Back when it started in 2007, Trails to Empower Kids (TREK) was just a group of avid mountain climbers who spent most of their weekends following trails. Their ascent to summits made them see not just the beauty of life among mountain dwellers, but also the difficulties. The idea of doing an outreach program for children who live in the highlands came up during one of those climbs, and the group had since committed to it, giving a deeper meaning to what used to be a weekend hobby.
TREK started with 15 volunteers, including the founders, and hiked off to a small community in Itogon, Benguet province, where they had a simple gift giving and party for the kids. They felt tremendous joy doing this and were so motivated to do more that they began to spread the word through social media. Soon enough, TREK would have a pool of 250 active volunteers.
Through their efforts, the group has managed to conduct 59 missions all over the country that benefited 69 schools with more than 10,000 students. While these schools are accessible by boat or after hours of trekking, they seem worlds apart from the rest of the country in the dearth of community service and aid they’ve had to cope with.
In all its missions, the group provides bags filled with school and art supplies, storybooks, and hygiene kits. But as they went on, the members realized that the community they had chosen had more pressing needs like a potable water system, makeshift classrooms and even the most basic toilet. With the help of community leaders, TREK was able to build these.
Because the volunteers had diverse training, skills, talents and interests, they were also able to conduct different activities like art workshops, dental or medical missions, sports and games, storytelling and even workshops for parents on climate change. Food and games proved to be a good way to bond with the children and the community.
Friendship built
While TREK volunteers look forward to outreach projects since most of them love the outdoors and have a passion for exploring and helping, what they savor most is the friendship they’ve built and the bonds they’ve forged with people who have a common love for travel, local culture and food.
Despite such strong motivation, the pandemic proved to be a challenge for the group.
With schools shifting to online learning while the city went on strict lockdown, they could not just go out to distant communities to distribute supplies or assess what else they needed. But partnering with local organizations and the teachers themselves helped us with the logistics.
Memorable
Though the volunteers missed the physical experience of reaching out, the group made sure that each project would be memorable for us. Despite the limitation, they still managed to help 13 schools in 2020 and nine in 2021.
With safety precautions and health protocols in place, they were back on the trails by October this year, making it to two schools in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro: Bato-ili Elementary School and Salafay Elementary School.
That project kicked off the group’s 15th anniversary celebration. God willing, TREK will conduct two more projects this year—one in the Visayas and the other in Mindanao. —contributed INQ
