Ms. Nancy Harrington, president and director of Book for  the Barrios, briefed the participants in the project’s history and background.  Ms. Harrington informed the Consulate team of the work she had been doing for the Filipino children for the past 29 years.  “We are a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening elementary school education in the Philippines so that all children – even the most disadvantaged – can receive a great education”, said Ms. Harrington, who co-founded the project in 1981 with her husband Dan while the latter  was assigned in the Philippines as a naval officer.

The Project’s main objective is to redistribute high-quality U.S. educational materials to schools in the Philippines where the committed volunteers secure and sort donations of materials such as school textbooks, computers, science kits, toys and games, athletic equipment and consumable school supplies from schools, publishers and school children in the United States.

In the United States, Books for the Barrios also demonstrates its commitment to the environment by orienting children in the country on the importance of reusing and recycling under their  U.S. Donor Children's Program.  This program also  allows U.S. students to express their compassion for the less fortunate children while sharing the abundance of educational materials in the U.S..

The organization is currently working with California schools to encourage them to contribute to landfill diversion, which redistributes resources (such as used books and instructional materials) rather than allow them to go to waste.

At the end of the activity, Mr. Edmund Mangubat representing the Consulate General team expressed appreciation to Mrs. Harrington for her commitment to help the Filipino children by giving them an opportunity to have access to quality education through this commendable program.   He also expressed the important learning experience gained by the consulate team. END