Located in Camarines Norte, Philippines, Maisog has an inspiring—if not uplifting—back story. The small town started as one of the region’s poorest communities. It also hosts as having one of the lowest standards of education across the province. Townsfolk here used to practice illegal slash-and-burn farming.  Most exploited the land just so they could survive and feed an average household of four to five kids.

A young girl looks at the nearby river.

Through the help of the Maisog Watershed Initiative (MWII),  Maisog’s residents were given a chance to start anew. Capacity-building projects and organic farming practices brought about by MWII’s founder, Yoying Pimentel, has helped revive the town slowly.

A resident from Maisog presents her organically farmed crops.

Though environmentally sound farming is slowly helping the community, there still lies the problem of education. Having almost 70% of the town’s population composed of children, the kids have to hike through a couple of streams and foot trails just so they could reach Maisog’s public school. On top of that, a shortage of school supplies and reading materials also hamper their educational growth.

Unboxing the donations

With that in mind, the nearest source of education these kids would have comes from the town’s community library. Here, the library serves as a much-needed supplement. It hosts books, encyclopedias, toys and what not. Sometimes, volunteer teachers travel to the small town and offer free educational services.

Parents help out in sorting the books.

Vertaccount’s maiden corporate social responsibility (CSR) project started here in Maisog. We’ve coordianted with the Friends of the Library of Hawaii and LBC to provide the small township with educational material. Though this might just be a small step, but it’s a step in the right direction. It enriches not only the town’s library, but also the minds of the young children who frequent it.

We’d like to thank Yoying Pimentel of MWII, the nice people of the Friends of the Library of Hawaii, LBC for transporation logistics, everyone involved in this project and most especially the beautiful, lively residents of Maisog. You’ve shown us that with a little hope, compassion and hard work, we can do amazing things.

The thankful people of Maisog

To view more of this inspiring project, you can visit our Facebook page here.