Building Dreams

Academic year in the Philippines begins on June. But as teachers prepare for the influx of children, they also prepare for the monsoon season. In the Philippines, it is not uncommon to see schools vulnerable to floods and typhoons. Old San Agustin Elementary School in Basey is just one of thousands of schools at risk during the monsoon season.

Old San Agustin Elementary School usually gets flooded when it rains hard because of nearby river usually overflows. Teachers are often disheartened to see their books destroyed and children affected sometimes even acquiring skin diseases brought by dirty water. This has been a long occurring problem in the community.

Mrs. Azil Homeres, an alumni of the school and incidentally the current principal, dreamt of having better learning spaces and disaster resilient classrooms. She can still recall in her younger years how the schools gets flooded. However, in the most recent years, the floods are getting more often and worse. Despite that, teachers and other community members continue to prepare for and mitigate the adverse effects of storms and typhoons.

So when Plan-ADB/JFPR started the project in their school, she welcomed it with eagerness and excitement. Headed by her, the school faculty, are really hands on in the implementation of the construction. Considering the vulnerability of their school to floods, the faculty even suggested the classrooms to be elevated. They also asked for the some coconuts trees with the perimeter of the school to be cut. They truly participate actively in the implementation of the project and continue to show willingness participate with their role to monitor the construction.