
- A millennial started a birthday fundraiser for the benefit of young Bakwits
- On Facebook, Kathleen Sandico announced her initiative for the Lumad kids, who’ve been struggling for a long time to continue their education amid challenges
- Clinging on to her faith in the younger generation, Kathleen believes that the Lumad kids deserve a l
ife that can lead them to a better tomorrow
Amid trying times, celebrating birthdays—in any form—has become so much more meaningful than it ever was. But apart from being grateful for the gift of life, a millennial is looking forward to her special day with a joyful heart because of a beautiful reason.

On Facebook, Kathleen Sandico announced her birthday fundraiser for the Lumad kids, who have been struggling for a long time to continue their education amid challenges. Clinging on to her faith in the younger generation, she believes that the young Bakwits deserve a life that can lead them to a better tomorrow and turn them into productive citizens of the nation.
“As cliche as it may sound, naniniwala talaga ako na kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan. Kaya sa murang edad pa lang, dapat namumulat na kung paano magiging mabuting member ng society natin dahil tayo rin naman ang magiging tagapag-mana. ‘Start ’em young’, sabi nga nila,” Kathleen said in an interview with Definitely Filipino. “Lumad kids deserve so much better. They deserve to live a life where they can hope for a better future.”
Several weeks ago, 26 Lumad students and teachers staying in a retreat house inside the University of San Carlos-Talamban were rounded up in what police officers in Central Visayas called a “rescue operation”. The Cebu City social welfare office, which received the “rescued” minors, maintained that the kids were not undergoing “warfare” training at the aforementioned schools.
A lot of people, since then, have expressed support for the so-called “Lumad 26”, as well as for other young Bakwits who have been experiencing hardships and trauma at an early age. And Kathleen, a member of Kabataan Partylist, is one of them.
“Honestly, until the very last minute, sobrang nahirapan ako mamili ng beneficiary. There are just so many people who badly need our help, especially ngayong pandemic. But I decided to choose Save Our Schools Network because of what transpired in Cebu,” she said.
For her birthday fundraiser, the millennial came up with two sets of postcards for sale.
“One is ‘yong Lakbay kasi I’ve enjoyed traveling before nagkaroon ng pandemic and kasabay non I tried to practice my interest in photography din. Then, ‘yung isa is Makibaka, which includes photos ng mga panawagan sa mga rally na napuntahan ko in the past year. I thought it would be nice to include them kasi gusto ko rin ma-share ‘yong panawagan ng mga iba’t ibang grupo,” she shared.
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