Summer Visit from the Olorga Family and Mrs. Azucena

Last April 15, TF donors Jackie Lou Velasco-Azucena, and Joe and Joy Olorga visited St. Francis of Assisi School of Silay City and met their scholars for the first time.

The Olorgas were on vacation from the US with their son, Logan.  They have been sponsoring Mariel Sadio, who is in Grade 3, since 2012 when she entered SFAS in Pre-Kindergarten. They chose her as their scholar during the 35 Scholars Challenge in April 2012.

Jackie Lou has been supporting Tapulanga Foundation since 2005. She also helps in sponsoring other school needs of 10th grader Jhane Rose Coja.  

"On April 15, we finally got the chance to meet Mariel, our scholar since pre-kindergarten. It was quite nice to see her in person after several years of exchanging photos and messages via Facebook and email. It was very rewarding to see her doing so well in school and be able to gradually achieve her dreams in life with the help of the Tapulanga Foundation.  We also met our scholar's mother, Malou.

Thank you, for giving us a tour around the school grounds. We feel glad to see the school improving and growing, as well as giving the opportunity to help the students reach their goals in life. We will definitely come back and visit the school whenever we are in the Philippines." by Joe and Joy Olorga


"Last April 15, I went to St. Francis school to meet with my scholar Jhane Rose to see how she is. We had a small talk and told me she's doing well in school and that she'll be in grade 11 next year. Wishing her all the best and hope she keeps up her good grades." by Jackie Lou Velasco-Azucena

The Koutsavdis Share Their Blessings

Last March 18, Mrs. Mary Bayaban-Koutsavdis visited SFAS and brought gifts for her four scholars. She met her two new scholars for the first time, Rico and Christy.  Ms. Mary had previously visited the school several times in the past, and together with her husband, Evangelos, first sponsored a student in 2011 and have added one new scholar every year.

"Whenever I go on vacation in Negros I always look forward to visit St. Francis to meet our scholars. It always gives me joy in my heart to see them. My husband and I are thankful that we can share our blessings with these children." by Mary Koutsavdis

Silay Summer Workshop 2016

The Silay Summer Workshop ‘16 aims to provide continuous learning to the children on their summer break while having fun at the same time. The workshop starts on April 1 and ends on April 30.

This year, we are offering classes/camps in Drawing and Painting, Guitar, Hip Hop Dance, Volleyball, Football, Basketball and Swimming for 200 students.

Our registration fee for the class per student is Php 600 (for sports) and Php 1,000 – Php 1,500 (other classes). The fee covers the professional fee of the instructions/coaches and materials/supplies.  Students will receive a certificate at the end of the workshop. Each class can accommodate from 5-20 students, depending on the course.

We would like to thank the following for supporting Silay Summer Workshop ’16!

Major Sponsor

National Commission for Culture and the Arts

AY Foundation

Aboitiz Foundation

Tinihaban Agricultural Corporation

Minor Sponsor

Norconsult Management Services, Phils.

Anonymous donor

Patrons

Lopue’s East Centre

Roberto G. Abello

Sponsored a Scholar/s

Jory and Kat Jimenez 

Imelda Tongson-Batara 

Tony and Danuta Tse 

Betty Crader 

Helen Burke 

Randy and Renee Reyes 

Jacob Kaufman 

Sherrie Good 

Bimsy and Martha Mapa 

Jess, Jr. and Mariam Campos 

Mel Sanchez-Dumlao & Raquel Sian-Estrella 

Carisa Pangilinan 

Bob and Amy Strahl 

Ed Katalbas 

Carlo Lota 

Evelyn Cruz-Galvan 

Czarina Katalbas 

Atty. Dominique Iñigo 

Gilda Fernandez-Raum 

Jerome and Maria Concepcion 

Lala Alvarez 

RJ and Marissa Laguda 

Atty. Joanne Ramos 

Ichi Yabut 

Therese Tuvilla-Borromeo 

Lance Martinez 

John and Fern Schmidt 

Reeda Bantug 

Dr. Anna Calleja 

Prof. Liwayway Engle

Betchai Tamayo 

Emma Calanog 

Noel Casipit 

Ana Gonzaga-Layaoen 
Rani Alisan

Please click the following links for the Silay Summer Workshop ’16 photos and videos! 

Silay Summer Workshop '16 Orientation and Registration day!

Silay Summer Workshop '16 Week 1
Silay Summer Workshop '16 Week 2
Silay Summer Workshop '16 Week 3

Silay Summer Workshop '16 Week 4

Tapulanga Foundation's Silay Summer Workshop 2016 Graduation

TF Scholars Raymart and Mariel Sadio

Raymart and Mariel Sadio are both in 3rd grade at St. Francis of Assisi School of Silay City.  Their father Renante, works as a night-shift security guard at SFAS and their mother Malou weaves "nipa", a material for thatched roofing.

Raymart and Mariel have been TF scholars since they started Pre-Kindergraten at SFAS. This coming school year, their youngest brother, Renante, Jr., is hoping to study in SFAS with his siblings and be a TF scholar as well.

