The main criterion for the Back-to-School (BTS)-3 was the same as BTS-2, that is, give priority to Lumad schools.
Owing to the sheer number of schools that met this criterion, there was a need to narrow down to three geographic locations in the province of Bukidnon. These are the towns of Talakag, Manolo Fortich and Impasug-ong. Later in the distribution phase, one school in Cagayan de Oro was selected.
Thirteen (13) schools were reached by BTS-3.
Of the 13, twelve (12) were in Bukidnon province in the towns of Talakag (7), Manolo Fortich (4), Impasug-ong (1) and one (1) in Cagayan de Oro City.
All the schools were located in communities composed either solely or predominantly by Lumads. Eight of the schools are in far-flung areas with difficult, bumpy, narrow and steep roads. Access to the other schools were easier to navigate.
The learners in the target schools in Talakag mostly came from the Talaandig tribe while those in Manolo Fortich, Impasug-ong and Cagayan de Oro were Higaonons.
The Higaonon and the Talaandig are two of the seven Lumad tribes in Bukidnon and also form part of the eighteen (18) Lumad ethnolinguistic groups in Mindanao recognized by the Philippine government.
1,850 school children were reached by BTS-
3. From Kindergarten to Grade 6, in a couple of cases, Grade 7 & 8, these learners individually received one set of school supplies based on their grade levels.
These children come from poor families. Their fathers are mostly ambulant farm workers or laborers. In many cases, the mothers also go with the fathers to work in farms outside their village. This set-up also leads to situations where school kids are made to skip school so they can work, too.
Given the poverty at home, it comes as no surprise that these children do not have adequate school supplies.
What’s in the backpack?
3 pads of paper, 3 notebooks, 3 pencils, erasers & a pencil sharpener for the lower grades.
3 pads of paper, 3 pieces of ballpens & 3 notebooks for the higher grades
In the farthest three schools, the number of pencils, pens, notebooks and pad paper were increased in every backpack.
The backpacks for Kinder students were added with colored papers, a coloring book and a pair of scissors.
Slippers
School Year 2024-2025 started a month earlier than the previous year so Lumen adjusted to this change by synchronizing the start of its BTS-3 with the opening of classes by the end of July 2024.
The entire month of August was spent going around schools for distribution, packing for the backpacks and area preparation for additional schools.
The cash donation received for school supplies and slippers amounted to P575,420.00 . Additional specified cash donation of P50,000.00 for snacks was also received or a total of P625,420.00 for BTS3.
The 13 recipient schools and their corresponding number of students are the following:
Sitio Kinalungon, Lirongan, Talakag, Bukidnon
July 30, 2024 – 99 students
Lirongan, Talakag, Bukidnon
July 30, 2024 – 157 students
Miarayon, Talakag, Bukidnon
July 30, 2024 – 136 Grade 7 students
Sitio Kalapat, Tagbak, Talakag, Bukidnon
August 6, 2024 – 223 students
Salucot, Talakag, Bukidnon
August 6, 2024 – 264 students
Sitio San Dionesio, Indulang, Talakag, Bukidnon
August 13, 2024 – 225 students
Indulang, Talakag, Bukidnon
August 13, 2024 – 115 students
Sitio Abyawan, Dalirig, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon
August 20, 2024 – 254 students
Sitio Sabangan, Dalirig, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon
August 20, 2024 – 123 students
Kalampigan, Kalabugao, Impasug-ong, Bukidnon
August 27, 2024 – 60 students
Zone 6, Guilang-guilang, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon
August 27, 2024 – 32 students
August 27, 2024 – 30 students
Sitio Camansi, F.S. Catanico, Cagayan de Oro City
August 30, 2024 – 132 students
Dear Donors,
None of these would have been possible without generous people like you. Our destination was not really the schools in far-flung areas. It has always been to Lumad children’s hearts.
Thank you for enabling Lumen to go farther to the peripheries and reach more children. May the smiles of the children warm your hearts as much as the blessing you shared warmed theirs.
Godbless, Lumen
