Aboitiz Foundation, Jollibee, DepEd donate classrooms

CEBU, Philippines - The Aboitiz Foundation recently donated three classrooms to the Leonard Wood Elementary School in barangay Jagobiao, Mandaue City.

The donation came after the foundation found out that the school lacked classrooms.

The school only had eight classrooms then and occupied by 800 students with a ratio of 1:89.

But with the donation of three new classrooms by Aboitiz Foundation and another additional two from the Department of Education and Jollibee, the students will now enjoy the comforts of a school and the ratio will be reduced to 1 is to 51.

School principal Joverlie Canoy said the classrooms come at the right time for the opening of the school year. The school is located within the Eversley Child’s Sanitarium compound in Jagobiao.

It was set up in the 1920s by Gov. General Leonard Wood. He also facilitated for the American philanthropist Eversley Childs to set up a sanitarium for lepers.

The Aboitiz Foundation represented by Ricardo Lacson, vice president for Administration and Customer Service Group of Aboitiz-owned Visayan Electric Company (VECO), signed a Memorandum of Agreement yesterday with Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes for the P1.2 million classroom project wherein 30 percent of the cost or P337,575 was shouldered by Mandaue.

The three classrooms replaced the dilapidated Bagong Lipunan Classrooms constructed in the 1980s and which posed danger to the 150 grade one pupils.

Each of the classroom is equipped with electric fan and comfort room with coloroof roofing and steel trashes.

Cortes has strengthened the city's partnership with various non-government organizations like Aboitiz Foundation in solving the perennial problem of classroom shortage. —THE FREEMAN