I first heard of IREACH through my colleague, Mylene V. Bendijo.

When I learned that

the group is going to have an outreach program in South Cotabato, I immediately
expressed my intent to join the scheduled program and booked a ticket to General Santos
City.
On June 11, 2015, we proceeded to Lake Sebu. The outreach was originally scheduled at
three o'clock in the afternoon. Due, however, to some mechanical problems of our
vehicle we arrived in Brgy. Tasiman at around seven o'clock in the evening. Despite our
late arrival we were warmly welcomed by the children of the T'boli and Ubo tribes. We
directly went to their tribal house for the activities.
The first activity of the night was story telling where the children listened to the story of
Pag-abot ng Kolor sa Lungsod.
After the story-telling activity, I was able to interview Jenny and Angie. They are both
Grade 6 student and members of the Ubo Tribe.
Jenny and Angie live near their school. They wish to become teachers someday. They
said that they never encountered any problems in school. They have complete sets of
books. They shared that they love reading books. The books open them to various
learnings. Despite having complete sets of school books, they hope that more people
will donate books, as there are many children in the community.
Moreover, Jenny and Angie shared that they both want to be teachers in the future. They
shared that being a teacher is a common dream of the children in their community. This
shows that children from the T'boli and Ubo tribes value learning.
They believe that books are the key to doors of opportunities. They also appreciate older
member of their tribes who return as teachers in their community. This goes to show that
these tribes believe that education is the key to the development and growth of their
community.
The outreach program in Brgy. Tasiman made me realize that children from far-flung
places have big dreams for their communities. The best way to achieve their dreams is
education and books are essential tools in educating children.