The 5th Family Care Center at Bamban, Tarlac Inaugurated
Operation Brotherhood Community Foundation (OBCF) in partnership with the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) and Bloomberry Foundation inaugurated the fifth Pagsasarili Family Care Center in Barangay San Vicente, Bamban, Tarlac, last April 16, 2024.
The five Pagsasarili Family Care Centers host the Pagsasarili Twin Project to enhance children’s literacy and train adults on skills necessary for economic independence. These centers reflect all of the stakeholders’ collective efforts toward bettering the lives of fellow indigenous people around the region. “This [Pagsasarili Family Care Center Project] is something that was made in heaven, something that’s for us all,” CDC President Atty. Agnes VST Devanadera said in her welcome remarks.
OBCF Director Beverly Ciencia relayed an anecdote of a barangay captain from San Vicente, who reminisced how he had to walk through lahar to get to school after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991. He wished he was still young because there was finally a nearby school. Ciencia said, “The access to education happened because the stakeholders provided it. . . And [the residents] are very thankful for that.”
According to an OBCF training team member from Metro Manila, it was easy to teach the Aeta community because they were eager to learn. “Ang saya nilang turuan kasi happy din sila. Gusto rin nila ang trabaho.
On our part, we are happy. We don’t mind having to travel so far and staying in the center for long, kasi nakikita namin ‘yung resulta sa mga bata and parents.”
Bamban LGU representative Ms. Patrizia Santos shared her personal meaning of the project name, “It is a Family Care Center for a reason. The ‘family’ refers not only to the recipients but also to the stakeholders [working] altogether. Each one complements the other as a family. They are caring for the community. Therefore, this is a center where the community can go to and cater to their needs.”
Cienca concluded, “This is just the beginning.”
Interested parties may call the Foundation Office at (02) 8722-9720 to 27.