The roof of their 51-year-old school is falling apart.

Five hundred-one kids attend this school.

However, only the fourth and sixth graders are accommodated at this time because some of the buildings are dangerous and unhabitable. But daily, these Tboli kids trek up the hill where Lemehek Elementary School perched just above the lotus-covered Lake Seluton. They love school so much!

Remembering them dressed in their traditional garb, all smiles, and eager to learn, I knew I had to raise money for them as I did for their grandparents 51 years ago.

When I was 22, I taught at Santa Cruz Mission in the Land of Dreamweavers, Lake Sebu. At 73, I still enjoy supporting the Tboli community as if I have never left. As any educator could relate, a teacher's love transcends time and 10,000 miles distance.

In 1972, I helped raise money for our 500+ pupils in the old-fashioned way: by applying for grants from the US and Philippine governments, charitable organizations in the US and Germany, and targeted letters of appeal to individuals. Nowadays, I thank God for GoFundMe and that generous people still inhabit our imperfect world, making it easy to help the underserved collectively.

So when Mr. Reden Ulo, President of Santa Cruz Mission School Inc., emailed me a few days ago asking for help, I knew I could not stand idly by.

He was not asking for much. His wish list includes:

$65.27 will buy 33 kilos of nails of varying sizes.

$351.27 for 46 pcs of GI Sheet (26x12 feet) for the roof.

$382.00 for 220 pieces of 2x2x12 wood.

$783.00 for 118 pieces of plywood for the ceilings.

And if there's extra money, Mr. Reden wishes to paint the school.

$1,105.45 will buy 80 gallons of paint

$11.82 for paint brushes.

(My 8-year-old granddaughter Summer decided to forgo her Easter gift to pay for the paintbrushes. Her cousins, Nyx (16) and Lexi (11), also chipped in towards the paint).

Mr. Reden's wish list costs around a total of $6,500, factoring in the 40% labor.

According to him, all of the above will:

I've created this fundraiser to keep these children safe before another earthquake hits!

Earthquakes! I grew up with them. My heart sank four months ago (November 17, 2023) as I scrolled through my Facebook feed. I was thinking of Lemehek Elementary School!

The news flashed before me: a 6.8-magnitude undersea quake had struck the southern Philippines. While the catastrophe spared human lives and my densely populated region's vast infrastructure, it could have been worse. The ceiling of my hometown's newly built, high-end, state-of-the-art SM Mall collapsed under seismic force. A high school ceiling crashed onto the seats that students had vacated in a timely manner. Thank God for earthquake drills; no one was hurt. And Lemehek Elementary School survived, and the children were unscathed!

Alberto Olarte High School ceiling collapsed below.

But as I watched the images, my thoughts were drawn elsewhere—to the humble mission school nestled amidst the Tboli community in Lake Sebu, my first teaching job when I was 22.

I prayed for the safety of the Tboli children at the mission school.

Above is the original Santa Cruz Mission campus that welcomed me in June 1972 as part of its 20-member teaching staff.

In September 1973, Fr. Rex, a forward-thinking director of Santa Cruz Mission, fundraised to build the school buildings using hollow blocks and GI sheets for roofs. Now, the roof is falling apart. Mr. Reden Ulo visited the pupils outside my former classroom recently.

After reading the news about the earthquake, my mind raced back to the faces of the children, the eager learners under the shelter of a roof that had weathered five decades, ready to collapse! The wear and tear became more evident with each passing year. The safety of all the children hung precariously under the frailty of a deteriorating roof and ceilings. It was as if time had stood still as if I had never left.

I once again stand before the threshold of the school where I first embarked on my teaching journey. It began in June 1972, when I ventured into the heart of Santa Cruz Mission School dedicated to the indigenous Tboli people of South Cotabato. I taught English, a fourth language for many of them. The mission stood as a beacon of hope in the remote mountains of Lake Sebu, where until 1960, access to education was a distant dream. Before the Passionist Missionary priests erected the mission in 1961, the veil of illiteracy (at 98%) shrouded the Tboli community with staggering intensity. (The girls were disadvantaged gravely because of the dowry system that Tboli men could offer her family in an arranged marriage. For example, in 1972, I only had 3 girls in my sixth-grade class of 16. But this is a vanishing custom now).

