Silid Aralan, Inc.’s very own TURD Talks was held once again; this time in the University of the Cordilleras (UC), at the Summer Capital of the Philippines: Baguio City! It took place on July 14, 2015.

On April 28, as Silid Aralan celebrated its eighth year of empowering children, they conducted their very first TURD Talks at the RCBC Plaza in Makati City, wherein hundreds had came to witness Silid Aralan’s history through the years, along with testimonies from some of its learners. This time around, Silid Aralan went a step further for more people to hear its words. Its first stop: Baguio City.

The TURD Talks event in UC was started by an opening remark from Dr. Leonarda R. Aguinalde, Vice President for Administration, who was also the one who supervised the event. Arcie G. Mallari –Silid Aralan Co-Founder and Executive Director, shared the story of Silid Aralan and how it was transforming low-performing and underprivileged children from public schools to productive citizens. And of course, the event wouldn’t have been complete without the sharing of stories of the SAI Learners: Kent Ian Vargas, Erlen Mahilum and Johnson Jan Donato.

Kent Ian shared his story from living under a bridge to being relocated in Montalban, to being low-performing student, to being a SAI Learner in Ground Zero, to being number one in the college entrance test and now a co-learner in Silid Aralan’s Ground Zero program. Erlen Mahilum talked about her journey as a writer. Lastly, Johnson Jan shared his personal experiences and insights of being bullied as a homosexual and how SAI shifted his mindset to break the misconceptions and barriers set around homosexuals.

Their talks were followed by another sharing of stories of some students from Spring Hills Elementary School that were aided by Silid Aralan Learning Technology Education SALTEd, in partnership with Smart Communications, UC, and the local government of Baguio City.

Mr. Arcie G. Mallari and the SAI Learners who shared their stories were presented with Certificates of Recognition from UC –assisted by Mrs. Aguinalde, which concluded the event.