JEDDAH, 20 March 2005 — When the Philippine Consulate asked for pledges from community organizations in Jeddah for the CGMA, a classroom construction project seeking help from overseas Filipinos, the Boholano Community in Jeddah (BCJ) seemed to be a reluctant participant.
Just recently, however, BCJ sent $4,000 to its chosen beneficiary in Bohol island-province in the central Philippines, becoming the first group in Jeddah to fulfill its promise.
“Of the 17 community groups who pledged for this project, the BCJ was the last to pledge, yet it has become the first to make this project materialize,” Consul General Pendosina N. Lomondot said as he signed the Deed of Donation on Wednesday with Rey Toloy, the group’s vice president for internal affairs.
The lucky recipient of the donation is the Dr. Cecilio Putong National High School in Tagbilaran, capital city of Bohol. The amount is for the construction of one classroom.
CGMA stands for Classroom Galing sa Manggagawang Pilipino Abroad, a project spearheaded by the Department of Labor and Employment, in which participating Filipino groups or individuals abroad are asked to adopt a hometown school project and help solve the country’s severe classroom shortage.
Rey Toloy, acting on behalf of BCJ president Gaspar Bertumen who is on vacation, said the group is planning to build at least two classrooms per year.
BSJ officers also called an emergency meeting on Monday to collect donations for victims of food poisoning in the town of Mabini in Bohol. Twenty-seven pupils of the San Jose School died and about 100 others, including some adults, were hospitalized when they ate cassava snack laced with pesticide on March 9.
Lomondot encouraged other groups in the Western Region, including those who have not made a pledge yet, to follow the example set by BCJ and help their own townmates.
Anabel Sape, a witness in the signing ceremony, was as impressed as the consul general.
“Tahimik lang sila pero marami silang nagagawa (they maintain a low profile but they have a lot of accomplishments),” she observed.
Labor Attaché Bulyok Nilong, who assumed his post in Jeddah in January, said the CGMA is one good project where donations really redound to the benefit of school children from poor communities.
Assistant Labor Attaché David Dicang said he himself has personally seen how pupils suffer because of overcrowded classes.
“In worst cases, children are made to hold classes outdoors. That’s why donations to the CGMA or similar school projects go a very long way in helping shape the future of our children at home,” said Dicang, who is the son of a school teacher in the northern province of Benguet.
Proponents of CGMA said there are enough safeguards to make sure that donations to the project would not be squandered.
Apart from the DOLE, also involved in the project are the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Education and the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCI).
The FFCCCI, which had been putting up school buildings for poor communities across the country over the past decades, carries out the project.
At least 400 classroom pledges from overseas Filipino communities, employers of Filipino workers, civic groups and other local and foreign donors have been made so far.
