SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Networx Jetsports, a registered business locator in this free port, donated on Wednesday boxes of school supplies and brand new electric appliances for an Aeta community school in Barangay Cawag, Subic, Zambales.
Networx representative Manuel Sequeira said the donations were from the proceeds of the recent 2018 Jet Ski and Boat Charity Fun Run held at the Silangin Cove in San Antonio, Zambales, which drew nearly 400 foreign and local jet ski and boat enthusiasts aboard 83 jet skis and 30 boats.
Sequeira said the group was able to raise P250,000 cash and decided to donate the amount to the Ayta tribal community at Sitio San Martin in Cawag.
Assisted by community officers of the Subic Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Networx formally turned over to the Cawag Resettlement Elementary School seven flat-screen television sets and 14 ceiling fans.
The group also gave away to the San Martin Ayta tribal leaders various school supplies for 34 kindergarten and elementary school pupils.
Meanwhile, SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma lauded Networx Jetsports for showing “malasakit” to the indigenous people in Cawag, saying it was a good example that could be emulated by other business locators in the Subic Bay Freeport.
San Martin Ayta tribal members, headed by chieftain Antonio Cabalic, expressed gratitude to the donors during the turnover.
“Nagpapasalamat po kami sa Networx Jetsports para sa school supplies na ipinagkaloob nila sa amin. Napakalaking tulong po ang mga ito sa mga mag-aaral na Ayta na karamihan ay nahihirapang makabili ng kagamitan sa eskwela (We thank the Networx Jetsports for the school supplies they gave us. This is a big help to Ayta students, most of whom cannot afford to buy school supplies,” Cabalic said.
The Ayta tribal community at Sitio San Martini is about two kilometers away from the Cawag Resettlement Elementary School. Most of the students walk all the way to the school, as a one-way tricycle ride— the only mode of public transportation in the area— costs P27.
Cabalic said the educational equipment and supplies donated by Networx would go a long way in raising the level of instruction in the Ayta community school.