Alkansiya Project alters 95 Children’s Behaviour
Text By: Nonnette C. Bennett, photos by Pacita Panaguiton
As an effect of the feeding program of the Breakfast Feeding for Learning, Inc. (BFLI) Center at Dontogan, Greenvalley, Baguio City, some 95 children in the program have started saving their money instead of playing computer games and buying junk food.
BFLI president Pacita Panaguiton told Cordillera News Agency that since the inclusion of breakfast milk and chocolate drinks to the lunch feeding program, some children showed her their savings. The children said that they did not feel hunger and saved their money. This inspired her to encourage them to save the money and asked if they would like to put it in piggy banks instead.
The project started with 20 children, and this grew to the present 95 children who represent all of the beneficiaries of the feeding program. With the help of the Rotary Club of Baguio North members who donated the initial piggy banks, Pacita prepared little notepads to indicate the amounts of daily deposits of the children.
Today, the children write on their own little deposit pads and are happy to know that they have an average of P500.00 each from the savings that started in June 2025 when classes and feeding started.
Pacita said that the piggy banks will be opened in December for the children to decide what they would like to do with their own money. She said that the change in the behavior of playing computer games to savings has made the parents happy because the children do not go to the computer shops after school. Even junk food like salty chips and sweet snacks are no longer in the children’s diets.
Pacita said it teaches the children from the poor families how to save money at an early age and this also gives them joy to know that they have something set aside.
