Prepared by Rey D. Envidiado, FTCP Program Supervisor

The sun is already up.  Leogen has just awakened.  He looked for breakfast but none was left in the kitchen.  Grabbing his boat paddle he hurriedly headed towards the shore and undocked his father’s banca and off he went to the sea to fish.  This is the usual day for Leogen Lariosa, 16 years old after he graduated from elementary four years ago. Like Leogen, his cousin Leoden is also a 16 year old out-of-school youth who only finished first year in secondary education and stopped to give way to his older brother who was then graduating in high school.  Since then, the two boys became close buddies and have learned to like fishing everyday for it easily earned money for them at the end of the day and they could buy things they wanted. Since then also, they have learned to stop dreaming.

Leogen and Leoden are just among the 22 high school-age children (13-16 years old) in the island village of Hambongan in the town of Inabanga, Bohol who are not in school.  Most of them only finished elementary.  Many come from large families.  Some are orphaned by either mothers or fathers. Since secondary education is absent in the island, most families who mainly depend on fishing as the source of daily income find it hard to send children to high school.  Some can only afford one child at a time and ask younger children to give way to older ones.

Like most of these children, Leogen and Leoden seemed to have started to accept their situation. “Perhaps this is our fate, sooner or later I will get married and start my own family and perhaps get hopes again from the children” laments Leoden. Their parents also went through this before. But obviously, he was not happy.  It was learned that he dreamed of becoming an engineer someday.

Because of this dismal situation of children, Feed the Children, facilitated a consultation workshop with the OSY in the island.  Around 20 boys and girls attended. Leogen and Leoden were present but were hesitant.  The purpose of the consultation was to engage them into analyzing their situation and asked them what they plan to do to improve it.  Surprisingly, all of them wanted to go back to school. It was found out that these children have full of ambitions in life.  At that time, FTC never opened any idea about offering a scholarship.  What it has in mind was providing these children with alternative learning or worthwhile activities that will help them.  The inputs on the importance of education and the rights of the child helped enlighten their young minds and may have ignited their interest to pursue studying.

The children’s excitement and enthusiasm to go back to school was evident during the opening of classes last June wherein 12 out of the 22 enrolled in high school. But Leoden and Leogen together with 8 other children were left in the island.  Inspite of their strong desire to study, their parents still could not afford to send them.

Hence, FTC responded by offering a scholarship program to these 10 children.  FTC is implementing an integrated program that will address the interrelated problems and issues affecting children and their families in this island village. After meeting with the children, the parents and the barangay officials, FTC also sought the help of the administrator of the nearest high school in the area to accommodate the late enrolment of the 10 children who also accepted the request.  FTC also lobbied for additional support from the Municipal Local Government through the town mayor.  Fortunately, he committed to shoulder 3 months tuition fee of the 10 children at P350.00 each.  The Punong Barangay (head of the village) of the island also offered for free to the children his vacant house near the school so that they will no longer pay a hundred pesos a month for house rental. FTC provides them school supplies, supplemental books and paid their tuition fees from June to December.  School uniform and daily allowances will be the responsibility of their parents.  FTC staff and school teachers agreed to closely monitor the children through monthly meeting.  Parents are also required to attend parent education seminar provided by the community facilitators trained by FTC. The scholars also agreed to actively involve and help in the campaign of the Green Planet, a newly formed children’s association advancing children’s rights and environmental conservation.

Today, Leoden and Leogen are still close buddies but their days are no longer under the heat of the sun in the deep sea instead they spend most of the time together during their break time in the library.  When they are home during the weekends, they still find time to go out to the sea so that they will have something to support their school projects and other day to day needs in schools.  “I can already see my dream again,” quips Leoden.