Nourished Bodies, Nurtured Minds: REAP Builds a Brighter MAIS

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Nourished Bodies, Nurtured Minds: REAP Builds a Br ....

Chelliza Del Ras Barbante & Dr. Elsa Buenavidez

Nourished Bodies, Nurtured Minds: REAP Builds a Brighter MAIS

At Misamis Annex Integrated School (MAIS), the Reading Education Advancement Program (REAP) in partnership with Misamis University, transforms learning into a holistic experience that nurtures both mind and body. By combining nutrition support to address hunger, health-focused activities that promote well-being, and literacy programs that enhance quality education, REAP ensures that every child has the opportunity to thrive academically, physically, and emotionally. Through this integrated approach, young learners gain not only essential reading skills but also the confidence, health, and motivation to reach their full potential.

Every morning at Misamis Annex Integrated School (MAIS), children hurry toward their classrooms not just to learn, but to feel cared for. Through the Reading Education Advancement Program (REAP), in partnership with Misamis University (MU) Graduate School, learning has become more than books and lessons. It has become an experience filled with warmth, nourishment, and hope. What started with simple reading tutorials has grown into a full-circle program that includes feeding, a learning resource center, and research-based strategies to support the unique needs of young learners.

Teachers recall a time when many pupils struggled to read, too hungry or too timid to focus. Today, that gap is closing faster than anyone dared to expect. MU graduate students lead feeding sessions for kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2, Grade 3 learners, making sure that little tummies are full before minds are stretched. Every week, they bring stories to life in Grade 1 classes, reading aloud with animated voices and pausing to ask questions that spark laughter, curiosity, and interaction. Computers and books donated by MU now fill the learning resource center – once just a dream, now a space where children explore stories, practice literacy skills, and discover the joy of learning. The results are undeniable. MAIS has recorded a remarkable drop in nonreaders, and teachers proudly witness children who once avoided reading now volunteering to read aloud.

For MAIS community, REAP is more than a program – it is a blessing they will never take for granted. Teachers speak of renewed hope, parents express grateful hearts, and learners walk through school gates with newfound motivation. “We are truly blessed,” echoes throughout the school, a sentiment rooted in the transformational impact of the MU-MAIS collaboration. And as REAP continues, one truth becomes clear: when a community chooses to invest in a child’s hunger for food and knowledge, we do not just teach them to read. We teach them to believe in themselves. In the pages they conquer, a brighter future is already being written.