Pangasinan is often hit by storms so farming is an undependable source of livelihood. Most people live in dire poverty and the education source consists of public schools in the next barrios. Very few attend the public high school and even fewer go on to college.
There is a barrio in Malasiqui, Pangasinan called Dinacuan that have no running water and an electricity that fluctuates as the area is located within a remote area where people could be reached through a road from the main highway.
Eve Geslani, a busineswoman who owns a drug testing laboratory named, Quickcheck Lab, in Caloocan, generously provides for this barrio using the profit from her business.
Her dad grew up in Dinacuan and have more or less a hectare of property there where he had a chapel built called, Jesus Christ Savior of Souls Christian Church, last August of 2010. Every Sunday, a Christian pastor conducts services there and then free snacks were served for the attendees. There are roughly forty families who join the lessons and services regularly.
A sponsored college education with allowance of a full time religious worker stays in the Geslani rest house / chapel to teach more than fifty children of Dinacuan and to conduct bible studies and evangelism for the adults. There are regular lessons for children during the summer according to age group, with free meals per class included. The subject lessons consists of English, Math, GMRC, Filipino, Art, and Religion.
Eve's family supplies Dinacuan with food and educational materials. The other portion of the rest house was recently opened as a library so that the youth may borrow books and may have a conducive place where they could study their lessons or gather for sessions or meetings.
The Geslani's main thrust is to provide intellectual, moral, and spiritual enlightenment to the people of Dinacuan and other nearby barrios. They teach both the parents and the children that poverty was neither solved by waiting for gifts nor by begging, but with diligence, hard work, and firm belief in God.
In the future, Eve's family desires to register Dinacuan as a charitable institution, which requires a million pesos as capital. They also plan to expand the lessons to cover livelihood programs for parents who mostly depend on farming and odd jobs. Aside from these, they strive to have outreach programs, bigger chapel, separate library and a multi-purpose hall.
Sweet Says... Spreading good vibes through the act of generosity and kindness is a good way to teach a child in becoming a good person. My nephew will be celebrating his 10th birthday on Dinacuan this 18th of December, 2011. If you wish to share your blessings to the barrio of Dinacuan, I would be more than happy to send it to them for you. It is highly suggested to share food, clothing, educational materials, useful items such as but not limited to toothbrushes and slippers. You may leave a comment on this blog post or tweet me @iamsweetreyes.
If you're interested in sharing your momentous occasions with these kids, feel free to contact: Eve Geslani +63908 6535025
For more information on Quickcheck Lab, click
HERE!
For more information on JCSOS/ Dinacuan, click
HERE!
*Photos courtesy of JCSOS Facebook page.
