“OH MY GULAY!” SCHOOL VEGETABLE GARDEN GETS SUPPORT
- Thursday, 30 June 2011
The private sector has rallied its support behind
the nationwide Oh My Gulay! (OMG) campaign by sponsoring school
vegetable gardens in public elementary schools around the country.
The donors’ signing was held last June 28, 2011 at the Sofitel
Philippine Plaza, attended by OMG lead convenor Senator Edgardo J.
Angara and Department ofEducation Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro.
For this school year, BDO Foundation, Asian Terminals Inc, Sunwest
Care Foundation, Infant Pediatrics and Nutrition Association of the
Philippines (IPNAP) and Aboitiz Foundation will adopt a total of 40
public elementary schools across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
This means providing funds for the establishment of vegetable plots in
their chosen schools, to be planted with common vegetables like
kalabasa, sitaw, patola, talong, kamatis, ampalaya and others. These
vegetables were popularized on TV and radio by celebrities like Anne
Curtis, Sarah Geronimo, Cristine Reyes, Mark Bautista and Sam Pinto
who advocated OMG! in atri-media campaign launched earlier this year.
The school gardening program also includes the training of teachers in
the nutritional benefits of vegetables through an instructional module
to be included in their home economics lesson. East West Seed Co. is
OMG’s implementing partner, at the frontlines of making this vision a
reality by providing technical expertise in modern vegetable farming.
According to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, 26 out of
every 100 school-age children in the country are malnourished. The
most common forms of malnutrition are vitamin and mineral
deficiencies.
The OMG advocacy program, a brainchild of Angara, seeks to battle this
“hidden hunger” not only by creating greater awareness about the
wonders vegetable consumption, but also by empowering children, their
schools and their families to produce and enjoy their own vitamin- and
mineral-rich vegetables.
“Our educational system is already beset with so many problems. We
lack funds, facilities, and skilled teachers. But we cannot allow
ourselves neglect one fundamental cause of the dwindling quality of
education: malnutrition in schoolchildren.” said Angara, who chairs
the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture. “We cannot ignore
the obvious link between nutrition and education.”// Submitted By Arlene P. Mariposque