Current Initiatives
The 1st CDO Chess Grandmaster Quest
A Milestone for Mindanao’s Young Thinkers
On March 15, 2025, the Amada Vicente Ravanera Foundation proudly sponsored the 1st CDO Chess Grandmaster Quest, a day-long tournament that brought together over 270 players—from eager elementary students to seasoned adults—at a packed venue in Cagayan de Oro City.
Organized in partnership with Golden Chess Friends (GCF) and with support from DepEd Region X, the event aimed to cultivate strategic thinking, creativity, and mental wellness through chess. Players came from across Northern Mindanao, including Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Camiguin, and Zamboanga del Norte.
The tournament was officially opened with a commemorative speech by CEO Marilou Ares, and the ceremonial moves were made by Nikita Ares and Women National Master Lila Alyssa Serina. Matches ran from morning until evening in both student and adult categories, with Swiss system pairings and time-controlled formats.
AVRF provided substantial support, sponsoring the registration fees for 180 students, supplying meals (Jollibee lunches—a hit with the kids!), and funding medals and cash prizes.
The event received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Demand was so high that registration had to be closed early—a clear sign that the love for chess is strong in the region.
AVRF looks forward to supporting this event again next year and helping it grow further. With greater involvement and broader partnerships, we hope to see even more brilliant young minds take to the board.
Nourishing Futures: AVRF Supports School Feeding at Macasandig National High School
Every child deserves the chance to learn with a full mind and a full stomach. That’s why the Amada & Vicente Ravanera Foundation continues to fund the vital school feeding program at Macasandig National High School in Cagayan de Oro.
With over 1,100 enrolled students, many of whom face challenges of undernutrition, the school identified 56 severely and moderately undernourished learners from Grades 7 to 12. Through AVRF’s support, these students now receive healthy, filling meals once a week—helping them stay focused, energized, and in school.
The program directly addresses hunger, boosts attendance, and supports cognitive and physical development. With the right nourishment, learners are empowered to thrive—not just in the classroom, but in life.
Together with Macasandig NHS, AVRF is making sure that no child is left behind.
Nourishing Minds: Enhancing learning through nutrition at Macasandig National High School
AVRF is pleased to announce its partnership for learners’ nutrition with Macasandig National High School in Cagayan de Oro City. Since March 2024, this school feeding program has provided 51 students who are malnourished or severely malnourished with a nutritious meal on a weekly basis. Healthy meals reduce nutrient deficiency, support physical and cognitive development, and encourage healthy habits in the future. These meals also help improve students’ academic performance and attendance and increase their focus and motivation in school.
Thus far, meals from the program include protein such as chicken, pork, or fish, mixed vegetables, fruits, juice, and rice. One of the students, Bea, noted that the food provided through the school was delicious. Another student, Judah, said that she feels healthier from the program’s food.
The program contributes to an environment conducive to learning, helping students to nourish both their bodies and minds. AVRF is happy to participate in this partnership to equip students at Macasandig National High School to reach their potential, both mentally and physically.
Providing medicine to the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe
There is a saying that goes, “A merry heart cures like a medicine but a broken heart dries-up the bones.” This is an apt saying for the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe’s thousands of families. They have been ousted from their 1,111-hectare ancestral domain, where their ancestors are buried, by a powerful corporation that has transformed their ancestral domain into massive plantations for export crops.
There is a saying that goes, “A merry heart cures like a medicine but a broken heart dries-up the bones.” This is an apt saying for the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe’s thousands of families. They have been ousted from their 1,111-hectare ancestral domain, where their ancestors are buried, by a powerful corporation that has transformed their ancestral domain into massive plantations for export crops.
In the last six years, the tribe has been living in extreme poverty under shattered tents along the highway, eating only once a day. All the children are malnourished and sickly as they drink in the nearby river where they swim. Every night, the children have to be tied up so that they would not go out to the highway while their parents are sleeping. Five children have already been hit by running cars.
The Bright Horizons Caregiving Hub Technical School capacitates young Filipinos to be caregivers to exemplify love and service to the aged, the children and the sick. Many have already graduated from the 5-month training course. Some have gone abroad working as caregivers.
As part of their training and assessment, students are exposed to the problems of the Indigenous Peoples (IPs). They treat those who are afflicted with all kinds of diseases, and provide food to the malnourished children. The trainees also understand the need to liberate the IPs from so much poverty and oppression. The Bright Horizon’s Chief Executive Officer, Madam Gregoria “Maam Neng” Calva-Salon, has also seen the need to train young IPs to become caregivers themselves for their tribe.
Thus, on June 21, 2023, some fifty caregiving students of the Bright Horizons, led by Maam Neng and her husband Eng. Teodorico H. Salon, conducted a medical mission with vitamins and medicine provided by the Amada and Vicente Ravanera Foundation. Not only did Bright Horizons provide the much needed treatment of the sick children and adults but also provided food, and clothing and slippers, courtesy of Ms. Myrna Gatilogo and some student-donors.