One of the biggest problems that the coronavirus pandemic introduced to everyone’s social routine is isolation and loneliness. Amid lockdown and quarantine guidelines, people are struggling with being alone and navigating how to interact online.
Loneliness is also something that the children from UP Diliman’s Bakwit Schools, who have been quarantined for three months in the College of Fine Arts, deal with. Aside from pandemic worries, the children there also experience anxiety regarding the continuous red-tagging of their communities by the government.
In order to help the children of the bakwit schools cope with the stress and anxiety that the pandemic brings, Micah Simon, a volunteer from Save our Schools Network, set up a donation drive for them—except it’s not just clothes, food and money. You can also donate board games and playing materials too.
[CALL FOR DONATIONS FOR OUR LUMAD KIDS]
Hello! Baka may mga board games kayo dyan na hindi nyo ginagamit, donate nyo na sa Lumad Bakwit School. Sa panahon ng pandemic, apektado yung mga kids dahil walang bisita and para malibang sila, malaking tulong ang board games. DM ME. ?
— mayka #SaveLumadSchools (@maykamaykaba) June 29, 2020
In a conversation over Twitter, Micah shares with the Preen team that the pandemic has limited the visitors to bakwit schools making it hard for the children to socialize and find activities to do.
“Sanay sila na laging may mga bisita, nakakalaro at nakakausap. Tuloy pa rin naman po yung klase sa Bakwit School pero mas tutorial na lang po yung set-up. Nakita po nung isang volunteer na kasama namin na gumawa ng parang board game yung mga bata, gawa sa papel. At yun po, naisip ko na magpacall for donations sa mga board games.”
For those interested to donate, you may drop off your donations at the College of Fine Arts in UP Diliman. The donation drive is not just limited to board games or toys, you may also donate sports equipment like badminton rackets or basketballs.
Children in the bakwit schools, along with their family have been struggling with the militarization in Mindanao, even before the pandemic hit. In a series of talks entitled “Baril at Korona,” the Save Our Schools Network, an organization that advocates for children’s right to education, shared that Lumad communities continue to be targeted by military forces in the middle of the pandemic. Schools in Mindanao are being shut down and as a result, teachers, students and residents continue to be displaced with no one from the government helping them get back on their feet.
Photo from Inquirer Lifestyle
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