Makati City - Black Pencil Project was featured on a business forum hosted by 2Linc Solutions, a fully integrated business process technology that streamlines e-commerce, electronic supply chain optimisation and system integration solutions. Dubbed as Business Matters, the forum was the launching event of 2Linc Solutions, held at the Ayala Museum where over a hundred attendees from various industries around the Philippines and South East Asia presented informative topical speakers and networking opportunities.

The calibre of each speaker ensured that the event was a resounding success lead by Mercedes Corrales, former president of Starbucks Coffee Asia Pacific and CEO for Starbucks Japan, Greg Quirk, General Manager of Australia's pharmaceutical wholesaler, Central Healthcare Services (CHS), Jan-Willem Adrian, Managing Partner of EBI, a company focusedon management and supply chain consultancy and keynote speaker, Alberto Lina, chairman of the conglomerate of related businesses in the logistics, Lina Group of Companies. The caliber of each speaker ensured that the event was a resounding success.

Also in attendance was Mon Corpuz of the Black Pencil Project, who presented a video and gave an overview ofthe charity work their organisation undertakes.

According to Corpuz,  "7 out of 10 Filipino children don't have access to early childhood education due to poverty and the risk is higher in remote & indigenous communities.

This disturbing statistics only mean one thing - many Filipino children during their crucial formative years are missing school.

Early childhood education is vital as enthusiasm of children of these age are very high and it deteriorates as they grow older. To reach maximum learning potential, a child has to be enrolled at the right age and at the right grade level.

Like any country around the world, literacy is a major concern. We know that education is a public business, therefore it's a shared social responsibility.

In the Philippines, it takes the whole community to solve the problem - we now see more private companies invest and help build classrooms to augment infrastructure shortage and more NGO's fostering pro-education programs.

But how about those who can't afford to build school or sponsor child scholarships?

Black Pencil Project comes in as an alternative platform to become socially responsible regardless of social strata - by asking simple things (often non-monetary support) like sharing our story, donating one pencil or letting go of their beloved teddy bear toy, an individual is empowered, allowing them to help in the simplest but most personal manner.

Since 2008, we have collected and collated light school materials and delivered it to critically remote & indigenous communities during back-to-school season and during times of calamity.

We believe that by providing pencils along with free startup kits on or before the opening school year, enrollment is increased significantly, inspiring not just the young but the entire community and the organizations around us.

I figured just now that what we are trying to do is similar to what you are doing - a wholistic supply chain solution, ours is only done - manually.

Through volunTourism; sheer network of mountaineers and weekend warriors working as volunteer sherpas, simultaneous treks are organized to deliver the study kits fast and efficient with remarkably less logistical costs."

This is our story. You can help us by sharing our story to your organizations. Thank you." Corpuz concluded.

2Linc Solutions donated  7,000 pencils to the Black Pencil Project.


About 2Linc Solutions -

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The persons behind Black Pencil Project (BPP) prove that there’s a hero in every Filipino’s heart as they spread goodwill and hope for others. BPP promotes primary and indigenous education in far-flung communities. 

Aside from school-related missions, BPP commits on a project which corresponds on the recent catastrophe Typhoon Pablo which strike some places in Mindanao such as Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley. While some volunteer organizations are busy on relief operations, Black Pencil Project does the “A Thousand Bearhugs Project” – a toy drive campaign.

Black Pencil Project's 1000 Bearhugs Project responds to disaster by providing huggable toys to help children cope up with trauma.
 

Black Pencil Project's 1000 Bearhugs Poster

BPP’s goal in this project might sound so simple but means a lot for the victims of the typhoon. “To children, stuffed animals like teddy bears are more than toys. They’re imaginary friends who are effective comfort givers in times of extreme stress and fears, helping them heal from trauma and tragedy.”

The teddy bears and other stuffed toys collected will be used in psychosocial intervention and trauma debriefing by different groups in Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley.

