Meet the boy who launched a thousand (and more) pencils. 7,115 to be exact.
Carl Gonzales’ photo stabbed our hearts late last year: the sight of a little boy who had to make do with a tiny pencil stub because his parents could only afford to buy one to break up to share among Carl and his siblings.
A few months after we saw Carl’s photo, NVC launched the LoveBags for School Kids project. With the help of many enthusiastic volunteers, we stuffed backpacks with pad papers, crayons, notebooks, art paper and of course, five pencils per bag. Enough supplies for one school year. We distributed these to mountain kids who, like Carl, had almost nothing when they trekked rough paths to school. Thanks to NVC’s volunteers and donors, we delivered more than 1,400 to children in Bukidnon, Mindanao, and Hinigaran, Negros Occidental for schoolyear 2017.
We chanced upon Carl recently, walking to school and holding his brand-new, whole pencil.
And did you notice how big Carl has gotten? This is because, aside from being a LoveBag beneficiary, all the kids in this mountain community are now enrolled in NVC’s Mingo Meals nutrition program. The daily dose of rice, moringa, and mongo is working wonders!
We hope this makes you smile as much as we did.
