Fish usually comes to mind when one thinks about food on Apo island.

With reason. After all, this 74-hectare island barangay off the town of Dauin in Oriental Negros has made a name for itself as the first example of a working community-managed coral reef in the world.

But while Apo islanders have their fill of fish almost every day, they had long wondered how it would be like to someday eat fresh, hot bread made right in their own community. That remained a dream until January 31 last year when the people of Apo island saw a bakery rise in a vacant lot near the shore.

With lack of any formal training on how to bake bread, the first few attempts were burned black, but it was part of their growing pains.

"Now, we can eat hot pan de sal!" Barangay captain Mario Pascobello enthused as the first few pieces of bread rolled out of the oven. From pan de sal, other kinds of bread were soon made --- ensaymada, sandwich bread, pan de espanol, pan de coco, and 16 other kinds of bread.

"This is a big thing for the islanders because people, especially those who have lived for a while in Manila, learned to acquire the taste for bread and now look for it every morning," said Pablina Cadiz, a Silliman University biologist who has been to Apo island several times.

The money for the construction of the building, oven, mixer, and generator, totaling P180,000, came from a $10,000 fund raised by a group of Filipinos called the Philippine Reef Gala Committee, living in Chicago, USA. Most of the 28 members of the Committee had not even heard of Apo island until 2002, when the Shedd Aquarium of Chicago, after visiting various coral reefs around the world, decided to replicate Apo island as a permanent exhibit.

It was love at first sight. "Our group was created spontaneously after we saw the beauty of the underwater life of Apo island," said Francisco "Toti" Juan, a travel agent and executive director of the University of the Philippines Alumni Foundation in the United States, who heads the group.

The Chicago Fil-ams and their friends thought of supporting the Shedd Aquarium and the Apo island community, in an effort to counter the bad publicity about the Philippines.

Juan said the Philippine Reef Gala Committee decided to raise funds to support educational and livelihood opportunities for the Apo island community. The money, managed by Silliman University, was to be spent on projects decided upon by the islanders themselves.

Aside from the bakery, the money was also used to send five youths to high school and two to college. Under the agreement, the college scholars will take biology, education, or other courses which can help improve the quality of life on the island.

By the end of the first year, the bakery, managed by the Women's Association of Apo Island, earned a net profit of P24,421.52.

Juan and Dr. Leo Avila, a member of the Philippine Reef Gala Committee, visited Apo island last month and, upon hearing the progress of their efforts, decided to donate another $10,000.

"We are very satisfied," said Juan, who was formerly a professor at the University of the Philippines College of Business.

He said they will again visit the island in two years-in time for the graduation of their scholars.

Juan said many people in the U.S. want to help the Philippines but just don't know how to go about it.

With this example, Juan and his fellow Committee members hope to prove that while it may not be possible to help the entire country, they can make a difference by helping one town or one barangay at a time.*

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