Cebu Bloggers and Tsinelas: How a Pair Can Go a Lot of Miles for Education

Anne Frank, one of the renowned writers of all time, had said it so perfectly: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

If there’s a perfect time to change whatever it is that you can, it would be today. For example, there are a lot of things that one can do to support the Philippine educational system.

In a press release posted by National Statistics office, in 2002, there were almost 5 million out-of-school children in the country. Their ages range from 6 to 24 years old. Regions such as ARRM, Central Visayas, and the National Capital Region had the highest concentration.

Moreover, based on FLEMMS (Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey) in 2003, 1 in every 10 Filipinos whose ages range between 10 and 64 years doesn’t know how to read or write. Simply put, they are illiterate.

Sad to say, the biggest reason why these students could no longer attend school is the high cost of education.

Working Hand in Hand

Tsinelas Association Incorporated is a non-profit, non-stock organization that aims to make a difference to the lives of hundreds of Filipino children and even families in the country, particularly in Cebu.

It hopes to promote every child’s right to get sufficient education without using poverty as the main reason why he or she could not achieve his or her goals in life. Through the organization, a lot of students would be able to meet their basic educational needs such as tuition fees and school supplies.

They can also mold themselves into becoming better and more productive individuals for themselves, their families, and their country through values formation. The organization, moreover, offers support to the entire community, parents and teachers included, in providing adequate assistance and care to these children.

CBS and Tsinelas

In line with their goals, Tsinelas, in cooperation with Cebu Bloggers Society, has come up with different initiatives. One of these is through Their Books program, which is already on its second year.

In this program, everyone—from artists, politicians, huge personalities, to ordinary folks—is encouraged to donate books to raise funds for the organization. These books will then be sold during the Press Freedom Month on September 25–27, 2009, at Ayala Center-Cebu.

As a Cebu blogger, Cebuano, and Filipino citizen, you are invited and encouraged to support this project. After all, the best time to help out someone in need is not tomorrow but today.

If you need more information about Tsinelas Association, you can visit http://tsinelas.org. The following is the list of CBS members who donated their precious books.

• Nick Nichelle Dael
• Jerry Gervacio
• Karen Veloso
• Iko Villacencio Maning
• Galleca Baylon
• Aimee Segun
• Wilhelmina Sarawi
• Jun Rey Parajes
• Mark Monta
• Kevin Ray Chua
• Jorich Ponio
• Nancy Cudis
• Jan Mackingley Hilado
• Agnes Jimenez
• Jennifer Dorado (Non-CBS member)