With the commitment and support of the community to the implementing partners and extended provisions of the Local Government, the Hapag-Asa Feeding Project sees its culmination after 6 months.
In close partnership with the LGU and the community, the student beneficiaries, alongside their mothers and guardians, attended the Hapag-Asa Feeding Project culmination and graduation. The event took place on March 2025 at Ma-ao Sugar Central Elementary School in Brgy. Don Jorge L. Araneta, Bago City – where majority of the student beneficiaries attended for their primary learning.
The event started with the MannaPack Rice Cooking Contest joined by the mothers of the beneficiaries. Various dishes were prepared by the contestants: MannaPack Paella, MannaPack Molo, and MannaPack Lumpia. These dishes were also prepared by the lactating mothers for their babies and toddlers.
The monitoring personnel of the project, as well as the MSCES Principal Cyril Valencia, faculty and staff, together with the barangay officials and representatives from Bago City LGU were present in the event. The Sugar Industry Foundation, Inc., as the implementing partner, was represented by Project Officers Alfael Belleza, Angelica Hebionada, and President and COO Edith Villanueva.
In her speech, Villanueva mentioned that with the positive result of the feeding project, it is possible for the initiative to continue – with the commitment and support to the advocacy on feeding the starving children and reducing malnutrition in the community. The collaborators and partners were also recognized for their utmost support and dedication to the project.
Positive results to the feeding project were commended as the beneficiaries’ weight and height significantly increased in 6 months. From the total 150 beneficiaries, 51% increased their body mass index from underweight to normal, while 49% will still be monitored by the Bago City LGU in the hopes of continuing the advocacy on reducing the number of malnourished children in the city.
*Reports from Alfael Belleza.
