Dear Ms. Minotte,
Your email just arrived in time. I just got back from a 12-day trip to
Cotabato City. We are currently conducting our teacher trainings in
April since elections will be held this May. I apologize for the late reply.
Anyway, I put together some pictures of our distribution in Indanan and
Siasi, Sulu. I included pictures of the schools as well so you can see
how our children are doing in the Sulu areas. As you can see, the
classrooms are in need of repairs as well.
We distributed the books to schools which has requested for more books as well (we were only able to give for two
schools).
An added information - if you've heard of the recent hostage taking in
Sulu by the Abu Sayaff, the hostages were taken in the area of our
elementary school in Indanan (see page 2 of the attached pictures). Better
education will really play a big role in promoting development and consequently,
peace in the Muslim Mindanao area. The hostage-taking incident happened a
month after we visited the area and distributed the books you sent us. We
prioritized these schools for book distribution also because they are
most in need of materials. I hope you will be pleased to know that your
donations have (literally) gone a long way (from Manila to the southernmost tip
of the Philippines) and will help children that need them most.
Please do continue sending materials. We will bring them with us when
we go on-site for our trainings. We truly appreciate all the support you are
extending from there and for our children in Mindanao.
If you like, I can send the pictures individually as well (in jpeg
format),just let me know.
Anyway, hope you are doing well. Thank you so much again for your
continued support.
Best regards,
Trissa
