
especially when her father Gani is unable to go fishing due to bad weather.
“Madalas akong hindi makapangisda lalo na’t malakas ang
hangin sa dagat,” rued the 47-year-old Jumadil patriarch as he stared blankly
at the strong waves that battered the small fishing boats docked on Isla Verde,
a depressed coastal community inhabited by Muslim settlers.
The bad weather condition sometimes lasts for days; hence
depriving the family of a decent meal.
Worse, Gani could not buy medicines for his ailing wife
whose psychiatric illness is triggered whenever she misses out on her
medication.
“Madalas na ganito ang sitwasyon namin, walang pagkain at
walang pambili ng tambal (medicine) para sa misis ko,” he added.
At a very young age, the young girl hopes to help her family
get out from extreme poverty.
“Madalas na gutom ang anak kong iyan at pumapasok sa eskwela
nang walang laman ang tiyan, pero napakasipag mag-aral kasi gusto niya raw
maging teacher balang araw para makatulong daw sa aming pamilya,” her
42-year-old mother Zorayda proudly narrated.
The young girl’s perseverance and her family’s plight caught
the attention of ZES teacher Marilou Figuracion.
When PAGCOR’s Feeding Program chose their school as one of
the beneficiaries, she did not think twice about including Faisa as
beneficiary.
“Naaawa ako sa bata dahil hindi halos nakakakain nang maayos
kasi madalas na walang makain ang pamilya niya. Napakalaking bagay na napasama
siya sa PAGCOR Feeding Program dahil nagkaroon siya ng tamang nutrisyon para
makapag-aral nang maayos at matupad ang pangarap niya para sa kanyang pamilya,”
Figuracion said.
Served every school day with a complete meal composed of
rice, meat, vegetable and fruits, Faisa gained 2.2 kilos in over three months
under the Feeding Program.
Other state-subsidized schools in Davao City that benefited
from the project were Namnam Elementary School (NES) – a remote learning
institution in Marilog District predominated by Lumad natives; the Buhangin
Central Elementary School (BCES) and the Cabantian Elementary School (CES).
Casino Filipino (CF)
Davao Officer-in-Charge Estrella Luz Cabebe, who graced the program’s
culmination in Mindanao said the Feeding Program is one of PAGCOR’s best
Corporate Social Responsibility projects.
“With this endeavor, we are able to share our blessings with
kids who need proper nutrition to perform better in school,” she said.
The project also helps supplement the existing government
feeding programs and hopes to address the worsening malnutrition among Filipino
children.
Source: PAGCOR
Duterte Administration Helps Over 13,000 Undernourished School Children Get Proper Nutrition
Reviewed by Yen
on
April 30, 2017
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