One Candle Schoolhouse

Dropped in on Bill and Diane Pool at their One Candle Schoolhouse in Tambobo Bay, Siaton. Theirs is an informal, open classroom which Diane handles every Saturday for the children in the area, and to which TVB Group recently gave some pre-owned, but perfectly good elementary school textbooks.

Diane's students range in age from 4 years old to about 20, coming from within a radius of 2 or 3 barangays. They come - rain or shine, some on foot while others in their bancas - every Saturday, all hungry for the wide range of activities she always has for them, the most popular being the chance to work on their stories at the (donated) computers.

Having all these children eager to learn and just soaking up everything has also encouraged several cruisers who drop anchor at the Bay for more than a few days, to volunteer and teach them a skill or two. The latest of these is Robin, an American architect who's now teaching the kids art appreciation and basic drawing skills. Below is one of the kids' works.

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