CandyMag.Com

Dear Candy girls,

Rainy days are here again—and you know what that means. In a few days, you're going back to school! In fact for some of you, school may have started already. To get to school, you probably ride the school bus, commute, drive, or even walk, if you live only a few minutes away. But can you imagine waking up at 3 am and walking 20 or more kilometers barefooted through rice fields and dirt paths lined with sharp rocks and grass, just to get to school? Unfortunately, this is a reality that children living in remote areas in the Philippines face every single day. For them, the hardest part about getting an education is just getting to school. 

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to join the Big Brother Big Sister Community Outreach. It was organized by members of different mountaineering groups and its main goal is to bring backpacks and school supplies to children in inaccessible communities. This year, we went to a little town in Tanudan, Kalinga. To get there, we had to ride a bus from Manila to Tabuk for 12 hours. Once there, the road became very rough so we had to ride a truck, which kept breaking down, for another six hours. Finally, when we reached the jump-off point, we had to trek for two hours to get to the school, while carrying the backpacks we were going to give the kids.

Here's a shot of my group while trekking. See that town in the distance? That's where we're going! 

We all had to cross this rickety old bridge to get to the school. One at a time only or else it might collapse!

When we finally got there, we took a much needed rest and prepared the backpacks for distribution. The next morning, the kids started to arrive. First, we played some games with them and gave away lots of prizes! Here's a shot of my group after winning one of the games.

After that, the kids regaled us with a performance of the Kanyao, a traditional northern dance. They were so adorable!

And finally, the moment we all came here for—the distribution of backpacks! Even under the heat of the sun, the kids waited patiently for their turn. 

The kids happily receive their packs!

One student’s school set contains seven notebooks, four ballpens, four pencils, writing pads, crayons, a sharpener and a ruler. Looks like they're all excited to use them!

At the end of the activity, it's time for the kids—and the volunteers—to start the trek home.  If you look closely at this picture, there's actually a set of stairs beside the waterfalls. That's where most of the kids pass to go home. (See the kids carrying their colorful backpacks?) 

On the trek back, we took some time to take photos, admire the view, and drink water, of course! These are my college friends Plim and Philip. They've never climbed a mountain before but I managed to convince them to go. All for a good cause!

The adventure doesn't end there though. On the way back, our truck broke down again… and again.. and again. It was so bad that the driver asked all of us to go down and start trekking while they tried to fix the truck! As if that wasn't bad enough, it started to rain—HARD. We were all soaked to the bone. We couldn't even get our raincoats because we left them in our backpacks on the truck. We were tired, wet and hungry, but the amazing thing was, most of the volunteers still had smiles on their faces. It was all a big adventure! I wish I could have brought out my camera to capture the funny moments—like seeing the boys trying to pull the truck out of a ditch—but I had to shield it from the rain! 

We finally made it back to the town at around 11 pm. After having a very, very late dinner, we took quick showers and got on our bus. We reached Manila safe and sound by noon the next day. Though there were moments during the second day when I thought I wouldn't make it home in one piece, looking back, I realized that these are the moments I will remember forever. (What an amazing story to tell my grandkids, right?) But of course, the most important thing is the fact that we were successful in our mission to bring—not just school supplies—but also hope to the children of Tanudan. Seeing their happiness at receiving their packs and knowing they will make good use of those school supplies, for at least a year, gives me enough reason to go back and do this again next year!

Preparing for my next adventure,

Angel