ON MONDAY until Wednesday, I will be scaling the heights of the mountains in my town for the post Christmas gift-giving dubbed as Tuloy and Pasko ng mga Bata.

I will go with the team composed of DepEd officials of Sarangani to distribute goods and to conduct?a fun day for the kids at Sitio Kiangkos, Brgy. Pag-Asa, Alabel, Sarangani Province.

The area is a mountainous place that is beyond the reach of vehicles. As I’ve heard, we have to walk about 5 hours on a steep trek to get to the place. So we actually set one day for the trip to the area and another one for the journey back home.

I am preparing myself for that. I have already prepared that things I would need, like food for seven meals, first aid kit, and other personal effects. I started taking vitamin supplements so that I will be physically ready for the activity.

I don’t fully like the activity because it is merely giving away stuff, dole outs as they call it. Recall the teach-them-how-to-fish stand on the matter. I hope the government can do something more for the people in the area. If transportation is the problem, what should the government do? Farm-to-market roads must be a good project for them.

But of course I still believe that giving these things to the kids in the area is a good things because at least, we can make them happy. If done properly, it could encourage them to aspire for something better than they have, that there is more the world that they deserve to have that were born to.

I am excited about this trip. So, I would be gone for three days. But I have prepared some stuff, which would fill my absence.