A safer school for the children of Bayanan
Some pupils of Bayanan Elementary School in Baco, Oriental Mindoro, walk up to three hours and cross a river on a bamboo bridge to reach two leaking classrooms. The Club has committed to rehabilitate the school.
The need
Some children trek for as long as three hours each day through rocky terrain, often without adequate footwear, and cross the Bayanan River on a makeshift bamboo bridge. At the end of that journey is a two-classroom building with no ceiling, makeshift windows and doors, a roof that leaks when it rains, no proper partition between the classrooms, and comfort rooms that need significant improvement.
What members did
- 1 September 2026Bayanan Elementary School
President Reginald T. Yu, Director Nico Valencia, Director Teddy Kalaw, Club Secretary Albert Alday, Club Auditor Gani Macatoman and Global Grant Chair Aries Balanay inspected the school and interviewed School Head Mrs. Ednalin Dunday and Barangay Chairman Nitoy A. Remnayon.
- September 2026Land for the school
Director Nico Valencia began securing a Deed of Donation from the Valencia family, which owns the land the school stands on. Once completed it goes to the Department of Education, clearing the way for the agency to rebuild and rehabilitate the school.
The result
The Club has also committed to install a Rotary Four-Way Test marker at the school and to donate diapers and milk to families with infants and young children.
No community, no matter how remote, should ever be beyond the reach of compassion and service.
Partners
- Bayanan Elementary School
- Barangay Bayanan
- The Valencia family, landowners
- Department of Education
What happens next
The Deed of Donation is completed and submitted to the Department of Education, resources are mobilized, and the rehabilitation is carried out.
Sources
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