Fifty-five Grade 7 students are thankful recipients of Bro. Eli Soriano’s 100-day feeding program in Sto. Rosario National High School in Nueva Ecija, a province north of the capital Manila.
The feeding program is largely supported by Ang Dating Daan (The Old Path in English), the religious group that Bro. Eli leads, and by Breakthrough and Milestones Productions International (BMPI)-UNTV under the helm of CEO, Daniel Razon.
This charitable act, which started early in August last year and set to conclude on March 12 this year, is part of Bro. Eli’s campaign of providing proper nutrition for the children.
Notable feeding programs initiated by Bro. Eli in the past benefitted elementary grade students in Payatas and Baseco, among many other poor areas in the National Capital Region.
According to the 2011 National Survey on the Nutritional Status of Filipino Children conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, approximately 35% of the children in the 10-19 year- old populace are underweight. The age group covers individuals who are in the elementary level.
Hazel Atazar, 12 years old and a recipient of the free meals being provided by Bro. Eli, shared how she may have become underweight. “Whenever I am late for school, I skip breakfast,” she said. Atazar weighs around 18-20 kilograms, 10 points short of the appropriate weight for her age.
Atazar also shared how the feeding program helped her in saving her allowance. Teary-eyed, she said, “Whenever there is a feeding program during lunch time, I do not have to buy my meal. I thank the Ang Dating Daan [religious group] especially Bro. Daniel Razon and Bro. Eli Soriano.”
“Skipping meals has adverse effects [on students],” pointed out Juvy dela Cruz, one of the teachers of Sta. Rosario National High School. The students’ under nutrition has affected their scholastic standing.
The continuous feeding program of Bro. Eli and UNTV for nearly seven months has aided in the provision of proper nutrition to the national high school’s Grade 7 students, subsequently improving their performance in school.
“Thank you very much Kuya Daniel Razon and Bro. Eli Soriano because you give meals to the skinny for them to gain weight,” Alexis Silao remarked. Halfway through the public service, Silao has already gained six kilograms, from 20 to 26 kilograms.
Apart from the students, Bro. Eli through Ang Dating Daan and UNTV also include the residents of the orphanage and transient homes they maintain as beneficiaries of their meal-giving program.
(Written by Emmy Borromeo)
