Project CLIMB-Bongabong: Our First Summit this 2026

On July 3, 2026, Create Foundation delivered 1,500 literacy and numeracy materials to Liguma Mangyan Elementary School in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro.

Project CLIMB-Bongabong is Create Foundation's first CLIMB of 2026. In partnership with volunteer Mangyan teachers Selen and Saning, who were also our Coin Grantees earlier this year, we organized and collected books for the 78 Mangyan learners from Kindergarten to Grade 6 (ages 4 to 15) and six teachers at Liguma Mangyan Elementary School (LMES) in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro. To deliver literacy and numeracy materials to the Project CLIMB site, Create Foundation launched the CLIMB Drive.

The CLIMB Drive is our campaign to collect literacy, numeracy, and other learning materials suited to the needs of a Project CLIMB site — a Summit. A key feature of the CLIMB Drive campaign is our Stations: individuals or organizations that partner with us to source, receive, and organize learning materials. For our first CLIMB Drive, seven volunteers from Metro Manila and nearby provinces stepped up to collect literacy and numeracy materials from their communities.

Over the course of the month, each of our Stations dedicated time and effort to reaching out to their networks and gathering materials. Thanks to their efforts, we were able to collect an estimated 1,500 books and learning manipulatives for the Mangyan community of Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro!

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After a few days of organizing and inspecting the donations, the Create Foundation team set off on a 300+ kilometer journey by bus and RoRo from our headquarters in Quezon City to Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro, on July 2, followed by a two-hour trek to Barangay Lisap the next day. The team finally reached Liguma Mangyan Elementary School (LMES) in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro — and these books have now officially found their new home in the LMES library!

Our first CLIMB of the year was a true community effort! We are grateful for the support of so many individuals, especially the members of the Mangyan community (largely the fathers of the LMES students), and many other individuals who helped carry the boxes of books from Panluan to LMES. 

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Additionally, our partners, Teacher Selen and Teacher Saning, helped the Create Foundation team build the shelves and organize the books. Additionally, to ensure the space thrives and serves its purpose, our partners completed an orientation and training session on a simple library management system we customized for them. This system will help them operate the Create Library, allowing learners and teachers to borrow and check out books, especially over weekends.

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Help us foster digital readiness through foundational literacy and numeracy for these learners. Volunteer as a Station or donate literacy and numeracy materials here.