BPP serves the Filipino children for almost five years from the initiative of hobbyist photographers Mon Corpuz, Edwin Karganilla, and Zer Cabatuan.

It was in June 2008 when they visited a small community Ifugao and bring a bag of pencils for the kids in the area. Since then, they vowed to continue the effort in their own little way. BPP had gone far, from a simple to a collective advocacy. In fact, they continuously receive support from private individuals and various organizations.

BPP has distributed more than 80,000 units of pencils and had visit 20 provinces in the country.

One Day on Earth Global Screening on 04/22/12

Makati City - This Earth Day, Black Pencil Project invites you to a free global screening event of the first One Day on Earth Motion Picture.

Philippines' Black Pencil Project is proud to be featured on this very unique, auspicious film created from over 3000 hours of footage, and shot by our community in every country of the world on October 10th 2010.

Together, we have created a picture of interconnected humanity never before possible.

Thank you for supporting us as we tell Black Pencil Project story to the world.

Please share.
 

Check out the trailer at http://vimeo.com/26378195.

To register and get updates, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/282756768465344/.

Makati City - To kick-start the year, Black Pencil Project together with Climbed Against Cancer founder Nini Andrada Sacro launched the 1000 Hugs Project to help children of typhoon-stricken Cagayan De Oro and Iligan City cope up with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Last December, massive flood rummage low-lying villages, and claimed hundreds of lives in Northern Mindanao. Inspired by Cathy S. Babao's A Thousand Bears for Bicol last 2006 for Albay typhoon victims, a collaboration was formed through social media Facebook. The project was name A Thousand Bearhugs Project and soon start campaigning to collect 1000 teddy bears that will be shipped and used during debriefing and therapy workshops of local counterparts like Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, Ginhawa Tent and Hope Worldwide Philippines.

The result was staggering, at the end of the project we gathered 6000 toys from individuals, families, schools, hospitals, companies from the Philippines and abroad. That's 6x the number of the original number we wish to collect.

Most notable outcome was the participation of 7-year old Australian-American girl named Bronte who's parents are visiting Manila for an international film production. Her YouTube video appealing for toys from her friends went viral and collected at least 3,000 teddy bears and plushies from countries like Australia and United States..

There were so many toys that we were able to extend the program to survivor children of Guihulngan and La Libertad in Negros Oriental that was shocked by magnitude 6.5 earthquake in February, a month after the massive floorings in Northern Mindanao.

"Black Pencil Project core programs are seasonal in nature but over the years, we have developed awareness programs in response to multi-sectoral humanitarian relief drives particularly during calamities. In the past, we've done Pencil Drives and Tees of Hope for Typhoon Ondoy, Paddle To Care for typhoon-stricken Kalinga province. It shows that we've graduated from just giving out pencils" say Mon Corpuz, BPP Program Director

"1000 Bearhugs was successful because of the outpour of support garnered from collection to distribution. Everyone was so inspired and excited, even our driver!" recalls Nina Sacro, founder of Climb Against Cancer. Sacro since January, scoured Metro Manila to ferry teddy bears and plushies from various collection points. 

It's inspiring to hear the stories that came along with the bears and that makes the project even more special. "1000 Bearhugs facilitated thousand of ordinary people to help typhoon victims in their most personal way" Corpuz added.
 

A 1000 Hugs Project featured by the Philippine Daily Inquirer - March 11, 2012
A 1000 Hugs Project featured by Manila Bulletin - March 5, 2012

Study Kit Guide

BPP Pencil Trek Back to School 2012 Coming Soon

For many of us, life has gone on after our initial efforts to help our brothers and sisters in Northern Mindanao. It’s been 10 weeks since typhoon Washi, or Sendong, devastated Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, leaving almost 2,000 people dead.

