BIG WINNERS. Team XU’s Ligsok Night School Program is one of this year's Youth Catalyst Project Grantees of the "I Transform!" campaign of the YouthLead Philippines. Supplied photo.
After presenting the Ligsok Night School Program, a team from Xavier University emerged victorious at the recently-concluded Kabataan Fair, a project proposal competition during the 5th Philippine I Transform! Young Leaders Convention (PITYLC) in Baguio City.
XU Teachers Guild president Love Ravina (a junior Elementary Education student) and STREAMS - Pathways to Higher Education vice-president Gregory Louis Magbanua presented the Ligsok Night School Program before the confab participants and panel of judges. XU Student Activities and Development (SACDEV) head Richel Petalcurin served as their coach.
Besides the medals, the XU team received a cash prize worth Php20,000.00 to be used in the operations of the said night school program.
After besting 25 competitive groups, Ligsok program was awarded as one of this year's three Youth Catalyst Project Grantees of YouthLead Philippines.
Night school for street children and out-of-school youth
Ligsok (meaning "child") is a night school program duly-accredited by the Alternative Learning System of the Department of Education (DepEd), supported by XU School of Education through its student council, Teachers Guild.
The program traces its roots from the street tutorial advocacy of XU formator Jerome L Torres. Now, it is an official extension of DepEd’s ALS with an assigned licensed teacher. Fifteen learners are currently attending the Ligsok classes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, held at entrance grounds of the XU Gymnasium.
The goal of this project is to aid learning and prepare students for the ALS acceleration exam and in the long run, enable them to have access to formal education.
“It indeed takes a village to raise a child. In our case, it takes generous hearts and creative minds to come together to impact lives. Receiving the award is just the beginning of the heavier call to believe in the power of our young people, our student leaders to make movements right where they are, in our campus, yet ripple tremendous inspiration and move others to act and do the same kindness,” shared Petalcurin.
“I would like to share this award to Mr Jett Torres who did not give up on this ‘frontier,’ that is to dignify the lives of the street children and out-of-school youth through education,” she added.
The awardees hope that this humble award they have received from PITYLC could go a long way, as Petalcurin put it, “to inspire others to continue being men and women for others, for the greater glory of God.”
DEVELOPMENT AGENDA. Members of the XU delegation hold sintra boards enumerating some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Supplied photo.
Global goals
This year’s PITYLC was held from September 22 to 26 at the Teacher's Camp in Baguio City bearing the theme, “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A transformative journey towards a better nation, a better world by 2030.”
More than 740 delegates from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao attended the young leaders convention.
Meanwhile, another team from XU won the second place in the video-making contest against over 30 contenders from different institutions in the country.
The XU video-making team was composed of junior Mechanical Engineering student Michael Banjo Poblete and Xavier Senior High School student leaders Patricia Damasing, Jan Muriel Navarro, Maya Asuero, and Angelo Chan. The group received a cash prize worth Php8,000.00 and a medal for each team member.
In the adult leaders category, XU Mission and Ministry’s Whitney Graine Nagasan reaped the Best in Filipiniana Award during the leaders gala while the group Petalcurin handled and facilitated throughout the convention won the award for Outstanding Adult Group of PITYLC.
An annual event organized by YouthLead Philippines in collaboration with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the convention was aimed at increasing awareness and igniting action among young people on the pressing issues and concerns our country faces. ∎