Twenty Day Care Centers (DCC) of the Kapit-Bisig Laban Sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Social Services (KALAHI CIDSS) of Leyte and Samar provinces received a set of Lego learning materials donated by Millennium Challenge Corporation/ Millennium Challenge Account – Philippines (MCC/PCA-P) yesterday, July 9, 2013 at Hotel Alejandro, Tacloban City.

Called “Learn ‘N Play for Progress- Philippines”, the training was first conducted with the day care teachers from the identified 20 day care centers prior to the distribution of the said learning materials. Five teachers were from Bato, Julita, Mahaplag, Mayorga and Tabon-Tabon, all in Leyte; and 15 were from Samar namely: Paranas, with seven DCCs, Villareal, with three DCCs, and Tarangnan, Pinabacdao, San Sebastian, Motiong and Daram, one DCC each.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Regional Director Nestor Ramos expressed gratitude to the MCC/MCA-P for choosing and bringing along what he called as “mental feeding materials” to the region. All over Asia, the Philippines was the only recipient of these educational materials, yet only two regions were identified, Regions V and VIII.

MCA-P KALAHI CIDSS Project Director, Andy Moll said that DCCs were identified according to functionality of the day care centers and their willingness to participate in the process of utilizing these educational materials. Moll also describes the training as a big investment for the future. “It’s an investment that is very much consistent with the MCC/ MCA-P vision and mission which is to make a better future for the Filipinos”, he added.

Moll also shared that this initiative of MCA-P is in partnership with Lego Foundation of Felta Multi-Media, Inc. Felta is the exclusive distributor I the Philippines of the Lego Foundation tools. He also added that it’s time to focus what needs to be addressed inside the walls build for a classroom by the KALAHI-CIDSS.

The set of Lego materials donated costs P65,000 each, with a manual as a guide solely for use at day care centers.  Marion Cruz, the trainer from Learn ‘N Play for Progress- Philippines demonstrated how to use the educational tools in developing motor and social skills and proper care of the materials as well.

MCC is an innovative and independent US foreign assistance agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty, while MCA-P is the entity created, accountable to manage the grant from MCC. KALAHI-CIDSS is one of the compact projects agreed between the Government of the Philippines and MCC of the United States Government, as a community-driven development project where communities and their Local Government Units are trained to choose, design and implement sub-projects such as day care centers that address their most pressing needs.