TEACHER Irene P. Ayala during a Grade 2 class at the Dinagat Elementary School in Barangay San Marcos, Bunawan, Agusan del Sur. The additional P10-million donation will help equip 12 last-mile schools with digitalization systems powered by solar energy and satellite Internet.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF IRENE P. AYALA
AuroraPH, Aboitiz Foundation flagship project to provide electricity and connectivity to last-mile schools (LMS) of the Department of Education, is getting an additional P10-million funding from partner Okada Foundation so more students in remote communities will get better education.
James Lorenzana announced the doubling of its AuroraPH funding during the ceremonial turnover of a solar power system and Starlink satellite Internet service to Dinagat Elementary School (DES) in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur on 23 May.
“We at Okada Foundation believe in the objective of this project so we are going to provide an additional P10 million to continue supporting AuroraPH so that more last-mile schools will benefit from it,” Lorenzana told local officials, teachers, and students and parents who attended the turnover ceremony.
Lorenzana said the additional funding will “solarize” a dozen more LMS.
It was through Okada Foundation’s initial donation of P10 million to Aboitiz Foundation television for the three classrooms in the main DES building there and two water tanks that will also serve families of students living around the school located deep in Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary.
The DES and indigenous people’s community get electricity from an electric pole connected to the power cooperative in Bunawan town. The electricity, however, is unreliable and weak because of the distance of the riverine community, which is one hour away by boat from the San Marcos pier. It is also disconnected during high flood for safety.
Through AuroraPH, the DES and homes around it will now enjoy continuous electricity even during high flood.
The floating daycare center, which also serves as an evacuation site, communication center and charging station during storms, will have continuous power supply during emergency.
Meanwhile, the lone DES teacher, Irene P. Ayala, told DAILY TRIBUNE that the electricity from solar energy and Internet service are helping her teach Grade 1 students more effectively.
She said her young students easily get bored by the chalk-talk method of teaching but are excited and interested to learn interactive lessons made possible with the Internet. In fact, Ayala said the engrossed children tell her that they don’t want to return home.
Mayor Sylvia B. Elorde hosted the visiting delegation to DES, including DepEd officials, after the AuroraPH turnover ceremony.
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