Deped schools in NegOr raise funds for Japanese tsunami victims
by Rachelle M. Nessia

DUMAGUETE CITY, September 1 (PIA) --- In a humanitarian gesture for the help Japan has given to Negros Oriental in the past, public schools here are raising funds to help scores of Japanese families who were affected by the recent tsunami that hit the island nation.

The Department of Education (DepEd) here on August 25 turned over to the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) for counting the more than 500 canisters filled to the brim with coins voluntarily given by students from public elementary and high schools provincewide.

The SK officials led by SK Provincial President Scott Wayne Husain have been tasked to count the coins, together with some DepEd personnel.

The funds raised will be given to Tatsu Furukawa, a Japanese volunteer who has been assisting tsunami-affected families in his homeland, to help the families living inside the refugee camps of Shichigahama town in the Miyagi prefecture in Japan.

Initial counting as of August 26 pegged the money from said canisters at P40,000, said Adolf Aguilar, Division Information Communication Technology Coordinator. "We are still expecting more canisters to arrive from the schools as not all the public schools have been accounted for," he said.

There are currently five more boxes of coin-filled canisters at the DepEd office, which Aguilar said would be turned over to the SK office for counting on September 2. "We will be handing over to SK the canisters for counting as they come," added Aguilar. 

There are 469 total public elementary and secondary schools in Negros Oriental. 
 
DepEd's fund-raising activity is in line with efforts initiated by First District Congresswoman Jocelyn Limkaichong to help the tsunami-affected families in Japan. 

Provincial Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Milagros Velez in her speech during the turnover ceremony, said their fund-raising is "just a small gesture that comes from our hearts."

"We owe the Japanese government a lot. Japan was one of those who financed the Third Elementary Education Project to put up school buildings in Negros Oriental. These schools are now all over the province," Velez said.

Some 43 high schools here have also benefited from a Japanese grant-funded computerization program implemented through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), according to Aguilar.

 
Furukawa, who was present during the turnover ceremony to receive the canisters, was moved to tears by the fund-raising efforts extended by DepEd and the office of Cong. Limkaichong.

The coins, which are voluntarily given by the public school students, will be used by Furukawa to buy tatami mats for the 392 makeshift houses erected inside the Shichigahama refugee camp where families displaced by the tsunami have sought temporary shelter.

During his visits to the camp, Furukawa found out that the flooring of the temporary shelters are made of only a single plywood, making for a hard surface. “We Japanese don’t use chairs so we sit on the floor. The tatami will help provide comfort for them,” he explained.

Tatami also controls moisture inside a room by absorbing almost two liters of moisture.
 
Japan was rocked by a powerful earthquake in March this year, one of the worst in recorded history, which unleashed a tsunami that hit the Miyagi Prefecture in Japan’s east coast where some waves were reported to reach 10 kilometers inland. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)

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America in 3D goes to Cebu City

by Jennifer Catan-Tilos

DUMAGUETE CITY, Sept. 1 (PIA) The U.S. Embassy brings   America in 3D to Cebu City on September 16-18.

 This program highlights American culture, values, and services in the Philippines. 

In a press statement by Embassy Information Officer Yolly de Guzman, U.S. Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, Jr., will be opening the three-day extravaganza at SM City Cebu’s North Wing Atrium at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 16.

De Guzman said residents of Cebu province and its neighboring areas are invited to participate in America in 3D by coming to SM City’s North Wing Atrium anytime between 10:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. from Sept. 16 to 18.

All events are free and fun for the entire family.  Programs include a packed lineup of musical and dance performances of American genres, including blues, country music, hip-hop, Broadway, and today’s best hits, it stated.

“There will be free samplings of American food, information about applying for visas and how to study in the United States, and representatives of two American companies—Accenture and Lexmark—will accept resumes for careers in their companies,” said De Guzman.

America in 3D brings the Embassy directly to Cebuanos to meet many representatives of various Embassy sections, including the Visa Section, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Commercial Service, the United States Agency for International Development, the Foreign Agricultural Service, Peace Corps, and the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (Fulbright Commission). 

Ambassador Thomas and the other Embassy representatives will be available to answer questions throughout the program.

America in 3D is a nationwide initiative that takes the Embassy on the road throughout the Philippines in order to deepen the relationship between Americans and Filipinos. 

Cebu City , third visit running program of an outreach initiative of the U.S. Embassy, after   Quezon City in March and Baguio in July 2011.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila is presenting America in 3D jointly with its partners: Accenture, Lexmark, McDonald's, SM City Cebu, Radisson Blu Hotel, andEl Cielito Hotels. (PIA NegOr/JCT)