The Challenge
According to the Philippines Department of Education, the region lacks hundreds of thousands of classrooms due to the growing population. Many of the available classrooms are makeshift buildings that have been damaged by natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons.
Our Approach
We work with a local partner to build classrooms in these areas, with a portion of these projects located in ‘last-mile’ schools. ‘Last-mile’ schools are located in extremely remote areas and require students, often from indigenous communities, to travel long distances to get to school. These schools are also often the only school serving students in that area.
Alongside our partner, we have supported building classrooms and setting them up with solar panels for electricity and rainwater capture systems for the sanitary facilities. Each classroom is designed to withstand harsh weather conditions and is equipped with a chalkboard, a teachers’ desk, wall fans, and bathrooms. For each of these projects, our partners employ construction workers from the local community, not only to provide livelihood but to upskill the area’s growth.
This project aims to help create safer, more conducive learning environments for students and teachers and provide hubs for the broader community. By building schools closer to communities, we help to reduce the long and often difficult journeys students must make each day, ensuring better access to education and improved attendance.
The Results
-
35+
classrooms built
-
34,000+
students impacted
-
30+
local workers employed for projects all since 2017
