As Elizabeth Warren once said, "A good education is a foundation for a better future" however, not all children are guaranteed good education and, consequently, a promising future. This has been a challenge for children living in far-flung areas facing difficulties in going to school, such as walking to great lengths to reach their destination, including going up the mountains or crossing rivers and lakes, especially now that face-to-face classes are suspended in most areas of the country due to the pandemic.

 

LTC AGUSTIN N ARCEA PA (RES), Acting Battalion Commander of the 606th Ready Reserved Infantry Battalion and founder of the project "Education Under the Tree," reached out to the Aeta Community at Sitio Serum, Barangay San Nicolas, Buenavista Guimaras on April 23, 2022, to bridge the knowledge gap for the community's less fortunate learners.

 

Cpl Decion Joe P Gahum (Inf) PA, the Operations and CMO NCO of 606 Community Defense Center, five (5) enlisted reservists and Graduate School Students from Guimaras State College, Mc Lain, Buenavista, Guimaras, participated in this activity.

 

The program recipients were 130 Aeta children aged 5 to 25 and their parents, similarly grouped by age. Before doing various activities, such as literacy and numeracy mentoring, native product design for parents, and selected sports for out-of-school youth, orientation was provided.

The said undertaking is in support of one of the five (5) key priorities of MGEN FERNANDO V FELIPE, Commander of Reserve Command, Philippine Army, and the many functions of the Army Reservist as stipulated in Section 3 of Republic Act 7077, otherwise known as "Citizen Armed Forces or Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act. The Citizen Armed Force shall be provided maximum opportunity to participate in safeguarding the security of the state and assisting in socioeconomic."