SIATON, NEGROS ORIENTAL — One of the goals at the Bright Lights Children’s Learning Center here is to teach the children how to think critically and make them aware of the issues of the time. One of these issues is on climate change.
To learn about the issue, the BLCLC pupils and teachers traveled from Siaton to attend the 350 Climate Change Day held at Robinsons Dumaguete. Aside from the slideshows that explained what climate change means,the pupils also watched a “waste management” performance of the Youth Advocates through Theater & Arts (YATTA) which delved on the need to reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover.
From that experience, the children applied their gained knowledge into creating their own fashion from used clothes — which they presented at the grand opening of the learning center in Siit.
Also in observance of International Volunteers Day, the BLCLC team went on a two-hour Fun Walk along the coast of Siaton to plant mangroves in the denuded areas.
The children were first briefed that a mangrove area is a valuable ecosystem because it serves as a breeding ground for fish and crustaceans, and also helps clean the water.
The next step for BLCLC is to get the villagers to join them in their crusade to help save the environment in their small ways. The children are currently working on an environmental play, tackling the main question, “Where is our world now?” The children are encouraged to use their creativity and write their own script. The play will be presented to the community on Feb. 12 at the Bonbonon Barangay Hall. (Madeleine Baensch/German Development Service)