BY: REY ANTHONY H. CHIU
TAGBILARAN CITY, March 15 (PIA)— Bohol pitches in for the seemingly impossible, in an attempt to engage the most number of volunteers for the country’s Bayani Challenge (BC) in 2014.
Bohol, which is poised to do a massive
rehabilitation for its public and private infrastructure which the earthquake
toppled and the super typhoon Yolanda flattened, had the BC coming in time,
according to volunteers during the recent coordination meeting held at the
Governor’s Mansion recently.
A call to mainstream the small bits and
patches of Filipino spirit of helping each other, BC also aims to build
relationships among different sectors, groups and nationalities, creating
peaceful and more caring communities that are ready for any eventuality,
according to BC Bohol coordinator Christopher Rivera.
BC is also the platform to gather and
inspire volunteers who are key players in innovating and implementing plans
that address poverty and other social challenges, making it also the
opportunity to raise extraordinary resources that complement funded or unfunded
programs of the local government, this was learned.
Initially targeted for volunteer work
are nine badly damaged towns, in the spirit of bayanihan, a Capitol functionary
wants it in 47 towns and Tagbilaran City.
According to Rivera in previous
meetings with Bohol officials, SEEM Cluster head Liza Quirog said she wants BC
in all towns of Bohol.
Excited by the development, Rivera said
he has reasons to believe Bohol can put up the numbers as there really is a lot
of things that can be done.
BC, as most people believe, is not just
about homebuilding, Rivera said. It is also about spending time with the kids
in Paraisong Pambata, conducting medical and dental missions, going on
environment care through clean-ups, re-greening or roadside beautifications or
fixing and refurbishing classrooms.
Simultaneous in two months time in
Alkan, Antique, Capiz, Cebu, Eastern Samar, Ilo-ilo, Leyte, Palawan, Negros
Occidental, Samar and Zamboanga, the BC 2014 attempts to come up with a million
volunteers from April 9-June 12.
Also coming at a time when Bohol will
have its fiesta months in May, Josephine Cabarrus, Bohol Tourism Officer
believes it adds up to the taste of the patriotism.
With the flurry of rebuilding
activities in post quake Bohol, observers also note that the task entails a
huge manpower requirement that by putting up the volunteer work, costs in
rebuilding can be lessened as labor can be put up for free.
In 2013, one after another disasters
hit us almost like a plague: the wars in Zamboanga, the killer quake in Bohol
and the last straw was Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan), unleashing a fury like
the world had never seen before with an intensity and magnitude that quite
literally blew away almost the whole of the Visayas islands.
“But thanks to the heroism of
volunteers and partners, we are responding to the biggest storm ever recorded
in history – with the largest missionary spirit and bayanihan the world has
ever seen,” according to Bayani Challenge organizers.
For this year's challenge, we will go to the areas affected by
recent disasters and show our brothers and sisters that we will not leave them
behind! (mbcn/rahc/PIA7-Bohol)