A NEW two-story building was donated to Bato Elementary School in Toledo City, a project which benefited at least 2,000 students.
The building was donated by Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI) and the Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (AFI), a subsidiary of AboitizPower.
The school building houses a computer laboratory, a library and a classroom.
Bato Elementary School principal Juanita Taran described the donation of the classroom as a “great blessing” to them, considering that they have many classrooms, which will soon be demolished.
“My dream in the previous school years was to have a general computer laboratory, as well as making sure that the computer teachers in the school will have real computers to operate during computer classes and it was made into reality by Therma Visayas,” she said. “This donation goes a long way in fulfilling our needs and in helping to improve the academic achievement for our students.”
Taran said that the donation of the building will help address the classroom shortage problem of the school.
The school building was turned over to Bato Elementary School on June 30.
TVI officials led by project director Grant Smith handed over a symbolic key of the school building to DepEd officials, Parents-Teachers Community Association president Celso Dagala and two selected Grade 6 pupils of the school.
During the ceremony, Taran and Toledo City Division Schools superintendent Dr. Joseph Irwin A. Lagura thanked TVI and AFI for their continued support to the Department of Education (DepEd).
In line with its corporate social responsibility program for its host community, TVI also donated 14 computers and sponsored a computer literacy training for the teachers. TVI also donated a projector, projector screen, a printer, computer tables and chairs.
Bato Elementary School did not have computers for students. During computer classes, teachers used Manila paper and cut-outs to demonstrate the uses of a computer.
Earlier, Therma Visayas donated thin client computer system to Bato National High School and Awihao National High School.
Barangays Bato and Awihao are host communities of TVI’s 340-MW baseload power plant, which is expected to enter commercial operations in early 2018.