Lopez unit installs Batangas water hubs
It is our role to imprint in the young minds of our school children the high level of health awareness and proper sanitation and hygiene
Daily TribuneIt is our role to imprint in the young minds of our school children the high level of health awareness and proper sanitation and hygiene
Lopez Group’s ecozone subsidiary First Philippine Industrial Park just completed the construction and installation of hand-washing stations in 15 schools in its host cities of Tanauan and Santo Tomas in Batangas province. | Photograph courtesy of Lopez Group
Lopez-led economic zone operator First Philippine Industrial Park Inc. has donated hand-washing stations to 15 public schools in its two host cities in Batangas province as part of the company's support to help control the spread of Covid-19 and other infectious diseases, on top of promoting proper hygiene among school children.
FPIP formally handed over the facilities recently to the schools in the cities of Santo Tomas and Tanauan in Batangas to assist at the same time the preparations of both local governments units and the Department of Education for the safe resumption of full, in-person classes of the schools in November.
During the simple, hand-over ceremonies, Arth Jhun Marasigan, mayor of Santo Tomas City, stressed the role the FPIP donation plays in minimizing health problems and poor school performance of children by providing them the convenience inside the school to clean their hands with soap and water.
"United Nations Children's Fund says almost 50 percent of school-aged children are infected with community-transmitted infections, which are the usual cause of diarrhea, stunted growth, absenteeism among school children, and (which have) a high impact on the level of their education."
Safe water must flow
According to Marasigan, "these (problems) are due to (the) lack of access to safe water, and it is not acceptable to me." The local chief executive said that the addition inside the schools of the hand-washing facilities will help instill the habit among school children on proper hygiene, which in turn will help promote their good health and improved academic performance.
"It is our role to imprint in the young minds of our school children the high level of health awareness and proper sanitation and hygiene," Marasigan said.
Ricky Carandang, FPIP vice president and head of external affairs, disclosed that FPIP designed and installed complete hand-washing stations so far in 11 public schools in Santo Tomas and in four other public schools in Tanauan. He added that, next year, FPIP will complete the free construction of 15 more similar sanitation stations for public schools in the two cities.
