Maligo Elementary School: A Galing Foundation, Inc. Beneficiary in Southern Mindanao
Barangay Maligo is one of the rural communities of the Muncipality of Polomolok in the South Cotabato, Southern Mindanao. It is located at the foot of Mt. Matutum and has a land area of 1, 902 hectares divided into 9 villages. It is 14 kms. away from the town center and accessible by jeepneys, tricycles, and hired motorcycles locally known as “habal-habal”. Maligo Elementary School was established on June 1980 as a Primary School. Currently, it operates as a complete elementary school as the enrollment population grew in 2007. According to the School Principal, Ms. Lorie T. Yayong, the school has 10,000 square meters with 7 classrooms and only 6 teachers. A total number of 144 indigent students are enrolled for the school year 2008-2009 in Maligo Elementary School. Parents of the school children are mostly farmers belonging to different groups such as the Blaan tribe, Muslims, Cebuanos, Ilonggos, and Ilocanos.
“Due to poverty, the parents cannot provide the children the things that they need in their studies. Our school lack school uniforms including shoes and socks. They lack school materials like paper, pencil, ball pens, crayons, notebooks, and even school bags that made them uninterested in going to school. Our school needs dictionaries, globes and maps, science apparatus like microscope and others. I am very thankful that you send us story books and toys. Our school children were very excited to read and play with them. It is of great help on our part to have these things” according to Ms. Lorie T. Yayong in a letter sent to GFI.
In addition, Barangay Captain Roger S. Garmino has expressed his appreciation for the Galing Foundation, Inc. (GFI) for choosing Maligo Elementary School as one of the GFI recipient schools in the Philippines. In his letter, he further stressed that “The school is in need of English Webster dictionaries, globes and maps, science apparatuses, and teaching materials for the teachers; clothing and shoes for the students. The school does not have a library but the books and stuffed toys were distributed per classroom and grade. Each teacher was accountable to manage and handle the books and the stuffed toys. The students were overjoyed in reading the books and playing the toys, for it is their first time to receive such materials from a foundation.”
For our GFI supporters and donors, the Barangay Council of Maligo and the School Principal has expressed this, “We highly appreciated the continual support and sharing your blessings to Maligo Elementary School”. The photos for the turn over of 2007 GFI boxes was a big event in the school that was organized and attended by the Barangay Council Officials, teachers and students.
GFI is also recognizing the efforts of our local GFI volunteers, Mrs. Jocelyn Robles and Mrs. Grace Wanda for facilitating the proper turn over of GFI boxes, coordinating with the school and for sending documentation to GFI.
