Press Release
December 14, 2010

Villar goes back to his alma mater in Tondo

Senator Manny Villar took time out from his busy schedule to spend a day with Tondo residents on Saturday (Dec. 11). He led the medical mission and feeding activities of Villar Foundation at Holy Child Catholic School, which is where the senator attended elementary education.

Villar Foundation conducted a medical mission in the school grounds near Sto. Niño de Tondo Church. A team of doctors, nurses and health workers were on hand and extended free consultation and medicines to residents of nearby barangays.

Feeding sessions were also simultaneously done involving about 750 children and parents, who were served a bowl filled with hot soup, a glass of beverage and a piece of bread.

"It is only fitting to spend a part of my birthday activities here in Tondo as I was born and raised here in Moriones. I am also pleased that the Villar Foundation is actively helping Tondo through its programs. I will never forget my roots and I will always come back here," said Villar.

Fr. Eric Santos, Parish Priest of Sto. Niño de Tondo Church, welcomed Villar and members of Villar Foundation in his parish. He also thanked the senator for all the support and assistance that he continuously gives to the parish and the community.

The medical mission and feeding program are part of the Kalusugan Caravan of Villar Foundation, which has been making the rounds of the country, including Tondo where weekly feeding sessions are carried in various barangays every Thursday. About 1,500 children and parents in Tondo avail of Villar Foundation's hot meals weekly.

Having experienced hunger himself while he was still a poor kid in Tondo, Villar has a soft spot for the beneficiaries of his feeding program. He also acknowledges that hunger and poverty are really what keep children from going to school and completing their education.

"Malnourishment remains rampant among Filipino schoolchildren. It is really alarming. They cannot learn and study on empty stomachs. Feeding programs are just stop-gap measures, but they do satisfy these children's sustenance for the day. That is until a long-term solution is available to address widespread hunger in communities all over the country," said Villar.

Villar Foundation has also recently conducted feeding programs and medical missions in Bataan (the home province of Villar's mother Curita 'Nanay Curing' Bamba) and Iloilo (home province of Villar father Manuel Villar, Sr.). Its Kalusugan Caravan will go around other provinces in the coming year and will continue to expand its programs and activities.

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