Filipinx Culture Club Cares for Children in the Philippines

The Filipinx Culture Club (FCC) ran a Balikbayan Donation Drive for Kampo Santo Day Care Center in Pampanga, Philippines. A large white box was placed in front of the leadership room for CVHS students to donate any unneeded school supplies to the balikbayan. 

In Tagalog, the prefix balik means to return. The second part of the word, bayan, comes from the word bahay, which translates to home. Together, Balikbayan means “to return home.” 

When Filipinx families return home to the Philippines from the United States or anywhere outside of their homeland, it is traditional to bring multiple large Balikbayan boxes filled with gifts for their family. Junior Miguel Maliksi will return to the Philippines this summer and will bring  the donation box to Kampo Santo. With donations from the drive, which ran from Feb. 1 to March 7, the balikbayan was filled with school supplies such as notebooks, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, and sharpeners from CVHS students for the children to enjoy. Students also had the opportunity to gain service hours with Red Cross, Interact, and CSF clubs for their generosity.

Geographically, the Province of Pampanga is within Central Luzon on the northern shore of Manila Bay, bordered by Bulacan and Neuva Ecija to the north and east. Surrounded by such agriculturally rich provinces, Pampanga is a beautiful town abundant with greenery, clear lakes, and life.

“It was the community my dad grew up in so I wanted to give back,” said Maliksi when asked about Kampo Santo. His generosity encouraged the collaborative donations from students of FCC and the multiple service clubs.

“The other officers and I are extremely happy with the amount of donations we collected and are glad we can help kids in the Philippines,” said senior Rayann DeGuia, president of FCC.

If you ever want to create your own balikbayan or support FCC in any way, feel free to stop by during their meetings every week on Monday in room 214.