The United Nations Humanitarian coordinator in the Philippines, Jacqui Badcock, and donor-representatives visited CDO and Iligan in February to see how the humanitarian programs they set up have been addressing the needs for shelter, food, basic social services and livelihood programs.
“I have visited these sites several times since the flash floods, and each time, I have been impressed with the progress made, be it rows of bunkhouses built or an expansion of humanitarian services provided,” said Badcock. “This is a testimony of the good collaboration between the authorities and aid agencies that has continued to strengthen over the weeks.”

Badcock was impressed with the resilience of the affected communities.
“Many people with whom I spoke expressed a desire for work and for means of livelihood. We need more resources to help them get back on their feet as soon as possible.”

Life in CDO and Iligan has not returned to normal. While we in the city continue to be “entertained” by the goings-on in the Senate or the antics of some politicians, thousands of people in the south continue to be at risk.
More than 211,000 people remain displaced in Iligan and CDO, according to a UN report. The majority of the displaced are living with host families or in makeshift shelters; about 13,600 people are in 40 evacuation centers. Humanitarian agencies estimate that 69,000 people living in tents and schools urgently need temporary shelters while houses are being constructed.

The Philippines’ Humanitarian Country team seeks a funding of $39 million to cover the humanitarian and early recovery needs of over 624,000 people until June. More than $14 million has been received already, leaving unmet requirements of $25 million.
Negros Oriental, which was struck by an earthquake last February, and the devastated towns of Guihulngan and La Libertad are yet another story.
Because the deficit is so large and the need so great, the desire to help, no matter which part of the world you are in, remains.

In Manila, for the Black Pencil Project and Climb Against Cancer, we partnered with the Rural Missionaries of Philippines-Northern Mindanao Region and the psychosocial support group, Ginhawa, to bring teddy bears and stuffed toys to children affected by Sendong in CDO and Iligan. The campaign gathered 3,000 bears and stuffed toys.
Almost 2,000 bears, packed by college students of Ateneo de Manila, 75 balikbayan boxes were delivered on Valentine’s Day to evacuation centers in CDO and Iligan. The boxes were flown to CDO for free by Philippine Airlines through PAL Foundation’s Carmen Sarmiento.

The furry friends came from all over. There was a shipment from the Brentwood community in the East Bay, San Francisco. Myda Aguilar Prieto rallied friends and gathered seven balikbayan boxes which were then flown in courtesy of DHL. Those stuffed toys will go to Guihulngan and La Libertad in Negros Oriental, and other unreached areas in Iligan.
Friends from Bacolod, led by Isabel Lovina, have also collected toys and care packages for Negros Oriental children.

In the grand scheme of things, a stuffed toy might be a small thing compared to shelter or food on the table. However, to a child who has lost practically everything, having something to hug in these uncertain times is sheer joy. While we cannot solve the world’s problems, we do what we can to alleviate the sufferings of others.

MANILA, Philippines — On two separate days last month, several trucks full of “love’’ were seen making a beeline for the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

Residents of these two cities, especially children, were surprised to see that the trucks did not have the usual food and clothing supplies. Instead, the trucks had stuffed toys, thousands and thousands of huggable plushies of all shapes and sizes, colors and characters!

Soon, the somber and gloomy atmosphere in the evacuation sites in Mandumong and Santa Filomena, the hardest hit villages in Mindanao, turned festive. Everyone was in high spirits, laughing, cuddling, excitedly talking.

And the children, they were smiling again.

THE POWER OF BEAR HUGS

Mon Corpuz, project director and cofounder of the volunteer organization Black Pencil Project (BPP), says help in all forms — including psycho-social therapy — is being extended to the victims of typhoon Sendong. Yet no group or organization has thought of using stuffed toys as a tool in the post traumatic debriefing of the children.

While BPP’s advocacy is centered on collecting pencils and school supplies and distributing it to poor children in remote areas and indigenous communities, the group was also in search of the best way to help the victims.

Inspired by the stuffed toy therapy initiated by writer Cathy Guballa for Bicol typhoon victims in 2006, Corpuz thought of adopting the activity in the affected areas in Mindanao. Guballa, who learned about the toy drive, soon linked up with BPP.

