11 May 2016 - One year after the Gary V Live in Madrid benefit concert organized by the Philippine Embassy in Madrid on May 10 in Teatro Circo Price, the Embassy, thanks to the sponsors and the proceeds from the ticket sales of the benefit concert, has turned over a one-storey building of two classrooms to Guiuan East Central School through Aklat, Gabay, Aruga Tungo sa Pag-Angat at Pag-asa (AGAPP) Foundation Inc. Guiuan was one of the provinces severely affected by typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

The two classrooms are equipped with furniture, books, learning materials, educational toys, and other school supplies. Aside from this, the proceeds also sponsored the participation of the school’s Division kinder coordinator, School head, and kindergarten teachers in a training workshop which was held in Cebu from 25 to 28 April 2016.

AGAPP Chairperson Pinky Abellada expressed her gratitude to the Embassy for supporting the initiative of AGAPP to construct 1,000 pre-school classrooms in the poorest and remotest provinces in the Philippines by 2016. To date, AGAPP has already surpassed its original target of 1,000 classrooms.

It may be recalled that the idea of hosting the benefit concert was broached by Madrid PE in support of the government´s rehabilitation efforts of the areas devastated by typhoon Yolanda in 2013. The enormous destruction caused by typhoon Yolanda has called for all Filipinos and the international community to work hand in hand to help the victims. In the spirit of Bayanihan, the Embassy, together with the sponsors, the Filipino community, the Spanish government and people and all those who helped in the successful organization of the concert, demonstrated this kind of spirit that best describes the value of Filipinos. 

Thanks to the Bayanihan spirit, this simple effort and contribution was able to complete the two main objectives of the concert, which were to promote Philippine music to Spain and to assist in the education of the young people through the classroom construction project of AGAPP in one of the hardest hit provinces of typhoon Yolanda, Samar.

For its part, Madrid PE reiterated its gratitude to the sponsors and to everyone who made the benefit concert and the construction of the two new classrooms in Samar possible. END