Adults should be the ones to make the world a better place to live in but time has come to actually bank on a child’s innate curiosity and creativity to secure the future.
The problem on food security and malnutrition leave children as the most vulnerable members of society. What’s amazing in this fight however is that no matter how vulnerable children are, with the help of grown-ups, they actually have the means to combat it.
ATI 8’s Advocacy
As the training arm of the Department of Agriculture, the Agricultural Training Institute Regional Training Center 8 sees the need to start mainstreaming the role of children, parents and teachers in reaching the country’s goals for food security and nutrition.
Instituted in 2015, the Rice and Organic Agriculture Awareness Reach Schools (ROARS) promotes rice self-sufficiency and organic agriculture to various schools in Region 8. ROARS give children and teachers insights into the world of agriculture. It also gives them suggestions on how they can become RicePonsible and discerning of the safety of the food they buy and eat.
SES roars
While ROARS have had the opportunity to visit various schools, the recent visit to Sagkahan Elementary School (SES) in Tacloban City, Leyte in November 23, 2017 was especially memorable. The visit was ROARS’ first in an urban setting. It was also the first school for ROARS where parents showed keen interest in organic container gardening.
Pupils from Grades 4, 5 and 6 participated in ROARS 2017. The 122-strong participants listened to lectures on basic facts about rice and how they can become RicePonsible individuals in school and at home. For lunch, they got to taste brown rice, black rice, and red. They were also taught simple organic agriculture practices they can use right away in their Gulayan sa Paaralan with Mr. Loreto Godoy as resource person. Mr. Godoy is one of ATI’s Magsasaka Siyentista and the 2nd placer in the 2017 Best Magsasaka Siyentista regional search.
All for one
Sagkahan Elementary School’s Gulayan sa Paaralan coordinator Ms. Lilian Salvaña attests to the active participation of the parents. The parents helped in the school garden as a requirement of the DSWD Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). The parents help in the establishment and maintenance of the school garden which support the school’s feeding program.
This makes it truly special for ROARS because the advocacy have now started to include parents. Some parents, having lived in the city most of their lives Since the information campaign is only conducted in the school, the children are encouraged to tell their parents about the advocacy and what they can do at home. This time however, some of the parents were there to actually witness the demonstration of Mr. Godoy, giving them the chance to ask questions. They clamored for more trainings.
Child’s play
During the lecture proper of ROARS, a lull due to technical difficulties propelled Mr. Godoy to challenge the Sagkahan Elementary School pupils to a talent showdown. One by one, pupils belted out songs and danced to K-Pop tunes. Whether they understood the language used in the songs or not, it showed that children can easily learn whatever it is that they are exposed to. They even make it fun in the process. The government and the school itself should exhaust all means to inculcate the children about agriculture. After all, one can only reap what one has sown.
Mrs. Lilian Salvaña enthused, “We are very lucky. Here in Tacloban we are the only ones that they visited. They are from Baybay. Did they waste their time coming here (to the children)? No. They taught us about rice awareness and organic agriculture. They taught us to try eating brown rice. As a TLE teacher, and coordinator of the Gulayan sa Paaralan and the school’s feeding program. We will learn more if we cooperate in the work that we have to do”.
One for all
The Sagkahan Elementary School ROARS experience showed that each person in the household have a role to play in helping the country build food-secure communities. What a family member can do transcends to what he can do to help his community. What’s more, teachers are finally getting the help that they need in educating the children about agriculture.
The household used to be the first school for a child. However, in recent times the task of educating children have been turned over to the schools as parents have become busy with finding food for the family. Most have forgotten the fact that food can actually be produced at the household level. If each family can grow its own food, no child shall ever be hungry again.
As the children signed the commitment tarp to become RicePonsible, the rality dawns that ATI 8 alone cannot achieve food security and safety goals. SES cannot go at it alone as well. But together, nothing is impossible. Well-informed children will hopefully grow into empowered individuals.
Sagkahan Elementary School is now one of the learning sites of ATI 8.
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