Our Mission in Action
As the 2025–2026 school year wrapped up, we’re reflecting on UNLAD’s mission: to increase access to education for underprivileged youth. We’re guided by a simple belief that small acts matter - because access creates opportunity, and opportunity leads to impact. Here’s what this year looked like at the Baruyan Elementary School (BES) in the Philippines.
Featured highlight: Grit and Grace in Journalism.
BES earned First Place Overall at the “MIMAROPA” (five-provinces) Regional Elementary School Paper Competition (English)—along with 1st in Feature and News, 2nd in Sports Writing, and 5th in Layout and Page Design. Just two years after UNLAD began supporting the journalism program, The Shellers (named for Baruyan’s baroy shellfish) is already telling powerful local stories. One editorial, “Broken Bandages,” warns of an education system that “keeps patching its wounds with temporary solutions that hide problems that never truly heal.” A Grade 5 student wrote, “The world doesn’t judge us only by our grades, but by how we act…” This recognition belongs to the Grade 4–6 campus journalists, and to the teachers who guided them, showing what access with steady support and encouragement can unlock.
Everyday Supports That Help Students Learn
With school supplies, a daily lunch program, and a dedicated librarian in place, more students came to school nourished, prepared, and ready to focus. This year we saw lower absenteeism, 100% library use at lunch, and a 100% promotion rate.
We also made everyday learning a bit more comfortable by adding orbit fans to classrooms and floor mats for special needs education students.
AFter- School Programs : Skills, Confidence, and Recognition
Students showed up in UNLAD’s after-school special programs to grow in basketball, volleyball, arnis, visual arts, and journalism. These sessions built discipline, creativity, teamwork, and confidence. Last year, visual art students garnered top awards, placing 5th at the national level. This year, the basketball, volleyball, and arnis teams earned 1st and 2nd place finishes at cluster and district meets, bringing well-deserved pride and unprecedented recognition to BES.
Celebration and Recognition
We celebrated students who excelled in the UNLAD after-school programs, and showed overall outstanding academic performance and leadership. We also honored teachers through the Lito Cantos Outstanding Teacher Award. Together, these moments of recognition helped keep spirits and momentum strong across the school.
Extending Access: A New High School Opens in Baruyan
On June 8, the Vicente and Astronica Gozar Samala National High School will welcome its first Grade 7 class. Named in honor Terry’s parents, it embodies their enduring love for the Baruyan community, their strong sense of social responsibility and faith in the transformative power of education. The campus is being built on land Terry inherited and donated to the Philippine Department of Education in 2023.
While the school is separate from UNLAD, it grows from the same community care and will extend the pathway for students as they move beyond elementary school. It will open with two classrooms, a principal, and three teachers; approvals and national funding are secured, and completion for the entire high-school will continue.
Staying Connected
We’re grateful for your belief in UNLAD’s mission and for standing behind our programs. Your support expands access to learning, which opens opportunity, and that opportunity leads to lasting impact for underprivileged youth.
We will share an annual update at the end of each school year; in the meantime, our programs will continue year‑round. During the year, please feel free to email us with any comments or questions.