Singaporean youth with locals unite for Brigada Eskwela

A number of Singaporean youth with locals unite for DepEd's Brigada Eskwela! The Volunteer employees of the Kool Adventure Camp (KAC) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) and officers of the Cebu Institute of Technology-Supreme Student Government (CIT-SSG) teamed up to contribute to the Brigada Eskwela Plus campaign of the Department of Education.

Last June 7, they together painted the walls of the classrooms, desks, and chairs of Cambagocboc Elementary School in Balamban, Cebu and immersed with the locals. With them were 14 students from Jurongville Secondary School in Singapore, who were also participants in the 11-day Outward Bound Singapore-Global Youth Program in Cebu.

Marie Sol Delantar-Gonzalvo, KAC Deputy Director for Youth Programs, saw the activity as “a great opportunity for ordinary citizens to contribute in a very concrete way to the education sector.”

“It was an occasion that transcended differences in culture, language, and beliefs in order to make a positive difference,” Gonzalvo said.

CIT-SSG president Alan Angelo Llevares, who led a group of 11 volunteers from his school, acknowledged that the activity was their way of contributing to the community. With most of the volunteers from the student council being government scholars, Llevares stressed the role of student councils not just within the borders of schools but to a larger sphere of influence that is the community.

For the Singaporean students, the activity was also a meaningful service and learning project because the school they were painting had fewer and simpler facilities than what they were accustomed to in their country. Through this, they were able to help the school make the classrooms and facilities more conducive to learning for the students of Cambagocboc.

The nationwide Brigada Eskwela Plus campaign, held annually before the opening of classes, aims to rehabilitate schools and their facilities for use in the coming school year with the help of volunteers and representatives from various sectors.