On Valentine’s Day, the first batch of plushies that they collected from schools, call centers, and hospitals were distributed. Judging from the reaction of the kids, Corpuz knew right there and then that it was the most brilliant idea that they have ever done.

“It was a very rewarding and humbling experience for me. Nawala lahat ng pagod namin. It’s because you can see instantly the effect of the teddy bears on the children and even their parents. Kung gaano ka excited ‘yung mga bata, ganun din ‘yung mga parents. There’s really something about these stuffed toys na napaka positive ng effect. Even the NGO workers in the evacuation sites were all in high spirits. I guess the stuffed toys sort of revived the little children in all of us. Everyone was so positive and happy,” recalls 31-year-old Corpuz who works for a digital advertising agency.

TEDDY BEARS IN MEMORIAM

Yet, Corpuz could not erase from his mind the fact that these very children and parents suffered pain and trauma since the storm claimed their homes, livelihood and loved ones. He was so affected by these kids that he was at a loss for words most of the time. He couldn’t even take pictures!

“One thing that really struck me was when a group of mothers, five of them, approached us and asked if they could also have teddy bears in memoriam of their children. Nung una akala ko lapida ang hinihingi pero teddy bears pala! After one day, I realized that it must have been so painful for these mothers to see us distributing the bears to other children while they didn’t even know where their children had gone, if they were still alive or dead,” shares Corpuz.

So affected was Corpuz that it came to a point that he blamed himself for not anticipating such scenario and for unwittingly hurting the feelings of those mothers.

“I asked myself, was there a better way to do it without inflicting so much suffering on them? Dapat ba itinago muna namin sa mga magulang at itinipon na lang sa isang tabi ‘yung mga bata at doon ibinigay? But Cathy told me that I have to forgive myself. I am doing a noble thing and we were all just learning from these experiences,” he adds.

Before the toy distribution in Iligan, BPP first held a puppet show to make the activity more meaningful for the kids and volunteers. The role of the teddy bear in a child’s life was incorporated in the story, its ability to comfort and help ease one’s pain. The puppet show was conducted in partnership with Hope Worldwide Philippines.

In any BPP activity, Corpuz adds that they also emphasize the delineation between the donor and the beneficiary so that they won’t feel that they are just being pitied. “They need to feel that we are here because we are their friends. We want them to know that we genuinely care,” he says.

THE JOYS OF GIVING

At the end of the day, the outreach activity brought joy not only to the hearts of the beneficiaries but also to those who took time and effort to give.

Elementary pupils from Miriam College, for instance, did a toy drive for BPP without even telling them. A child spent her birthday cash gifts to buy brand new toys for the project.

Some call center offices set up boxes in their offices and the employees helped fill it up with plushies. Starbucks, meanwhile, displayed thei r posters for free in their stores to help spread the campaign. Bronte Henfling, a seven- year-old

American girl who was on vacation in the Philippines with her parents, made a YouTube video appealing for old and new stuffed toys. People from various countries responded to her call. She was able to raise 2,500 toys which were distributed by BPP last week in Iligan.

The toy therapy sessions, meanwhile, were conducted by volunteers of Dr. Honey Carandang and the Mindanao Sanitarium Hospital. Philippine Airlines, the Philippine Army, Climb Against Cancer and the Iligan Rural Missionaries of the Philippines North Mindanao region are also major partners of the toy drive.

“When you ask the volunteers, they will say mas malaki ang nakuha nilang tulong kaysa sa ibinigay nila. Some of them who feel that they are living miserable lives later realize that they are indeed very lucky compared to these kids who lost almost everything. Then they become more responsible and sensitive to the needs of others. The most important benefit, though, are the experiences on our journey there and in interacting with the kids. Because at the end of the day, we are all brothers and sisters and we should help each other in the simplest but the most heartfelt way,” says Corpuz.

BPP also plans to conduct a similar toy drive for earthquake victims in Negros.