When floodwaters rose after multiple severe weather conditions at San Simon High School in Pampanga, the school and many of its items were left submerged for over a month. English teacher Karla Reyes Ong-Bagtas, who said it was the worst flooding she had seen in the province in 30 years, was among the teachers who expressed concern.
Even before the water completely went down, she spearheaded the cleanup, then raised funds through vlogs to pay and replace chairs, bulletin boards, cooking items, electric fans, televisions, and other classroom items the flood had ruined.
Known online as Unfiltered Life of Karla, she is a public school teacher and content creator with more than two million followers on Facebook and over one million on TikTok. Her videos mix humor, from dance challenges with students to funny classroom moments, with an honest look at what teachers shoulder every day.
Her flood recovery clips struck a nerve because they reflect something many public school teachers already know: when resources fall short, they often fill the gap with their own time and money.
This year’s Habagat, along with two tropical cyclones, affected hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, and Pampanga was placed under a state of calamity. Classes in San Simon were suspended for days, with over-the-head flood making it physically impossible to attend school, and teachers like Karla had to deal with the damage as well.
For her, giving is not new. Through her Adopt a Child Advocacy Program (ACAP), she sets aside part of her online earnings to give underprivileged students bags, shoes, notebooks, and other school supplies.
It began when she decided to sponsor scholars with a small budget that covered only ten children. It has since reached more than 1,000 students nationwide. She has said she hopes the kindness keeps moving, with every student who receives help passing it on to someone else.
Her advocacy also covers how schools and families work together. In a Facebook post last year, she reminded parents that values begin at home and are reinforced in school. She also helps organize donations for her community in Pampanga.
Her platform has taken her beyond the classroom. She has been a guest on Toni Talks, where she talked about life outside school, been a guest speaker at other events, and she entertained teachers at a recent Teachers’ Day celebration in Bayambang, Pangasinan.
Karla’s story shows what social media can do when it is aimed at the people nearby. Her reach is large, but her help is small and specific: a replaced chair, a new pair of shoes, a bag in time for the school year.
You do not need a million followers to do the same. A donated chair, a pair of shoes for a student, or a hand with cleanup after a storm can keep a classroom going. If one teacher can help put her school back together, others can find their own ways to support the teachers and students around them.
