These inspirational words are from an unlikely source: teenagers. Yet, an eager group of sponsored youth in Tabaco, Philippines, were so motivated by their experiences with sponsorship that they wanted to help schoolchildren learn more about the larger world.
Shown here are sponsored youth (back row, left to right) Jamil, Arnel and Mark and (front row, left to right) Julie, Anjonette and Judy with Peace Corps volunteer Chris Economon at the far right.
Although the teens were willing to volunteer, they lacked the simplest tool necessary to make it happen: a map.
The sponsored youth were familiar with this predicament. All attended public elementary schools where they had very little access to books or other important references such as maps.
Sadly, this is a common problem in Tabaco and other rural parts of the Philippines. Public schools have such limited funding that most cannot afford decent classrooms and electricity. So, as hard as it may be to believe, books and libraries quickly become low priorities.
But with the help of Peace Corps volunteer Chris Economon, the youth came up with a wonderful idea – they would PAINT a big world map on the outside wall of a classroom.
With the school's permission, the sponsored teens volunteer a few hours a week giving geography lessons using the map they painted. Just students themselves, these sponsored youth willingly sacrifice their own study time to share their knowledge to schoolchildren, sponsored and non-sponsored alike.
