JEDDAH – One of the active Filipino organizations in Jeddah extend assistance to needy Filipinos not only in Saudi Arabia but also in the Philippines. Recently, officers and members of ASTIG group in Jeddah who spent their vacation in the Philippines donated school supplies to students in Bulacan north of Manila. Mar Par Jr., the group's chairman, said last week that this gesture was their first in the Philippines and is a part of their support to fellow Filipinos. He added that some 100 elementary school pupils received notebooks and other stationery items from their group. He said it was made possible through the cooperation of the Edwin Mendoza, one of the Barangay council members in Bulacan. Spurred by its success, Par said his group organized a food distribution program in the same school for a few days. Par said the program was well received by the attendees who appreciated the school supplies aside from delicious food. Par told Saudi Gazette, “The most fulfilling thing in this endeavor was that our counterpart in the homeland committed themselves to our objective and they will also give financial assistance even if it's from their own pocket in support of our advocacy.” The group had distributed foods to the flood victims in Pulilan Bulacan last year, according to Par. Other outreach programs undertaken by the ASTIG Group was financial assistance to a number of children suffering from certain tumors. Par said these children had sought assistance through the social media networks such as the Facebook. The ASTIG group is one of the branches of Overseas Filipino Workers Cooperative Council (OFWCC) computer literacy program (Batch27). Current officers of ASTIG are Marc Par Jr., chairman; Roberto Perez, vice chairman; Willie Jone Valenzuela, secretary; William D. Reyes, treasurer; Nomer Castro, auditor; Maui Garcia, PRO; Noel T. Borja, William D. Reyes, Benito P. Andrin, Eric A. Lumidic and Marizah San Pedro, committee members.
