SHARE your blessings to the poor, not only this Christmas but throughout the years. This has been preached constantly to the affluent in the community. Most pay lip service to it while others do live and breathe it.

How do they do it?

A case in point is what and how Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez goes about it.

‘Binyagang Bayan’ for over 900 children from urban poor families with
Vice Mayor Fernandez and Coun. Alfie Fernandez as sponsors.

It is about conceptualizing and implementing projects for a defined target sector. In her case, it’s about supporting the vision of Mayor Al Fernandez for the city’s children to the hilt. It’s about commitment.

Last December 22, she and Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. stood as sponsors to 900 kids during their mass baptism under the program Binyagang Bayan. Shortly after, she rushed off to a number of destinations on a frenzied gift-giving spree, observing how the city’s breakfast feeding program was progressing as she went.

With ABS CBN Bayan ni Juan, Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez
distributes gifts to indigent children.

Now on its second year, “Binyagang Bayan” is aimed at helping parents who have nothing to spend for the baptism of their children. So successful it was with the urban poor that she has recommended to make the event a permanent activity in the city’s annual fiesta celebration. And the mayor agreed.

As the city government envisioned the children to be true wealth of the land, Fernandez quickly launched a series of initiatives that give premium to the child’s welfare, from health to education, to further ensure his or her development as a good citizen of the country.

. . . . distributing gifts to children in Pantal with SK Chairman
Maxi Ferrer and Barangay Captain Lilia Yazar.

With city’s government agencies’ help, she incessantly calls on parents to send their children to school and possibly through college to be fairly assured of earning from a decent livelihood, and protect them from exploitation.

In collaboration with the City Nutrition Office, she uses the regular barangay-feeding program as the vehicle for motivating children to go to school and become achievers by providing healthy foods that would make them stay alert and bright.

. . . .distributing gifts to children of Barangay II
along with Barangay Captain Robert Melecio.

The city government’s vision mandates that children’s education is essential. But how can pupils learn without the books to read? To this end, the vice mayor sought commitments from the major commercial suppliers of her CSI Group of Companies to provide the funds for the acquisition and distribution of reference books for the pupils’ and libraries’ use. Wearing her hat as president and chairman of the board of the CSI Group of Companies, she admitted it was not difficult convincing them to share their blessings with the city’s children as well.

Her partners in the private sector now consider themselves as proactive partners of the Fernandez administration in supporting projects for children in the city.

. . . with children of Barangay II.

CSI is the first private company in Dagupan that has extensively sponsored day care centers in various parts of the city in partnership with the barangays. It prides itself to have seen to the graduation of thousands of kids who otherwise would have had a chance early in life were it not for the day care centers.

The company also actively supports all the programs and projects of senior citizens, including persons with disabilities (PWDs).

As with most successful entrepreneurs, Vice Mayor Fernandez describes her commitment to the city’s child as her way of giving back and thanking the city for her own blessings in life. –LM

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments