Christmas came early for students and teachers of three schools in Concepcion and Janiuay, Iloilo as the Manila Electric Company's (Meralco) social development arm, One Meralco Foundation (OMF), continues its School Electrification Program for last mile schools in the Philippines. While many Filipinos kick-off the yuletide season at the start of the "ber" months by turning on Christmas lights in their homes, malls and offices, off-grid and other far-flung communities are not able to enjoy the same due to lack of sources of electricity.

In the northern part of Iloilo, some island barangays struggle with stable access to electricity and even communications signal. The residents rely only on some neighbors (or in some cases on the barangay) who have their own diesel generator or a small solar panel to have electricity to power up a single lamp for the night, or a tv or radio. But because gasoline and the generator are expensive, they are forced to limit its operation to only four to five hours per night. As a result, schools in the islands are not usually prioritized by genset owners.

The farthest island school in Concepcion, Iloilo

Baliguian, an island not known to many, is a sitio of Brgy. Malangabang in Concepcion, Iloilo located 40.5 kilometers (about 25.17 mi) off the coast of mainland Concepcion. It is the farthest island in Concepcion or approximately 1.5 to 2 hours away by boat from the mainland and about 2 hours away from Cadiz, Negros Occidental.

Due to its distance and location, it cannot easily be reached by electricity providers, and only a few dares to visit the place. Surrounded by open sea, travelers here meet rough waves, and the weather can be unpredictable.

As a resident of the island, Teacher Wendel John Aragon, the current school head of Baliguian Elementary School shared his first-hand experience of what it is like to live and teach in the last, farthest island of the municipality. "The situation on the island is difficult for the residents and, especially, for our students. Growing up (here), I experienced hardships and now that I am teaching here, I realized how hard it is to deliver quality education with lack of conducive space for learning because we don't have electricity and connectivity."

"In schools located in the mainland, students at least experience learning tools like TV, computers and laptops and the internet. But in Baliguian we can't use those because there is no electricity. That really affects the knowledge and skills of the students. It was harder during the pandemic as teachers from our school needed to ferry to the mainland to print the modules and go back to the island to distribute these," he continued.

Teacher Wendel pursued teaching as a profession to help his fellow faculty members find ways to improve their teaching delivery. He even appealed and reached out to the regional and division offices of the Department of Education, various companies, and foundations to find support for their school.

Spreading light and technology

In October 2022, Teacher Wendel's prayers were answered when OMF installed a 1-kw peak solar photovoltaic system in their school as well as in two more: Polopiña Elementary School in the municipality of Concepcion, and Canauillan Elementary School in the municipality of Janiuay. This will light up multi-media learning equipment and other useful appliances on top of lighting and ventilation and will enable improvement of learning delivery by the teachers and learning experience of the students. A total of 475 total students and 24 teachers will benefit from these initiatives.

Nowadays, electricity is deemed a necessity in schools, and lack of it may have a negative impact on the education of students as observed in island schools in the country. This was even aggravated by the COVID19 pandemic as schools enforced blended learning consisting of printed modules and online classes. Teachers from these remote islands would travel at least two hours by boat each way to reach the mainland just to reproduce modules. This exposed teachers, for example, to several risks.

On top of the solar pv system, Meralco employees donated to the three schools' multimedia learning equipment composed of LED television, laptop, and a printer-scanner. This was made possible through the Meralco Employees Fund for Charity Inc. (MEFCI).

"Being able to reach the most distant island schools in the country gives an even deeper meaning to our work in One Meralco Foundation. Our program provides hope to students, teachers, and the community in these islands so that they can continue gaining knowledge and developing their skills so that one day they can improve the lives and livelihood of their families," says One Meralco Foundation President, Jeffrey Tarayao.

Partnerships to develop young people

The three schools in Iloilo were even blessed with OMF's partnership with Lenovo Philippines which donated additional laptops. Earlier in the year, Lenovo reached out to the Foundation after learning that the mission of the school electrification program aligned with Lenovo's global philanthropy mission of empowering underrepresented populations with access to technology and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education. The project was included in Lenovo's annual Global Month of Service activity, aiming to help create a digital learning environment for students with smarter technology.

The Lenovo devices were donated to teachers and students on the islands to increase their access to technology.

Lenovo employees including Michael Ngan, President and General Manager of Lenovo Philippines volunteered during the school visit and delivered "Balik Eskwela" kits to kindergarten and grade one students in the three schools. The kits included a backpack, a lunchbox, and a tumbler as well as washable face masks, and bottles of alcohol which will help the students as they resume face-to-face classes.

"At Lenovo, we strive to empower communities with technology and opportunity. To bridge the digital divide and fill gaps in our education system, we support mission-aligned organizations like OMF to drive positive impact. With the donated devices, we hope to make a difference in the communities, to improve their way of learning with the innovative products and services we offer," shares Ngan.

The community launch in Baliguian Elementary School was also attended by local government leaders like Concepcion, Iloilo Mayor Milliard Villanueva, and the Department of Education Province of Iloilo Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Luz Delos Reyes together with the parents-teacher associations and barangay leaders from the beneficiary schools.

OMF has been energizing schools in island and mountain communities in Iloilo since 2016 and has energized 16 so far from the municipalities of Concepcion, Calinog, Carles, Janiuay, Lambunao, and Estancia. Overall, the Foundation has already energized 285 schools throughout the country since the program started in 2012.