KaEskwela distributes Project Aral Kits

The prince of our house, Tala, recycling NBS plastic into a sleeping bag.

KaEskwela will be delivering and distributing National Bookstore Foundation's Project Aral Kits from our partner schools in Bataan, Laguna, Montalban and Pampanga. We need volunteers! Please leave a message here if you're interested or text me at +63906-5763-864. 

Here's the schedule of deliveries: 


June 9   - Laguna (Langgam) 
June 10 - Laguna (Malaban and Malaban East)
June 13 - Pampanga (Lara and San Francisco)
June 14 - Bataan (Morong) 
June 15 - Montalban (Macabud)
June 16 - Laguna (Buhay)

Photos from F. Angeles Memorial School, Brgy. Sabang, Morong, Bataan in August 2010. 

This was my first KaEskwela activity. It was also a 27th birthday celebration of sorts with the kids, 

in cooperation with The Barrister (San Beda Law) and Bataan Leo Club.                                           

Now let me share my own volunteer's story.

Like most of the decisions I've made in my life, the idea of joining KaEskwela didn't come with any fancy thought of heroism or greatness.


I was just slumped on a couch at a coffee shop along Vito Cruz one year ago, waiting for my brain cells to recuperate from a final exam before studying for another subject. After people-watching, I grabbed a copy of a magazine from the stand and flipped through the pages. That was how I first read about this organization that helps public schoolchildren. (Read the article here: http://kaeskwela.org/love-letter-to-children.)


I was just an ordinary person, hoping to become a lawyer as soon as possible and complaining from time to time that I have to read so much in order to reach that goal. And well, that's still who I am today.


Aware of my lack of selfless ideals, I still decided to join the organization because: 


1. I needed to do other things during my priceless free time, aside from watching college kids hang out.


2. Except for preschool and law school, I'm a product of public education.


3. During a ride home when I was in high school, a little girl wearing her school uniform was crying because she was asked to alight from the bus. I found out that she didn't have money to pay for the ride. That wasn't the first time she was caught. For the past weeks, she tried to ride buses for free. It was dark and her school was more than an hour away from home. I wished I could just give her money, but I already spent the rest of my allowance on cassette tapes.


4. As Grace said in the article: "We just want children to see school as a positive experience." The chance to motivate young people is oftentimes enough motivation in itself. I thought it would be cool to make the kids smile.


5. No membership fee is required.


These, and other little reasons, all added up for me to decide: I'm in. 


I sent a blank e-mail to brigadaeskwela-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and began volunteering. After every assembly and activity, the list of reasons why I choose to continue volunteering for KaEskwela grows longer than the list of reasons why I first joined.