Building colorful classrooms to urge lumad kids to attend classes

November 04, 2016

Building colorful classrooms to urge lumad kids to attend classes
Mt. Apo Elementary School kindergarten pupils enjoy reading the illustrated storybooks donated by Hedcor in partnership with Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. and AGAPP Foundation.
Mt. Apo Elementary School kindergarten pupils enjoy reading the illustrated storybooks donated by Hedcor in partnership with Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. and AGAPP Foundation.
tribe in Sibulan City Side, Davao del Sur, assist their children in reading books. The parents also enjoy looking at the colorful illustrations on the storybooks.
tribe in Sibulan City Side, Davao del Sur, assist their children in reading books. The parents also enjoy looking at the colorful illustrations on the storybooks.
FOR 35 kids at the Mt. Apo Elementary School at Sibulan City Side in Davao City, school just became more interesting now that they get their lessons inside brightly painted, brand new classrooms.AboitizPower subsidiary Hedcor and Aboitiz Foundation, Inc., in partnership with AGAPP (Aklat , Gabay, Aruga tungo sa pag-angat at Pag-asa) Foundation, recently turned over the one-storey, two-classroom Silid Pangarap building—painted in bright green, yellow and red—to school officials to mainly benefit Bagobo-Tagabawa kindergarten pupils.The new school building also houses a library that is equipped with books, educational toys, and posters.The school’s sole kindergarten teacher, Jessica Almiñana, said that they did not have a classroom for kindergarten so she had to share a room with the Grade 2 class. She thanked Hedcor for donating the Silid Pangarap, which she described as a “blessing to their community.”“The kids joined me as I arranged the donated books inside the classroom and I could really see the joy and excitement in their eyes. This classroom will surely inspire them and me as well,” expressed Almiñana.A grandparent also expressed her gratitude. “For many years, we have not experienced learning inside classrooms as spacious and comfortable as these. So thank you so much Hedcor, Aboitiz Foundation, and AGAPP Foundation for giving us and our children a hope for a better future,” said Elisa Erano, a grandparent of a kindergarten pupil.To date, 10 deserving adopted schools in Mindanao, including Mt. Apo Elementary School, have been given classrooms through the aid of Hedcor.Aside from these classrooms, Hedcor also provided the community of Sibulan City Side with a water system, footbridge, and tribal hall. The road to the community was also concreted with Hedcor’s help.As Hedcor provides renewable energy to the Mindanao grid, it remains committed to helping promote the welfare of its host communities and to make sure its operations have the least impact on the environment.Hedcor delivers 60.5 MW of clean energy to the Mindanao grid for many years now. By the third quarter of 2017, Hedcor will add another 68.8 MW of renewable energy to its portfolio with the completion of its Manolo Fortich Hydropower Project in the Province of Bukidnon.

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