CDO and Iligan schools receive education assistance from USAID   

Wednesday 29th of February 2012

DAVAO CITY, Feb. 29 (PIA) -- Almost 10,500 students from Cagayan de Oro (CDO) and Iligan City received new school kits as replacements for their school materials destroyed or washed away by tropical storm Sendong (‘Washi’) last December.   

Provided by the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) 3, a USAID-funded program under the oversight of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), the assistance augments educational support given to schools and students in heavily affected areas.  

The DepED division offices of CDO and Iligan selected which would be the beneficiary schools and prioritized those severely affected by Sendong and those that received minimal support from recovery efforts due to the inaccessibility of their location.   

Overall, nine schools from CDO and 11 from Iligan city were identified as recipients of the educational assistance. Each school was given new sets of books, dictionaries, and other classroom materials to facilitate the improvement of classroom set-up and the smoother conduct of lessons amidst the ongoing reconstruction of their respective areas.   

The donated supplies can last up to the first semester of the following school year, depending on how the schools manage their resources.   

“The kids are really happy with the new school kits they received. We prioritized giving the supplies to the higher levels because they are the ones who usually carry heavy school materials. Thank you po talaga,” said Rosita Bayron, principal of the Bayug Elementary school, one of the schools that were completely decimated by Sendong.  

“Even if we do not have our school site yet, we are one of the few schools that were able to gather many students on the first day of classes this year,” Bayron said, adding that their students currently hold classes at the covered gym of Iligan City East High School-Hinaplanon Complex.  

 Apart from the flooded school buildings, majority of the affected schools also lost computer units to Sendong, such as Tuburan National High School (Digkilaan Annex) which lost 11; most of thee were donated by GEM years back.   

“Through GEM-USAID program, we had been providing necessary infrastructure and resources to enhance access to quality education in target communities in Mindanao,” said MinDA Chair Luwalhati R. Antonino.  

MinDA's Mindanao 2020 Peace and Development Framework has cited the need for adequate and reliable support infrastructure for education and disaster risk management that strongly enhances the peace and development initiatives for Mindanawons.   

Since 2008, GEM 3 has been providing school infrastructure improvements to elementary and secondary schools such as updating of school libraries, home economics rooms, multi-media center, and internet connection to far flung Mindanao barangays including Iligan city. (NCLM/PIA-Caraga/MinDA)