Rice Donation Bridging the Gap between Poverty, Education, and Environment

The Rotary Club of Metro Marikina (RCMM) is continuously working hard to continue its rice donation initiatives to bridge the gap between poverty, education, and environment protection in the community.

RCMM believes that the continuous rice donations to qualified beneficiaries will serve as a direct bridge by addressing the immediate nutritional needs of indigent families, which in turn allows their children to focus on schooling rather than hunger.

“When families are trapped in poverty, they often cannot afford both food and education, making rice donations a crucial tool to improve school attendance and provide a foundation for long- term economic mobility,” Good President Francis Niño R. Rodriguez said.

RCMM’s campaign will allow families to save on food costs and reallocate scarce resources toward their children's education to prevent them from dropping out of school due to financial constraints.

Supporting the indigenous students

Recently, RCMM donated two (2) sacks of rice to the families residing at Beloy Kanlungan, a shelter since 2021, located at Sitio Tala, Barangay Mamuyao, Tanay, Rizal, to help augment the need for food of the 29 families from the Dumagat tribes.

RCMM share the same vision of Aisa G. Jadulco, a Teacher III for seven (7) years at Mamuyao Elementary School and owner of the shelter, who said that hunger is a major barrier to education, and that providing food allows children to attend school regularly rather than seeking work or food.

Jadulco, after she built her house made of wood and light materials, help the Dumagat students to finish their studies by providing her home as their shelter during school days, since their own homes are very far from the school.

“I decided to offer my house, the Beloy Kanlungan, to the Dumagat children because I understand their situation, their struggles and why they can't continue their schooling. The reason why they are always absent during school days. Because when I was young, I wasn’t able to go to school due to poverty and the lack of support from those around me. I couldn’t do anything back then because I was just a child,” Jadulco said.

She added that, “Now, they don’t need to go up and down the mountain every day. From Monday to Thursday they live at the shelter, then Friday after school they go back to their homes. Early morning of Monday, they come back again to let their children attend their classes."

To date, 42 children of IPs are regularly reporting for school while their parents are working as farmers, planting ginger, sweet potato, and taro in the mountain. “I want them to feel that they are being loved, cared, and supported. Above all these, I want them to praise and thank GOD, give back the glory to the LORD who blessed them and answered their prayers,” Jadulco closes.

Let's preserve the ocean and educate the children

12 sacks of rice were also donated to the Alon and Araw Club supporting the cause of giving aid for livelihood and of helping the children in the community to finish their studies while inculcating discipline and recycling.

RCMM launched Lapis at Bigas and donated rice and various school supplies to the children of fisherfolk at Cabangan, Zambales.

The club believes that the rice donation enhances education and helps break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, equipping children with the tools to secure better futures.

“Proper nutrition improves cognitive function and physical health, enabling better learning outcomes. While pushing for this, we have to inculcate the basic need of saving our Mother Earth through simple and doable tasks to our children, for the future generation to experience and enjoy a healthy ecosystem,” Good President Francis Niño R. Rodriguez said.

RCMM spearheaded the project in cooperation with its sister club, RC Nam Ansan D3750, South Korea, which donated the school supplies.

Alon and Araw initiated the effort of saving the ocean by exchanging collected plastic bottles and other recyclable materials that are harmful to the environment into basic commodities like rice, soap, detergents, toothpaste, and other household supplies.

Furthermore, the collected recyclable materials were being converted to bricks, chairs, and tables, creating livelihood opportunities to the communities as well.

Written by: PE Minaluz G. Satorre, Rotary Club of Metro Marikina