EMPOWERING FAMILIES TO EMPOWER THE COMMUNITY

Astorga Elementary School needed a boost with literacy program having had consistently poor ratings in children’s evaluation and performance in reading and writing. In early 2017,the  FPVI Team worked with teachers to devise a method to improve literacy levels by conducting additional lessons in reading, and in English. Subsequently, storybooks and information books for different reading ability levels have been made available to children and their teachers as learning resource.

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In 2020, FPVI's Literacy Enhancement Program has been moved to Banawang Elementary School, with a planned extension to Balire Elementary School. A 10-day Summer Camp Program in 2020 was planned for children of Banawang Elementary School but had to be cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic.

The Program aims to boost children’s reading and literacy levels by conducting additional lessons in reading. Storybooks and information books for different reading ability levels have been made available to children and their teachers as learning resources.

Working in partnership with Beengo Farm and the Leyte Electric Cooperative (LEYECO 3), FPVI introduced beekeeping advocacy in schools with the launching of Banawang Elementary School in October 2018 as the first bee-friendly school in Leyte. The initiative aims to inculcate awareness and motivate children to love and respect nature, instill a sense of individual responsibility for the preservation of the environment and for maintaining a healthy ecosystem, and to learn and appreciate the importance of bees and the benefits of the process of pollination. On the community front, the project encourages cooperation and productive collaboration in the smallest barangay in the smallest town in Leyte.

Supporting the pioneering efforts of Beengo Farm in introducing bee-farming and certified training on bee-keeping in Tunga, FPVI developed a garden for use as Beengo Farm’s satellite for onsite training. Targeted trainees include bee-keeping enthusiasts from neighboring towns and school children who are members of newly-organized bee clubs in schools; select trainees showing promise and deep interest in bee-keeping. Its strategic location in town will ensure the FPVI Bee Garden becomes a model for the community and provide visual inspiration to individual households on the viability of planting flowers and vegetables and keeping even a colony or two of bees in their own front or backyards.

Tunga is intrinsically linked to a river that traverses the poblacion. The river is well-known especially among neighboring towns. People come to picnic, bathe and do their laundry but over the years, misuse and abuse have caused it to deteriorate. The River Clean-up Project is another collaborative initiative among FPVI, Beengo Farm, and Leyte Electric Cooperative (LEYECO 3).  The Local Government Unit (LGU) of Tunga actively participated in this drive. In addition to reinvigorating the river, the project aims to revive the bayanihan spirit, and instill the idea of community service and civic responsibility. 

FPVI has worked with a family to re-establish their home which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.

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In March 2017, the rebuilding began-- coconut lumber was sourced from local lumber yard, where it had lain neglected, and re-purposed as house walls. The transformation of the house was remarkable in itself. But what was far more remarkable was the way in which the family recovered once their basic shelter needs were met. All school-age children attend school every day. Furthermore, mental health issues in the family have also been addressed.