The Sadio siblings are just a few of the many aspiring young students to receive not just quality education at SFAS but also a chance for a better life as TF scholars.  Tapulanga Foundation is about to launch its "60 Scholars in 30 Days Challenge" and we are looking forward for you to be a part of this wonderful cause.

The Katalbas Siblings (Czarina and Ed) meet their Scholars (Laurine and John Rey)

Last February 12, siblings Czarina and Ed Katalbas, with their sister-in-law, Babes and nephew Ricky, visited St. Francis of Assisi School of Silay City and met their scholars Laurine Estardo (Grade 3) and John Rey Capa (Grade 9). They became sponsors of Laurine and John Rey when they joined the 50 Scholars Challenge in April 2013.  Czarina was a member of the Babes of Bacolod group in Los Angeles who helped raised funds and promote the programs of Tapulanga for many years.

L-R Laurine Estardo, scholar of Czarina and John Rey Capa, scholar of Ed

 

To Czarina and Ed, your generosity is greatly appreciated.  Thank you for taking the time to meet your scholars and visit the school. 

L-R Babes, Laurine, Czarina, John Rey, Ed and Ricky.

My sister and I visited our respective scholars as part of our very brief stay in the Philippines. And it was such a humbling experience to meet Micmic and Gen who showed us what Micmic’s family do to honor and continue the legacy of her grandma who founded the St. Francis of Assisi School of Silay. One can really sense the nobility and kindness of their undertaking in providing priceless life experience to kids who would otherwise be set in a different path.  The balmy weather, simplicity, charm and the welcoming spirit that pervaded the atmosphere of the school, where kids greeted us “Good morning visitors” at every turn, made me yearn to go back in time to be a kid again even if for just a moment and relive it like our scholars.  Such innocent, sweet and very lucky kids to be under the wings of the Tapulanga Foundation.  My utmost thanks to all of the wonderful people of the St. Francis of Assisi School and the Tapulanga Foundation. by Ed Katalbas

A Memorable Visit for the Lerma Family

The Lerma family visited St. Francis of Assisi School of Silay City last February 8 and met their scholars for the first time.  Benjie and wife, Aileen, with kids, Nate and Mandy, got to know their scholars, Trisha Villanueva (Grade 3) and Kier Vincent Barnueveo (Grade 5).  Benjie and Aileen have been dedicated sponsors since 2011. 

The Lerma family with their scholars (from front L-R: Kier Barnuevo, Trisha Villanueva,
Aaron Manjero, Renato Sadio, Jr. and Aleah Hechanova)

They also met their additional scholars for the next school year, Aleah Hechanova and Renato Sadio, Jr., both incoming Pre-Kindergarten students.  They also met Aron Manjero who is the scholar of Mrs. Ditas Lerma (mother of Benjie) who will also start Pre-Kindgarten in June 2016.  Each of the scholars happily received a gift from the Lerma family!  

To the Lerma family, thank you so much for your continued support and giving these children the chance to have a better life!

Our visit was very memorable.  My wife, children and I were really looking forward to meeting our scholars face to face for the first time.  It provided us the perfect opportunity to congratulate Kier Vincent and Trisha on a job well done.  We are really proud of how well they are doing in school and we hope that they continue to work hard until they graduate.  The visit also gave us a chance to meet our new scholars, Inday and Axel, as well as my mom's scholar, Ron Ron. We hope they will do well in school too.

The campus tour and the introductions to school personnel and students gave us an in depth look into the operations of the school.  Needless to say, we were very impressed.  

Our visit only strengthened our resolve to keep supporting our scholars and the school.

We look forward to visiting the campus and our scholars again in the future.   by Benjie Lerma

A New Year Visit!

On the first day of school after the holiday vacation, TF donors Ben Prince, Eric Yulo and Raffy Garcia visited St. Francis of Assisi School of Silay City and met their scholars for the first time. They got to know their scholars and toured the school campus.

Ben Prince with scholar, Jazzy Eguid (Grade 1) and
Eric Yulo with scholar, Claire Marie Deriada (Grade 7)

Raffy Garcia with scholar, Angelika Garcia (Grade 8)

With Eric's mother, Mrs. Ana Yulo

Ben and Eric have been sponsoring a child to school since 2009 while Raffy started in 2013 and chose his scholar during the 60 Scholars in 30 Days Challenge.

"Eric and I sponsor a couple of scholars there via this great organization called Tapulanga Foundation, and we got to meet our scholars, so that was cool. Mine's in first grade and very shy, but adorably photogenic!" by Ben Prince

"We had a great time visiting St. Francis of Assisi School of Silay City. I was very impressed with everything— from the well behaved students to the expansion programs currently underway. It was also a pleasure to meet my scholar Claire and Principal JR. Thank you for a delightful tour." by Eric Yulo

"I feel glad to have met Angelika in person. She seems like a sweet and level headed kid. Just exactly like the optimism I sense in her when I see her pictures and read her Christmas cards. I guess she's obviously enjoying being in school. Just shows how a good education could do so much for someone who really wants it too. It's really admirable what Tapulanga Foundation has been doing for these kids; to continually do this earnest and industrious effort from the heart so as to have an effect on someone's future. And I'm very happy to be a part of this endeavor, in whatever way that I can." by Raffy Garcia