On Solid Ground: Our Site Visit to the Mano Amiga Campus

Over the long summer break we gave our students, teachers and some of our parents a special treat. We took them to the property site that would soon be our new home in Better Living, Paranaque. Evident on their faces were pure excitement and joy upon seeing where they will soon be going to school.

Upon arriving at the site everyone was free to roam around and explore. The children were left with their creativity and in no time found corners of their own to play in. One such corner was the old pond nestled on the property which was teeming with some of Mother Nature’s creatures and some abandoned water toys. The children enjoyed themselves by conjuring up stories as to how they might have ended up in the pond. All around the children’s cheerful voices could be heard as they went running around the property, swinging on hammocks and climbing on trees.

While the children were having a good time of their own, our teachers on the other hand took to the fruit-bearing trees sprawled around the property and took turns picking from them. A crowd favorite was the duhat tree which they particularly picked a lot of as souvenirs of the day’s visit.

Under the shady trees our parents took comfort in and here they prepared the little feast we shared together. Bowls of ginataan which some of the mothers prepared together were passed around as everyone shared their excitement, reactions and hopeful stories about the new site.

With tummies full, everyone went home with a happy heart. Although it may be bittersweet to be leaving our home for the past seven years, an exciting adventure for the whole Man o Amiga community awaits in our soon-to-be new home.

Raising a generation who cares for the environment: one kaliKLASRUM at a time

            Sea and Advocate (SEA) Camp is one of the current projects spearheaded by the Save Philippine Seas, a movement to protect the country’s rich but threatened marine and coastal resources through the IEC activities and community-based projects. Last year, as culmination for a whole year of SEAcamping, the organization in coordination with the US Embassy, chose a number of citizen-driven environmental projects to be implemented. One of these is KaliKLASRUM.

            KaliKLASRUM is a water conservation module developed by Luzon Seacampers Jude Cuntapay and MM Maglasang which aims to educate Filipino children on how to care for the environment at a young age. The exciting news is that KaliKLASRUM has chosen the Grade 6 students of Mano Amiga Academy to be the members of its pilot class.