Police Major Eric Gingoyon, chief of the Carmen Police Station, helps kids read a book via the mobile library and bible on wheels. | Pegeen Maisie Sararaña
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The youth is the hope of the nation.
With this in mind, Police Major Eric Gingoyon, the chief of the Carmen Police Station, decided to start the Mobile Library and Bible on Wheels project in the hopes of giving the youth more knowledge not only in education, but also spiritually.
“Pag assign nako, January 10, as chief of police sa Carmen, gitan aw man gud nako ang crime statistics and crime map sa Carmen less kaayo ang crime rate…so didto ko nakahunahuna nga why not mag focus og PCR activities? Mao na nga nakathink ko ana nga project,” Gingoyon said.
(When I was assigned as chief of police in Carmen in January 10, I saw that the crime statistics and crime map in Carmen, the crime rate is less. So that’s when I thought, why not focus on PCR activities? That’s why I was able to think about that project.)
Based on what he knows, Gingoyon said this is the first time that a station has a Mobile Library and Bible on Wheels project in Central Visayas.
Gingoyon said he noticed that there are instances wherein minors were mostly the violators in their municipality, which is around 43 kilometers from Cebu City.
This concern gave him the idea to pursue this project.
“Since nag start ang pandemic, puros lang online class ang mga bata, modular. Nabasahan nako sa previous reports, naka cause gani siya’g depression sa mga bata, anxiety. Wa sila ma anad sa abrupt change. Karon, gusto nako nga ma encounter ig balik sa kabatan-unan ug unsa to ilang na andan nga learning,” he added.
(Since the pandemic started, it was either online or modular classes for the kids. I read in previous reports that it even caused anxiety and depression on the kids. They weren’t used to abrupt changes. Now, I would want that kids, when they return, would be able to encounter the learning that they were used to before.)
Gingoyon said that they target to visit at least 21 barangays in the municipality of Carmen. On February 22, they had the official launching of this project, wherein at least 85 children of barangay Poblacion participated.
The response of the public was overwhelming. Depending on the availability of their force and the resources that they need, they are aiming to visit at least two barangays per month.
Here are some photos taken during the launching of their project.
Pegeen Maisie Sararaña
Pegeen Maisie Sararaña
Pegeen Maisie Sararaña
/bmjo
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