General Luna, Siargao Island
Our first trip to meet the kids was from September 19th-29th, 2008. We travelled from San Francisco, California with 9 donated surfboards. There were 4 of us on the trip: Victoria, myself (Lynn), Tracy, and my cousin Boyet from Cebu City. We met the kids in the Balikbayod group for the first time in person, conducted a first meeting and established some ground rules for being a member of the program. There are 13 surfboards that are being shared by 40 youth ranging from the ages of 7 to 21 years old. The group elected two older youth officers, 1 boy and 1 girl, to help enforce the newly established rules. The number one rule is to be enrolled in school or an Alternative Learning System (ALS) taught by Mam Pitang Cotecson. Balikbayod is a surfboard sharing program for youth promoting education first. We had fun surfing with the kids everyday at their favorite breaks.