The Quest of Mount Apo - Apolandia Outreach

APHIO Trekkers - Part 1 The Road to Apolandia

Apolandia Elementary School Outreach Service

at the foot of the mountain.

Mt. Apo at the highest point has an elevation of 3144 Meters (10,312 feet) above sea level, making it the tallest mountain of the Philippines. A must see and experience for adventurers, backpackers, and mountaineers. Also considered the "grandfather" of Philippine mountains and a sacred place in local folklore, Mt. Apo is an important climb, especially for local mountaineers. Those seeking to experience its trails will also find themselves immersed in the rich culture of the people living at the foot of the mountain. On May 9, 1936, Mount Apo was declared a national park with Proclamation No. 59 by President Manuel L. Quezon. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) submitted Mount Apo on December 12, 2009 for inclusion in the UNESCO world heritage list. The mountain is considered by DENR as the center of endemism in Mindanao. It has one of the highest land-based biological diversity in terms of flora and fauna per unit area. It has three distinct forest formations, from lowland tropical rainforest, to mid-mountain forests, and finally to high mountain forests

Inspiration came upon during a chat conversation between me and sister Giza Montejo of Beta Upsilon '83 and there after to sister Carolyn R. Cotales, Alpha Rho ‘04, regarding an Outreach Service similar to what the APO Singapore AA sponsored at the Sikap Elementary School in Marawi City, with the cooperation of APO Batch 2004 and APO Beta Upsilon Chapter, with the support of our local AA's, APO Ranao/Lanao-Oro Integration for Development Inc. Sister Carol and I originally is either planning to create a feeding program or an outreach program at the same elementary school in Marawi City.

APHIO Trekker's true to its motto of service and adventure, started a traditions to do a service project preceded by the adventure aspect of it by either doing a multi day of climbing and backpacking a mountains, or a long tedious hikes. The combination of both activities created a tradition that have started in the land of the T'Boli's in the village of Kuhle near Lake Holon before the Biennial Assembly in General Santos City. A huge number of APO members participated in that Pre Convention Climb in May of 2017.

Prior to all that, the APHIO Mountaineers and Trekkers of Mindanao had been doing it since 2009, assembling brothers to do climbing, outreach service, teaching would be mountaineers, doing BMC or Basic Mountaineering Course, participating in Leave No Trace program, The Boys Scouts of the Philippines, Basic First Aid and Survival Skills.

During my conversations with sis Carol we both decided on Mount Apo as our climb destination and this time we tapped in the expertise of sister Giza Montejo, Beta Upsilon ‘83, to help us plan and coordinates the project. Due to logistical issues, we decided that doing service in far off Marawi is way too far from our intended plan of climbing Mount Apo. We asked some inputs and advice from a brother our APHIO Trekkers organizer Manny Cabido, of Gamma Chi ‘79, what would be his opinions.

The tag team of sister's Carol and Giza decided to scout a place in the foot of Mount Apo, coordinating with local officials asking for ideas on who to serves and what are the needs of the children. Our contacts in Digos City, brother Asher Lucmayon Cumahis Lambda Sigma ‘10, to coordinate with local officials regarding guides, transportation, permits, and other needs for the trip. That's when Apolandia Elementary School pops up on the radar as a potential beneficiary for our outreach service. Sis Carol and Giza talked to the teachers and administrator and laid out the plans and coordinated with them what supplies the children will benefit the most.

At the foot of Mt. Apo near the town of Santa Cruz, where Apolandia Elementary School located.

What can be better by serving a school with the namesake of our fraternity.

207 school children from Kindergarten to Grade 6.

The hard work of our sister's in implementing the project plan, putting it together by appointing our brothers and sisters to do there parts in making it a successful venue was a job well done and came out fantastically. Considering our brothers and sisters coming from everywhere, CDO to Iligan, from Bacolod to Marvel, far off California to nearby Digos, all the necessary ingredients came into fruition.

Welcome To Davao City

Davao City February 7, 2018 - Marco Polo Hotel - We made use of the hotel as our planning and execution office to put things in order in regards to purchasing, to settles budgeted expenses, phone calls to our brothers and sisters, especially to sis Aiza S. Esfra, Alpha Tau ‘06, her company are willing to help out in donating unused goods that they have on there disposals. A precious additions of goods that we can provide to the children of Apolandia, the more the better.

Beta Psi - Ateneo De Davao University in front of Marco Polo Hotel.

Marco Polo Hotel

Davao City Hall

Downtown Davao

A beautiful tapestry at the lobby of Marco Polo.

Relaxing atmosphere at the Roxas Night Market

BBQ galore...

The dynamic duo - sis Giza and sis Carol at the Marco Polo.

Sis Mary Jane Go, Beta Omega ‘13, Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan

just arrived from CDO.

Lounging at the hotel, Ching (an APO confidant and great friend), sis Raquel Doronila of Zeta Chapter ‘92, came all the way from Bacolod City

and sister Giza.

Photo op's Ching, sis Giza, brother Tad's, sis Raq and brother Coco... sesssss!

The Raq! on a photo op with the hotel concierge.

The Lobby Lounge

Sis Giza, sis Carol, sis Mary Jane.

More brothers and sisters appeared in the hotel, including brother Ed Vasquez of APO Montreal AA. Sister Vangie Caoile of Eta member APO Las Vegas AA and Connie Vasquez the wife of brod Ed.

Our brothers from Iligan just arrived, Brother Louie M. Cagulada of Gamma Delta ‘96, brother Hassan S. Moctar of Mu Theta ‘10 and brother Manny Cabido of Gamma Chi '79.

Next Day Shopping

Shop till you drop!!!

Sister Ice (manay Ising - haha) ( Aiza S. Esfra, Alpha Tau ‘06) pictured on black olive sweater.

Solo sorted hundreds of items to be donated to our cause, spent the whole day painstakingly putting everything in order, making sure the children of Apolandia will get a fair share.

Thank you so much sister Ice!!!

The Malvar "Alley" APO Tambayan

It's like walking into the deep alley of New Orleans.

Malvar - The APO Alley

Malvar Boys

Preparations, with the help from our brothers and sisters of Malvar, sorting and bagging the outreach gift giving to the children of Apolandia Elementary School.

With sis Ice..

Bundles of joy for the children of APOlandia.

Sister Raquel looks on... been a longggg day.

One thing about being an APO is the bond of friendships to our brethren, people you have not meet personally becomes like a long time friends. The symbioses is second to none it's a mutual relationships that is hard to explain, and our brothers and sisters can attest to that feeling.

Night out to the market looking for the "durian and marang"...