Feeding THE 5poorest learners

FEEDING thousands of less fortunate children is not an easy task especially for a local government unit (LGU) whose income is enough only for a few projects and manpower services.

Nowadays, many local government units faced difficulties in finding solution to end malnutrition among school learners, but this is not felt by 11 municipalities of Compostela Valley Province.

Collaboration among officials from barangay, municipal, provincial, and national government agencies, and other stakeholders have proven that feeding 9,889 beneficiaries in 253 schools is very easy just like serving food to only one child at home.

With the helping hands and passionate hearts in serving the malnourished learners, all staff in central kitchens were able to deliver the packed lunch to far flung schools in the province during the kick off activity of Bayanihan Para sa Kalusugan: Kalinga ng Kalinga Program last Tuesday, September 5.

Alice Lintad, team leader of Kusina ng Kalinga Central Kitchen in Pindasan Elementary School, said they were trained to cook nutritious food to be delivered before 11:00 a.m. to 465 beneficiaries in 14 school in Mabini town.

"We will make sure that all beneficiaries could eat their lunch on time," Lintad said in vernacular during the interview.

Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy, who led the kick off activity, said the Bayanihan Para sa Kalusugan: Kusina ng Kalinga is an innovative program to sustain and empower government's action in their combat to end malnutrition in the province.

The provincial government has allocated P25 million for the repair of 14 central kitchens and salaries, while the Department of Education (DepEd) Provincial Office has allocated P9 million for the food, etc.

Uy said the program was first launched in August 2016 in Maco town with 770 school children

who have reached a normal nutritional status after the 120-day feeding program.

Uy said the success of the program has become their inspiration to implement province-wide with 9,889 beneficiaries.

One of them is a 10-year-old Dominggo Fernandez, Jr., Grade 2 learner from Pindasan Elementary School,

who will enjoy free lunch for 120 days.

"Lipay ko nga naapil ko (I am happy to become one of the beneficiaries)," Dominggo Jr. said.

Virgie Fernandez, mother of Dominggo Jr., expressed the same feeling, "Nalipay gyud ko nga ang gobyerno naghatag og libre nga paniudto sa mga bata (I am very happy that the government provided free lunch for children)."

She hoped that aside from free lunch, the provincial government can help them for the medication of her child who has a congenital heart disease.