People power in remote Sultan Kudarat village fast-track basic services backed by USAID, British Embassy, Municipal LGU

The tri-peoples (B’laans, Christians and Muslims) of Sitio Lam-alis, a remote, upland village in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat that used to be a battleground between the New People’s Army and the military, have worked a minor miracle in their village.  

   The people have banded together to speed up the construction of a 7-kilowatt micro-hydro power system funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and of a spring-fed, gravity-type potable water system funded by the British Embassy in Manila and the municipal government of Columbio, which have transformed the sitio from a ravaged village to a buoyant community looking forward to their long-hoped-for peace and prosperity.

    The two projects, which would benefit 150 households and which support two of the Philippine government’s 10-point development agenda—i.e., to bring electricity and water to every barangay in the country and to promote peace in Mindanao—were implemented under the Alliance for Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy (AMORE) Program of USAID, the Mirant Philippines Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Winrock International.

    Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla, U.S. Embassy Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Scott Bellard, British Ambassador Peter Beckingham, and Columbio Mayor Edwin Bermudez led the inauguration ceremonies of the two facilities yesterday in Manila in the presence of the Lam-alis community leaders. 

    AMORE, under its mandate to contribute to peace initiatives in Mindanao by improving the quality of life in remote, conflict-affected communities in the region through sustainable renewable energy (such as solar and micro-hydro power) projects and effective community organizing, completed the construction of the mHP system in Lam-alis early this year with the help of the community residents. Having seen, however, that there was just as critical a need for potable water as for electricity in the village due to the high incidence of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea thereat, it helped facilitate the community’s access to the Small Grants Scheme of the British Embassy in Manila for the construction of a potable water system in the village. After the British Embassy quickly approved the funds, the Lam-alis residents worked without letup on the project until it was completed in only three weeks, half the time projected.

    AMORE also partnered with IBM Philippines and Eduquest, Inc. for the provision of computer-based education to elementary students in the village through the IBM Kidsmart Early Learning Program.