FROM TRASH TO BAGS.

Personnel from the Mandaue City College Technological and Entrepreneurial Skills Training Center and Kaabag Mandaue use plastic campaign posters as raw materials in the making of bags during the launching of their program on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. Once they complete the bags, the group plans to donate them to poor children living in Mandaue City.

A NONGOVERNMENT organization (NGO) based in Mandaue City has found solutions to the tarpaulins and other materials left after the May 2022 elections.

Kaabag Mandaue Foundation Inc., along with other groups, initiated the “Tarps to School Bags” on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, as a way to help the city eradicate harm from plastic election materials following the conclusion of the polls.

Karla Victoria Cortes, president of Kaabag Mandaue, told reporters that they aim to collect as many campaign tarpaulins as they can to convert them into school bags.

“A lot of politicians and political parties here in Mandaue have donated their tarpaulins, and we are very grateful. In fact, we also have one to be delivered to us by a political party in Cebu City. We encouraged all political parties of whatever colors to donate their tarps to us. It would really help a lot of children. So, they can have new bags,” she added.

Kaabag Mandaue has sought the assistance of personnel of the Mandaue City College Technological Entrepreneurial Skills Training Center made the sample bags.

These bags will be handed over to the Tipolo Creekside Urban Poor Home Owner Association. They also plan to produce more bags based on the raw materials they have.

The bags will be donated to the less fortunate children in Mandaue, specifically those in elementary, who cannot afford to buy school bags to use for the opening of the face-to-face classes.