LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — A community support initiative is giving elementary schoolchildren in Lapu-Lapu City a practical boost, with the Sandbox Foundation, in partnership with WinZir, providing essential items aimed at making students’ daily school experience safer and more manageable.
The initiative, reported in connection with the foundation’s outreach in Lapu-Lapu City, focuses on school supplies and protective personal-care items for children who may face everyday challenges getting to and staying in school. The assistance includes school supplies, backpacks, rain gear and hygiene products, according to the partnership’s September 3 announcement.
Rather than limiting the effort to academic materials, the program recognizes that seemingly basic necessities can also affect a child’s ability to attend classes and concentrate on learning.
The foundation said the care packages were developed around practical needs identified through coordination with school and community stakeholders. Among the items cited were rain boots and umbrellas, alongside educational and hygiene supplies.
Support designed around students’ everyday needs
For children commuting to school during unpredictable weather, keeping notebooks and other learning materials dry can be a challenge. Providing protective gear therefore goes beyond convenience—it can help remove some of the day-to-day obstacles that interfere with school participation.
The Sandbox Foundation describes itself as a nonprofit organization that connects young talent, industry and communities through hands-on projects and initiatives designed to promote inclusive growth. Its programs include talent development and community-oriented projects.
The organization is based in Cebu City and says its work centers on building capabilities and creating collaborative solutions with communities.
Pajo Elementary is an established public school in Lapu-Lapu
The beneficiary school, Pajo Elementary School, is located along Sangi Road in Barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City. The Department of Education’s Lapu-Lapu City Division lists the school under District 3, with Melodina T. Wahing as school head.
DepEd’s current National Inventory Dashboard also lists Pajo Elementary School with school ID 119968, confirming its inclusion in the Lapu-Lapu City public-school system.
The school has also previously benefited from community and private-sector support.
In 2023, Grand Floridian Holdings Inc. turned over the Florida U. Young Building, a two-storey Home Economics facility, to Pajo Elementary. The building included a furnished Home Economics room and a classroom intended to support practical skills education.
Earlier community initiatives have likewise involved Pajo Elementary. A sustainability report from Megawide documented participation in a Brigada Eskwela/Adopt-a-School activity at the school, where volunteers helped paint around 200 chairs and tables and donated cleaning materials.
A wider push to ease education costs
The latest outreach also comes as Lapu-Lapu City continues implementing broader programs designed to help families shoulder the cost of education.
In June 2026, SunStar reported that the city government planned to distribute school supply kits to 105,820 public-school students, from kindergarten through senior high school, as part of its 2026 School Supply Kits Program. The program included items such as bags, notebooks and writing pads.
These efforts underscore a broader reality for public education: support does not always have to come in the form of major infrastructure projects. School supplies, rain protection, hygiene products and other basic necessities can also help children arrive at school prepared to learn.
Why the initiative matters
The Sandbox Foundation-WinZir outreach puts that principle into practice by combining educational assistance with practical protection for children.
The partnership says its goal is to help remove everyday barriers that can affect students’ school experience and to build longer-term community support rather than relying solely on one-time interventions.
For Pajo Elementary pupils, the message is simple: support for education can begin with making sure children have the basic things they need to walk into the classroom ready to learn.
Leave a Reply