THE SAMAHAN ng Mga Mag-Aaral ng Pamantasang Ateneo de Davao (Samahan) partnered with the Primer Group of Companies to spearhead Abakada, an outreach program to fund school needs of children unable to provide for themselves.
Michelle Anne Cunanan, Samahan executive director Year III, said they were able to donate school supplies for five schools from kindergarten to grade school in Davao Region.
The beneficiaries are Gnanda B. Maguan Indigenous People (IP) School (Malapatan, Sarangani), Prudencio Mariano Sr. Integrated School (Glan, Sarangani), Dumatrisfa Elementary School (Agusan del Sur), and Landing Elementary School (Surigao del Norte), a total of 750 students from all over four IP schools.
“In Abakada, we wanted to go beyond our community and not only focus on ourselves but also to the children of Mindanao, which is our hope for the future,” Cunanan said.
Some of the partners were mainly Primer Group of Companies such as Jansport, Herschel, ResToeRun, Rockport, Hydro Flask and Sledgers, SMART Telecommunications, Davao PC Supply, Ateneo Filipino Chinese Community, Davao Overseas Chinese Service Center, among others.
Cunanan said they came up with three income-generating projects to generate funds for the project: a hike for a cause, official merchandise, and a raffle for a cause.
Mae Sanchez of the Primer Group of Companies said they supported the Abakada project by powering up Samahan’s income-generating projects by donating premium items, such as the raffle for a cause, and continuously donating umbrellas and other school supplies.
“These kids, they walk for miles or a number of kilometers to be able to go to school, and they have to cross several rivers just to be able to get to school. So we want to make a difference in their lives by contributing in any way that we can,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said they have also taught the children to be socially responsible by advocating “No to Single Use Plastic” and donating flasks as a refill for good, in collaboration with Hydro Flask.
Primer Group of Companies and Samahan Ateneo also urged the Davao community to support the program as they accept donations to fund their next rollout.
Photo from Abakada FB page
