TAYO Awards: Youth as nation builders

MANILA, Philippines - It was an occasion of shared victory and hope as the 12th Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) were recognized at Malacanang Palace recently. The awards featured exceptional youth organizations that are passionate, driven, and creative in responding to the call of nation-building.

The 10 winners hailed from different parts of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.They prove how efforts, even from small groups, can go a long way as long as they are true to their cause.

Balay Kanlungan ng Karunungan

Kanlungan Pilipinas Movement Inc.

Kanlungan Pilipinas won for the second time for their project, Balay Kanlungan ng Karunungan, their nipa-hut project that brings e-book technology to remote rural communities for the youth to experience. The nipa hut houses an Android-based mini personal computer pre-installed with ebooks, educational games and videos, and a 16-inch LED television – all run by a solar power system, a first in the Philippines.

Milk Matters

Phi Lambda Delta Sorority

The Phi Lambda Delta Sorority pioneered the health program project, Milk Matters, to address the shortage of breast milk needed by babies with critical conditions in the ICUs at the UP-Philippine General Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PGH-NICU) and further take a step forward in empowering mothers to practice breastfeeding.

Eco-Raft Project

Red Cross Youth & Junior Rescue Team

This school-based organization in Kawayan City, Isabela was recognized for their project, Eco-Rafts. During days the river near the school rises, 40 percent of the students are hindered from going to school. Because of this, the students came up with the idea to build rafts made of empty bottles.

Mangrove Reforestation

Youth for Environment in School Organization-LCNHS RANSOHAN

Through the efforts of a team of volunteer teachers to bring environmental knowledge to a mangrove-surrounded community in Lucena City, locals, especially the youth, became engaged in planting mangroves and cultivating them. They use the mangroves to make charcoal.

Agricultural Waste to Energy

Katipunan ng mga Kabataang Santiagueno

In a mountainous region in Santiago City, Isabela, this youth organization creates charcoal from agricultural waste. This way, they help improve their community by means of cleanups, generating livelihood for indigent families, and sending out-of-school youths to school. Their project has produced 98 graduates of technical and vocational courses.

Pondong 2B’s

Indigenous Youth Servant Leaders Association of the Philippines-Isabela

A group of indigenous youth devoted their efforts to help fellow indigenous youth in the mountains come up with a project to address  education, health, environment, peace process, and mentorship issues. The Indigenous Youth Servant Leaders Association of the Philippines was recognized for their project, Pondong 2Bs para sa IPs, the 2B standing for bote (bottle) and bakal (steel) which they collect, sell, and utilize at the lowland to fund their projects for groups in the uplands.

Project RISE

ACCESS-PYLP Alumni Assoc.-ZAMBASULTA Chapter

Involving young entrepreneurs and out-of-school youths from Basilan, Sulu, and Zamboanga City, Project RISE provides skills training and small grants to start their own business. With aid from the US Embassy of Manila and ACCESS-PYLP Alumni Association, the program became sustainable and successful. It aims to empower victims of war in Mindanao, capacitating them through livelihood and a deeper sense of responsibility amidst the turmoil. Among the skills taught are crafts making, fish processing, and agricultural technology.

Empathy-based Programming

Move This World–Phils. Inc.

In multi-cultural Mindanao, Move this World-Philippines Inc. instills the value of empathy to bring together the children of Mindanao by addressing the problem of bullying. The interactive project, Empathy-Based Programming through Games and Creative Expression for Bullying Prevention, engages students, educators, administrators, and families in an arts-based approach of promoting compassion, mediation skills, and conflict transformation.

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Univ. of San Agustin Little Theater and Youth for a Livable Cebu

A week after the super typhoon hit, University of San Agustin Little Theater responded as artists, as humans, and as students to Yolanda-stricken Iloilo with theater performances, providing comic relief and a gust of hope, especially to the children. Their creative theater play, “Basura Busters”, staged in unconventional spaces, aimed to reach out and reassure the community in Iloilo with their interactive and spirited performance. Together with the university’s medical help and relief goods, the students brought with them their passion to share and a performance of hope, eliciting laughter and relief.

Serving Lives

RAPID INC.

Visayas-based Rescue Assistance Peacekeeping Intelligence Detail (RAPID) Inc. trains out-of-school youth, senior citizens, and marginalized sectors in disaster preparedness and disaster response. The skills learning allows the individuals to gain distinctive roles in society despite their circumstances especially when natural disaster strikes.

Winning a TAYO award is more of a humbling experience for most, an affirmation that their efforts have led to tangible change, encouraging them to push forward and continue their noble cause. Though a trophy is enough assurance, they are also immensely grateful for the financial grants awarded to their respective organizations, which they will then use to fund their projects. Aside from receiving support from the government, they also hope to create better awareness for their projects.