Hundreds of learners in Siquijor benefit from fun walk donations

Category : News | Sub Category : Provincial Posted on 2025-06-07 05:32:40

PNA

DUMAGUETE CITY – An annual fun walk around the island of Siquijor, initiated by an Australian firm and having generated thousands of dollars of donations from international partners and sponsors, continues to benefit hundreds of learners and many schools in the countryside.

On Friday, an estimated 150 people participated anew in the 4th edition of the Big S’Cool Walk activity.

The fun walk was initiated four years ago by WrkPod after two of its clients went on a holiday in Siquijor and “fell in love with the culture and the young people”, said Kody Thompson, the firm’s chief executive officer and co-founder.

Dale Beaumont, WrkPod co-founder, said these clients saw that “many people, especially the young children, did not have the proper supplies and many schools there are under-funded”.

They thought of walking the entire circumference of the island, about 50 kilometers, and urged friends in Australia to donate some money for the project.

Initially, the activity generated some Aus$10,000 in donations which went to the local schools, Beaumont said, but in the years that followed, the figures steadily rose.

This year, the Big S’Cool Walk raised over Aus$50,000 that was used to purchase school supplies, computers, and other needs of the schools in Siquijor.

Beaumont said the donation is channeled through the people in charge of education in the island-province to ensure that the money is properly spent for its intended purpose.

Some 70 owners of international companies who are clients of WrkPod are also taking part in the walk, which provides a choice of 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers, 25 kilometers, and 50 kilometers around the island.

Beaumont said 30 WrkPod staff were also on hand to provide water and other support, while learners from the beneficiary schools will be meeting them along the road to inspire and cheer them on.

Supplies and other donations were handed along the way, according to Beaumont, but he did not say how many schools would actually benefit from this program.

“The person in charge will nominate which schools need the most help,” he said.

Thompson said WrkPod has also been helping a school in Tanjay City in Negros Oriental over the last 10 years, donating school supplies, raincoats, shoes, a computer room and computers, and sandals from one of its clients that runs a footwear business.

“I was a youth pastor before running some business and so young people have a special place in my heart,” he said.

Beaumont said these are the types of intangible benefits that are happening by creating jobs, and “we don’t just want (to) provide jobs but we also want to give back” to the communities.

WrkPod connects international business owners to Filipino virtual assistants and is based in this Negros Oriental capital.