HAU-NTP Department Conducts First Face-to-Face Bigay-Puso Outreach Activity Post-Pandemic at Malasa Integrated School
University News
May 10, 2023
On April 28, 2023 the HAU’s non-teaching personnel (NTP) conducted their first face-to-face Bigay-Puso outreach activity post-pandemic. The annual activity was sadly shelved in view of health restrictions during the height of the COVID-19 heist. On its return this year, it was able to cater to 195 primary grade pupils of Malasa Integrated School Extension, in Sitio Coop, Bamban, Tarlac. The League of Tourism Students of the Philippines under the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM) partnered with the NTP on this endeavor by way of preparing educational kits containing basic school supplies for the said pupils. The beneficiaries, mostly Aeta students, enjoyed the games they played with the volunteers. Invaluable lessons were imparted through the storytelling sessions facilitated by the HAU librarians who were among the participants. The rest of the volunteers shared good grooming practices among the children.
Conversations with the teachers and the villagers in the surrounding vicinity revealed that aside from the distance that the pupils had to cover barefooted everyday to attend school, another struggle that the children face is the lack of potable water source nearby; hence, an emergent necessity that came to light was the need for sleepers and for tumblers that the pupils can use to bring drinking water to school.
More than the food, school supplies, and other material provisions that the beneficiaries received, the time, the presence, the fun, the lessons, the attention, and the compassion that the volunteers offered made the event a meaningful experience for beneficiaries and volunteers alike.
The volunteers comprising of the University’s non-teaching personnel were given a processing session by Prof. Maylin Bayza and Prof. Angelo Adriano of the ICFSI-CLE. The activity provided an opportunity for volunteers to bond, share their talent and skills, and deepen their HAU core value of societal responsibility.
