What to do when mass gatherings are not allowed to celebrate an occasion because of a pandemic? Take it online.
This is what UP Visayas Tacloban College (UPVTC) is doing for its upcoming 47th founding anniversary on May 23.
With the theme, “URUGUP para han Kaupayan han Katilingban ngan Kalibutan” (Solidarity for the Well-Being of Our Community and the World), UPVTC’s celebration will kick off with the launch of Pagsurumpay: Online Talk Series. “Pagsurumpay” is Waray for “to connect.”
The pilot episode, “Context, Opportunities, and Challenges for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in the Time of COVID-19,” will feature UPVTC Psychology lecturer Ruth Edisel Rylle Sadian-Cercado and Prof. Ervina Espina, and licensed psychologist Mary Jane Flores.
It will be available for viewing on UPVTC’s Facebook page.
Apart from Pagsurumpay, UPVTC’s institutional call for donations, URUGUP, will also launch the 47th Anniversary URUGUP Fund Drive for Eastern Samar. It will raise funds for cash or in-kind donations to the communities severely affected by Typhoon Ambo, such as Jipapad, Maslog, and San Policario.
The UPVTC Student Council’s official donation drive, Bulig Oble, will be launched on the same day as well. It will consist of donation drives for specific causes, the first of which is Project HangkUP, intended to help UPVTC students in Eastern Samar affected by the recent Typhoon Ambo. UP KA1SSA is the Student Council’s partner in this initiative.
On May 26, the Kalungganayan Community Vegetable Garden will be launched with a ceremonial planting. It is spearheaded by the All UP Worker’s Union (AUPWU) Tacloban Chapter. The word “kalungganayan” means “benefit, blessing, grace, or the bringing of abundance, wealth, or livelihood to people.”
And on May 29, the Student Council will hold the 8th EdukAksyon Quiz Bee with the theme “47 Years of Militant Solidarity: Breaking the Silence amid the Storm and Social Pandemic.”
For information and updates on UPVTC activities, announcements, and news, visit its Facebook page.
UPVTC was established in 1973 through a decision by the UP Board of Regents to “(1) provide quality education in the Eastern Visayas region and turn out graduates who possess essential attributes for becoming productive and responsible members of the community; (2) undertake and encourage scientific research in public affairs that will help illuminate phenomena as well as serve practical values of resolving problems and enhancing regional development; and (3) offer technical assistance to the community, viz., government, business, and the public at-large toward the further improvement of the quality of life in the Eastern Visayas region.”
