Safer classrooms built for schoolkids

ST. BERNARD, S. LEYTE ,Philippines  - Pupils of Himbangan Elementary School in this town were the beneficiaries of a private sector program that resolved the school's problem of getting flooded and exposing the schoolchildren to mud and rains due to damaged classrooms.

Edgardo Villareal, president of the school PTA and community facilitator, said the children can now study safely and their teachers can now work without worry after Smart Communications funded the retrofitting of the classrooms and the construction of a concrete pathway.

Himbangan, with a population of more than 2,300 residents, is a village by the sea in this town that is one of several sites of the Advancing Safer Communities and Environments Against Disasters (ASCEND) Project.

The project, implemented by Christian Aid, CARE Nederland and their partner organizations including the Corporate Network for Disaster Response (CNDR), of which Smart is a corporate member, was aimed at reducing the vulnerability of communities and LGUs in high-risk areas by enhancing gains in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA).

Part of CNDR's participation in ASCEND is the promotion of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction's Safe Schools Campaign.

CDNR's executive director Hilda Cleofe said: "We help CNDR members like Smart to connect to high-risk communities like St. Bernard to increase the town's resilience and reduce their vulnerability to natural disasters."

Nova Concepcion, manager of Smart's Public Affairs Community Partnerships, said disaster risk reduction is one of the company's advocacies. "Hence, we want to support disaster preparedness projects like ASCEND," she said.

A risk assessment program conducted by the CNDR on the school in December 2010 showed the school's contingency plan included the repair of its classrooms.

Smart said it raised P100,000 from concerned employees in the region to fix the classrooms' ceiling and flooring, and built a paved pathway at the back of the school plaza to solve the recurring problem of mud in the school yard. Work was carried out by the Municipal Engineering Office and the school PTA, which transported the sand materials.

Shaina Mae Casenas, a 10-year-old Grade 5 pupil says in the dialect, "I am happy that our roof no longer leaks and causes an interruption of our classes."

Her classmate Lendyl Liogan added they no longer have to clean up after heavy rains and flooding. "Now, we can just focus on studying," she said.

Cristelyn Guarino, technical assistant and Grade 2 teacher said, "Now, our drainage problem is solved," adding that making a school conducive to teaching and studying "is our legacy to our children."