United States Ambassador Kenney visits Imam, school children in Pangapuyan island

Zamboanga City – To help uplift the quality of education for children living in poor and remote villages in Mindanao, the United States Government, thru the Alliance for Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy (AMORE) program, funded the electrification of off-grid schools, mostly in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

On June 1, 2007 United States Ambassador H.E. Kristie Kenney led the unveiling of a marker that represents the electrification of 102 schools in Mindanao. The electrification of the schools using solar and micro-hydro power makes it viable for distance education facilities to aid in better learning and increase literacy in the coastal and hinterland villages of Mindanao.

Three days before the opening of classes, Ambassador Kenney inspected one of the schools in Pangapuyan Island, Zamboanga City that had been energized with solar power, thanks to the assistance from the American people.

Bel Amin Amiril, a teacher in Pangapuyan Elementary School who uses distance education facilities, is very happy that his pupils are more interested to attend classes. “They are also ahead in learning compared to children in other schools in the island barangays of Zamboanga City,” he says.

Amiril adds “Electricity definitely makes a big difference in terms of giving better education for the children.”  The facilities include a colored television set, DVD player, and video CDs of Hiraya Manawari, Mathtinik and other educational programs produced by ABS-CBN E-media.

According to AMORE chief Tetchi Cruz-Capellan, “national statistics show that schools in Mindanao have the highest drop-out rate in the country and consistently post the lowest functional literacy level.”  She added, “aside from poverty, another reason for the dismal state of education in Mindanao is the lack of basic facilities that would help uplift the quality of learning.”

Rafida Omar, a grade 4 pupil, says she was always absent in school and had failing grades. “Now, I see to it that I’m first to go in because I want to watch the educational programs on TV,” she says. 

During her visit to the island, Ambassador Kenney also visited the solar-energized Mosque and was briefed by the Imam of the spiritual benefits of the light. The Imam dedicated to her an old Qu’ran as a souvenir. The Ambassador also demonstrated her storytelling skills to attentive elementary students in a Pangapuyan elementary school which received solar and distance education facilities. Accompanied by a video provided by the E-media project – which provides educational program content to schools – she read a story to 20 gradeschool students. Over 100 schools which house over 51,000 students have benefited from AMORE’s school electrification program in Mindanao. Earlier on the same occasion, the Ambassador was welcomed to a household, which is one of the beneficiaries of a solar home system provided by AMORE. Pangapuyan is one of the 413 off-grid villages energized by AMORE since 2002.