Advocacy: Balay ni Charie

First Grade classroom, Agsilab Elementary School

February was a hectic month for Balay ni Charie. We distributed school supplies in four elementary schools in Capiz. Our first stop was in Sapian at Agsilab Elementary School. 300 students received notebooks, pens and pencils from Balay ni Charie. At Agsilab, we saw first hand the damages wrought by super typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. In one building, three different grades had to share the same room. Blackboards were used to separate one class from the other. The ceiling was gouged out. In another classroom, a red plastic tarp keeps the children dry from the rains. The kindergarten and day care kids were installed at the barangay hall across the street as there were no classrooms available for them. The good thing is that all the children were able to continue with their studies. And maybe the buildings will be repaired during the summer break.

Agsilab Elementary School

Our next stop was at Agoho Elementary School in Pan-ay which is right on the beach. It has the most beautiful setting of all the schools but vulnerable to storm surges and flooding. I would have a hard time concentrating on learning anything if I were one of the students here because I would probably be gazing out the window or be distracted by the calming sounds of the sea. 290 children received school supplies at this school. We happily observed the work on the roofs of the buildings. Fortunately, the school received much needed help for repairs from a Christian group from Texas, USA.

Agoho Elementary School

Nieva Burdick and her friends and family sent a generous contribution of school supplies to Balay ni Charie. She shipped these supplies and t-shirts from New York in December 2013 and it was delivered in Roxas City in February 2014. This contribution helped us immensely so we could reach out to two more schools - Malonoy Elementary School and Ilas Norte, both in Dao, Capiz. I was quite impressed with how the Principal, the teachers and the parents of the students at Malonoy Elementary worked together to make necessary repairs to the classrooms damaged by the super typhoon. What a herculean effort on their part to put everything back together in record time! Bravo!

Malonoy Elementary School

The sixth grade kids at Ilas Norte Elementary School received t-shirts and they were so excited to wear them. Here they are showing off their new tees.

Students at Ilas Norte Elementary School

About 204 students in Malonoy and 295 schoolchildren at Ilas Norte Elementary School received school supplies. These distributions totaling 1,027 grade school students in Capiz were much needed replenishments after the super typhoon claimed all of the children's books and supplies. As Balay ni Charie, a grassroots foundation, enters its 9th year of service to the children in Capiz, it is grateful to all its generous supporters whose invaluable contributions allow it to reach out to more schools in the community.

For more information on BalayniCharie, please check www.balaynicharie.blogspot.com.

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Images by BalayniCharie and TravelswithCharie

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was

Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called Kasaysayan ng Maynila (History of Manila). The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

Lizares Mansion The province of Iloilo on the island of Panay has a rich trove of heritage houses, left over from the sugar industry boom in the 19th century. Iloilo also had the largest port in the Philippines at that time which facilitated the export of sugar to foreign shores and deposited money in the hands of the sugar barons. The barons dropped their earnings into the acquisition of properties in Negros and the construction of beautiful homes in Iloilo, many of which are located in the vicinity of the Jaro Cathedral. The Lizares Mansion was built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife, Concepcion Gamboa and five children. The family fled to safety when World War II broke out and the house was occupied by the Japanese military. The family returned to the house after the war but left once again after the demise of Don Emiliano. It was sold to the Dominican order in the 1960s and was converted in 1978 to a private school, Angelicum School. The mansion now houses the

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