Turning down the offer of the comfort of a cushy bank job in the city, I ventured into the unknown, much to my mother's bewilderment. Her incredulity echoed in her words, unable to fathom my decision to "forsake air-conditioned offices for the rugged terrain of the mountains without indoor plumbing." Yet, my fellow missionaries and I found great fulfillment amidst the bamboo walls of a humble dwelling shared with seven teachers and twenty-five Tboli girls. Cooking meals from scratch, scrounging for ingredients – it was a life stripped down to its bare essentials yet infused with a richness that transcended material comfort.

Three months into my teaching tenure, the call to serve took on a new dimension as I was entrusted with establishing and managing the Santa Cruz Mission Development Office. Fundraising became not just a task but a lifeline for the 500+ Tboli pupils whose futures hung in the balance and their very rich cultural heritage in jeopardy. Their community is fondly called "The Land of the Dreamweavers" because of their intricate T'nalak weaving, woven without patterns but by the design that comes from the spirits in their dreams, prized by textile collectors worldwide.

The mission became my home, its campus echoing with the laughter and dreams of those whose lives were touched by the gift of education. Many of our former pupils now manage their own tilapia farms, cultural centers, and the Santa Cruz Mission College and run the local government. Sadly, the first Tboli Mayor Sanon Loco and the latest Mayor Floro Gandam, Sr. (pictured with fundraiser below), my fourth and sixth-grade pupils, respectively, passed away too soon, too young.

Seven months ago, I visited my old classroom at the mission. As I stood amidst the weathered buildings of Lemehek Elementary School, the reality of time's relentless march became painfully apparent. The once sturdy roofs now bore the scars of age, ready to collapse, their frailty a silent testament to the passage of decades. With another earthquake looming as a constant threat, the urgency to act surged within me. This is why this fundraising venture is so important to me.

Above is my old advisory classroom for sixth graders.

The sign below reads Sta. Cruz Mission School Inc. Lemehek Elementary School (translated from Tagalog).

Mr. Reden Ulo, the president of Santa Cruz Mission Inc., sent me a project proposal to renovate the roof and ceilings. For the first time in its 51 years of existence, the building will get its first coat of paint to protect the concrete walls.

Since its inception, the mission school has been self-supporting. Not being a part of the public school system, it receives no funding from the Philippine government. It has, and still does, rely on the generosity of individuals.

The call to action is clear - we need $6,500 to replace the aging roof, mend the fractured ceilings, and paint a new canvas of hope upon the walls of Lemehek Elementary School.

The alumni of this school, their families, and friends are mobilizing to contribute. There is a famous Filipino custom called Bayanihan, derived from the Filipino word “bayan,” which means nation, town, or community. The term bayanihan itself literally means “being in a bayan,” which refers to the spirit of communal unity, work, and cooperation to achieve a particular goal.

Of the school's 501 total students, only 144 currently hold classes at the main buildings. The administration had to scramble to find temporary classrooms for the 357 primary school students in makeshift buildings below the main campus.

Would you join our Bayanihan endeavor before another earthquake hits the region and compromises the safety of 501 Tboli children?

I invite you to our Bayanihan cause. Together, let us write a new chapter of resilience, renewal, and unwavering commitment to the power of education.

Mr. Reden Ulo represents the beneficiary, Lemehek Elementary School. All donations collected will be sent to him.

The timeline for the project's completion is estimated at 10 weeks.

Hopefully, all 501 children will be able to gather again when the 2024-2025 school year opens in July.

We will provide periodic updates and reports for transparency.

Maraming Salamat. Thank you!

~Prima Guipo Hower, Warren, Rhode Island

Mr. Reden Ulo and a teacher taking us on a site tour of Lemehek Elementary School.