Rey Anthony H. Chiu
TAGBILARAN CITY, June 16 (PIA)
-- The Philippine Information Agency in Bohol organized volunteers to bring in
four workshops in a day to a deprived community in Talisay, Anda, Bohol on June
13.
Talisay, a barangay about five kilometers from the town famous for
its white powdery sand, is populated by fishermen who venture out at
sea at night through a narrow passage in a forest of mangroves just
to get fish into the family table.
"When the government advised them against fishing and
to seek alternative livelihood instead, some obliged and the Talisay
Fishermen's Association (TAFIAS) was born," recalled Ana Mainit, a public
school librarian by the weekday who also sits as chairman of the
organization.
Pushed to find backyard fisheries as alternative, Mainit and her
group converted taro fields into fishponds and produced tilapia which they
process into by-products to add value to the freshwater fish.
With the help of volunteers and kind-hearted Estonians, TAFIAS set
up AndaKIDZ, a benefit group which has been the center of focus in the
international and local assistance considering that making children's lives
better gives them better chances of getting out of poverty, according to Robin
Gurney, a Briton who married an Estonian volunteer who dedicated her life to
helping AndaKIDZ.
Now with a community center that serve as the main hub of
activities in the community, the environment-friendly center has drawn local
and international attention, as well as mainstream volunteerism.
The AndaKIDZ Community Center is also becoming a social
tourist attraction and destination, aside from being a common venue for
child learning when they could not find any outside school.
The aim is to get these kids learning, maybe playing so they can
better explore the world and work solutions out of the problems besetting the
community, Gurney explained.
On this, PIA gathered volunteers for a day to help AndaKIDZ with
the following: tableya-based chocolate muffins baking demo and workshop for
women, basic watercolor painting workshop, basic xylophone and band music
workshop as well as board games, all at the green community center.
It was a simultaneous workshop with the baking at the center
entrance, the xylophone workshop at the building's left wing, the watercolor at
the right wing and the boardgames at the main hall.
Community residents gathered to learn about basic baking, and
tried cooking a recipe on their own, Mainit said.
All the children and adults who responded to the activities also
tasted the cooked muffins, which went well with free lemon juice from the
community.
"It was the first time that I did volunteer and
I never realized I could teach kids how to play the xylophone,"
said Cecil Josef Ligan, an aeronautics engineering student
volunteer. Along with Ligan were three other youth volunteers.
A regional winner for an on-the-spot painting contest along
with PIA Bohol staff handled the watercolor workshop, which was the second
module in the Arts workshops that PIA offers to communities.
Specialty food and traditional culinary experts also handled the
Tableya Choco-muffins, which generated the biggest approval from the children
joining the workshops.
PIA in Bohol continues to offer free workshops upon request from
communities, as well as workshops depending on their needs assessment.
(rmn/rac/PIA-7/Bohol)