Feeding Program for School Children in the BARMM
Basilan, Philippines – Henry B. Howard, founding board member of the US- Philippines Society and sponsor of the poorest of the poor 150 undergraduate student Howard scholarship program at Xavier Ateneo De Cagayan, has established a breakfast program for 50 students daily at the BAAS Public Elementary School in Lamitan, Basilan in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao in the southern Philippines. Access to water and good sanitation are integral part of the program.
The manager of the breakfast program is Mr. J. R. Sakar, a 5th grade teacher at the BAAS school and graduate of the scholarship at Xavier Ateneo. Mr. Sakar is currently attending the Ateneo De Zamboanga for a master’s degree through the Howard scholarship program.
The students at the BAAS school are predominantly members of the Yakan ethno-linguistic group and were previously identified by school officials as coming from poor families and attending elementary school without first having breakfast.
The cost of the breakfast program is approximately one dollar per student per day, and many of the breakfast ingredients are sourced from nearby farmers and fishermen in Lamitan, Basilan.