Aweca Foundation and UPS International plant trees to feed children

Exactly a year now, the Aweca Foundation and UPS International have been implementing a unique combination of global volunteerism advocacy in upland Barangays of Pampanga.Dubbed as School Caravan: Plant a Tree to Feed a Child, the project involves the propagation, planting and selling of tree seedlings to generate funds and resources to feed malnourished indigenous children in target areas.

 Ma. Rollyn Palo of the Aweca Foundation said that more than 800 UPS International employees from Clark, Metro Manila and even from other countries have volunteered their time and efforts in the propagation of 5,000 trees and planting of 1,000 seedlings when the project was initiated in 2010.

These volunteers, according to Palo, also rendered their time and efforts  on other project-related activities such as feeding of malnourished pupils, tutoring of slow learners, and the beautification of Sitio Target Elementary School in Barangay Sapangbato, Angeles City and Villa Maria Integrated School in Porac.

 Palo said, the pupils, together with their concerned teachers, parents and other community members took charge of maintaining the seedlings and trees in their respective school-based nurseries.

 “With this delegation of tasks from propagation to replanting of seedlings to their maintenance and protection, stakeholders and beneficiaries alike mutually share in the responsibilities,” she added.

A year after the project implementation, some of the propagated seedlings were purchased by the same volunteers from UPS for their global volunteerism activity last October 22 where around 3,300 mahogany seedlings and cassava were planted by 350 UPS Clark employees, AWECA Foundation staff and barangay officials along the megadike in Barangay Maliwalu, Bacolor.

 Palo said that “the proceeds were turned over to the respective heads of these elementary schools who supervise the feeding project being managed by the concerned parents.” The beneficiaries are 146 indigenous pupils of Sitio Target, 312 in Villa Maria, and 181 in Camachile elementary school.

 A portion of the proceeds were also allotted for the procurement of seeds, organic fertilizers and other required supplies to ensure the sustainability of school-based tree nurseries to assure that on the following year, different organizations will be invited to buy the seedlings for another evolving effect of the project.

  

“The idea of the volunteers buying back the same seedlings after one year of propagation forplanting in other communities and serve as a feeding to the malnourish children is another revolutionary approach of the project which definitely creates a multiplier effect on the part of its target beneficiaries.

 The AWECA Foundation is positive that the basic principle of volunteerism among concernedcivic organizations and stakeholders in the community would result to valuable food security to the beneficiaries,”  Palo said.