Through a heartening act of kindness, Ryleigh Mangundayao ‘24 took the initiative to create a donation drive for kids facing adversity in Tondo, Manila, located in the Philippines, this past summer.
In 2019, Mangundayao first volunteered with the non-profit organization Project PEARLS while vacationing in the Philippines. Founded in 2010, Project PEARLS’ mission is to give children living below the poverty line a better life through peace, education, aspiration, respect, love and smiles, as well as to advocate for their fundamental human rights.
Mangundayao had done volunteer work in the past, but this was her first glimpse of the type of poverty not seen in the United States. Tondo, Manila is home to the poverty-stricken community built around a landfill called “Happy Land” which consists of 12,000 people. The name originates from the Bisayan word “hapilan,” which translates to “dump site.” This place is an example of one of the problems Manila faces that remains unsolved. Mangundayao, along with other volunteers, aims to resolve it.
“Once we entered, the kids hugged and clung to me, and you could feel the gratefulness shining through them. I knew I wanted to go back,” said Mangundayao.
Four years later, Mangundayao did just that; however, she wanted to do something different this time.
“In speech and debate, I have incorporated Filipino culture into my speeches, so I wanted to include my team in some way for when I return to volunteer for Project PEARLS.”
This is how Mangundayao came up with the plan to execute a service project for the children of Tondo’s communities. Because Xavier students of the speech and debate team value advocating for people and using their voices for good, Mangundayao talked to the coach about her project and got everyone involved.
Fellow speech and debate teammate Elise Kindle ‘24 said, “Ryleigh really represents our team in the sense that she uses her voice for good all the time.”
While presenting the service opportunity to her teammates, Magundayao stressed the importance of supporting families and their children. “When Ryleigh was pitching it, she was saying this is one of the only ways they are receiving resources, and they are not going to have them without this donation drive,” said Kindle.
Mangundayao hosted the drive for every meeting, collecting several boxes filled with donations. They obtained various necessities like backpacks and school supplies, as well as fun items like soccer jerseys.
Then, on July 6, 2023, Mangundayao and her family drove to Tondo, Manila and met with people of the Project PEARLS organization to distribute the items. They arrived after meal service, so some kids were still there for Mangundayao to directly give the donations to.
“Seeing their faces light up when they received the donations was so fun. They were holding them up with adorable smiles,” recounted Mangundayao.
According to Mangundayao, Happy Land has had an incredible transformation since the last time she volunteered. She said it is “incredible to see” that the residents of Happy Land carry a strong sense of unity. Children play on the streets and maintain an overall loving and positive spirit despite the living conditions.
The donation drive not only made an impact on the kids of Tondo but on Magundayao herself. She said, “Being able to go to the Philippines and see the children definitely made me more interested in my own culture and want to pursue a career in global health.”
A student who assisted in Mangundayao’s project, Karol Bueno ‘24, said, “Through her hard work and determination, Ryleigh has responded to the urgent needs of those affected by poverty in the Philippines and made a meaningful impact on the lives of those thousands of miles away.”
“I think the most rewarding part was when students in speech and debate came up to me and thanked me for teaching them about something new and advocating for the voices of communities that are not really talked about,” Mangundayao concluded.
