Outreach Program at Banaue Rice Terraces

Cambulo-Batad, Ifugao
May 22-23, 2010

I and some of my good friends at the office (Nico, Vergel, Milton, Marianne, and Renai) joined the Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) organization in delivering school supplies to a remote school in Cambulo-Batad, Ifugao. It was a long and eventful journey, which started with an overnight trip in a freezing bus. The 7-hour trek itself was tiring what with the heavy load, steep climb and unforgiving sun, that the slightly heavy downpour during the climb was actually a welcome relief.

We reached the school at 5 PM and wasted no time in exploring the area. Later in the night was spent with preparing dinner, complete with chocolate fondue, and a group activity that required us to perform some dance moves.

It was the following morning when we distributed the school supplies to the kids. The program kicked off with a cultural presentation from the kids followed by a few fun games. Here are some photos taken by Nico:

Right before noon, we left the school grounds and headed to Banaue Rice Terraces. Of all the things that happened in the past 24 hours or so, this would probably be the most memorable, not because of the breathtaking view of the terraces (although I'd remember that for sure) but because of the very long and dangerous trek going there, including one miss-a-step-and-you-die narrow cliff.