RESIDENTS of Barangay Kadayacan in Maria Aurora, Aurora will finally have consistent access to adequate supply of clean water that they have been hoping and wishing for more than three years now. This will happen after the Valentine’s Day celebration this year.
The construction of the water pipeline project for the remote village with more than 1,700 population and a home of mostly Igorots particularly the Kankanaey and Bago tribe immediately started in December right after the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) of the Rotary Club of Metro Baguio District 3790, Rotary Club of Hadano Naka Japan District 2780, and the concerned Barangay.
Barangay captain Florencio Walleng, who represented his barangay in the signing of MOU, said the project is a big help to them recalling their agony of still walking for how many minutes just to fetch the needed water for their families.
“Masuwerte kami at mayroong nagbigay sa amin ng tulong na mabigyan kami ng malinis na tubig. Importante ito dahil ang aming barangay ay malayo sa igiban (We are lucky for this help which will give us clean water. This is important especially that our barangay is far from the water source where we are fetching,” he said.
RCMB president Elma As-il said the constant coordination between the two Clubs led to the application of a Global Grant from the Rotary Foundation.
“With the approval of the Grant, the Kadayacan Water Project has evolved. This very noble project will enable the residents to avail clean, accessible and continuous supply of potable water,” she added.
Rotary Club of Hadano Naka Japan president Isamu Takahashi hopes for the success of the project which they funded and also for the completion of it on February 15 as the target date. He added that they will come back to the Philippines just in time for its opening.
For his part, project engineer Nicasio Caslangan said the construction of the water pipeline will be done in two and half months.
Barangay Kadayacan will assist in the construction of the water project and securing it while RCMB will be in charge on the monitoring.
It may be recalled that the village old pipelines were destroyed at the height of strong Typhoon Lando in October 2015. One hundred percent total damage of infrastructure including the water pipeline was recorded in the area which has a population of 1,704 as of 2018 with 1,447 No. of families, and 1,379 No. of households.
Also present during the MOU signing on December 19, 2018 in Manila were President-Elect Kiyoshi Okutu with Isao Take, Kazuhiro Yano, Fusakazu Naito, Ryouko Kawana, Toshio Sato, and Shingo Komaki from the Rotary Club of Hadano.
RCMB Past President/Past Dist. 3790 1C Asst. Gov Lyman Salvador, Past Presidents Oscar Matusalin and Feliza Ronquillo, Incoming President Jerry Chan, and Project Coordinator Rtn. Audrey Sungduan also attended the event.
ERRATUM: Filipino Seniors Association of Santa Maria Valley & Vicinity spearheaded and organized the conduct of the successful Christmas caroling for a cause activity in Santa Maria, California and not the Filipino American Association of Santa Maria Valley & Vicinity as mentioned in the article Spirit of Giving in this column last week.
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