My youngest sister is already in her fourth grade in one of the public schools here in Makati. We received her Back-To-School Kit recently and it includes a backpack, two school uniforms, two socks, and a pair of black shoes.
Back-To-School Kit I guess I was more excited than my sister because I was the one who opened the kit for her. I was curious of what the bag looked like in person.
The Bag
The box of the backpack 
The backpack with cover The bag was placed in a box with the label Makati, My City. My Makati. #ProudMakatizens Makatizen/s is the term that refers to the residents of Makati. It's a great idea that the bag comes with a box like this. It's good for safe keeping the bag once the classes are over.
I'm surprised that the bag has a cover. It's like I'm unboxing a newly bought bag from the mall.
The free backpack This is what the bag looked like. It is a Japanese-inspired randoseru bag. It's sooo cute and aesthetic! It comes with two shades of blue, this one is the darker shade, the lighter one is for the lower grade levels (Grades 1 to 3).
I opened the backpack and found a letter from the mayor of our city.
Letter from the City Mayor Apparently, the bags were given to Grade 1 and Grade 4 students only for the elementary level, hoping that it would last until their sixth grade.
I looked through the bag. There were no zippers. My youngest sister told me that it has an automatic lock. I had to figure it out for myself.
The lock is located at the bottom part of the bag, which is incredibly great! Other people can't easily open the bag, especially if it is worn.
The lock at the bottom part of the backpack I am just quite worried that the lock might get rusty as the time goes by.
When I opened the bag, there's a card tag for the student's information including the school's name, grade level, and class on the lower middle part. Additionally, there's a pocket with zipper that is ideal for placing necessities like ballpens, pencils, or hygiene kit.
The belt in the middle is used for adjusting the bag, especially if there are a lot of things inside.
Another card is located on the upper part of the bag that includes the class schedule.
The third picture is the main compartment of the bag. It's spacious and can carry eight or more notebooks. We haven't tried to place a textbook yet because they don't have their books yet.
The backpack adjuster The back of the backpack is a mixture of blue and white. Unlike other backpacks, the adjuster of this bag is like the one with the belts. There are several adjustment holes.
The Uniform
Two sets of uniform This is the uniform of the female elementary students in Makati. Before, it was a mixture of dark green and blue. I must confess, I like it better now. It looks like a uniform in private schools plus the color scheme is way cooler now.
The Shoes
The shoes and socks The pair of shoes comes with two different socks - one ankle socks and the other one is knee high socks. The latter is used for rainy days to protect the kids from dengue.
The city government partnered with Otto for the shoes. The size of the shoes is too big for my youngest sister. Fortunately, the shoes she got from last year's kit still fits. Due to the fact that classes were held online at that time, she hasn't used that yet. I suppose this new pair of shoes is meant for her fifth grade.
Education is highly valued by our local administration. This Back-To-School Kit is very beneficial for both students and parents. We are grateful that we received these items for free because they are pretty expensive these days. I simply hope that students like my sister value and utilize these things wisely.
Do you also have Free Back-To-School Kit in your area?
📷 All images are mine unless otherwise stated.