201910.04
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Bridging the learning gaps

Every day for 15 years, Babylin Palban would cross a small portion of the Sapangdaku river in Cebu several times just to monitor her teachers and teach students who are attending classes in two different locations.

Her kindergarteners as well as the first, second and third graders are housed in the barangay hall on one side, while students in Grades 4 to 6 are at the Sapangdaku Elementary School which is located on the other side.

WITH THE NEWLY-BUILT bridge in Sapangdaku, Cebu, Babylin Palban and her students no longer cross the river on foot to reach their school.

WITH THE NEWLY-BUILT bridge in Sapangdaku, Cebu, Babylin Palban
and her students no longer cross the river on foot to reach their school.


Crossing the river meant walking through knee-deep waters or balancing one’s feet on top of rocks that serve as pathway.

“I would rather submerge my feet in the water, than balance myself on top of the rocks. I’m afraid to slip and fall,” said the 47-year-old Palban.

But walking in the river becomes more difficult during storms when the water is high. It has been an arduous and dangerous journey not only for her and her students, but for everyone in the community. She had also contracted a water-borne skin disease at that time due to her daily struggle.

PASSION FOR TEACHING

A resident of Sapangdaku herself, Palban was influenced by her parents who were both teachers to also pursue the same profession. After teaching for 10 years, she was assigned as head of the school located in the same community where she was raised. Her passion for teaching and the opportunity to give back, have served as motivation for Palban to push through amid the difficulties and challenges in their school.

When she first arrived at Sapangdaku Elementary School, she was surprised to see 600 students attending classes in the cramped barangay hall. At that time, the elementary school was closed because typhoon floods destroyed the classrooms. The incident forced the previous principal to close down the school and made the barangay hall as alternative classrooms.

Since all the students could not be accommodated in the barangay hall, Palban requested the mayor to allow at least half of the young populace to transfer back to the school. While this set-up has somehow eased the situation of the students, there was the river that the school community had to cross over every time they went from one side to another.

ANSWERED PRAYER

In 2016, her prayers were finally answered. While executives from Fluor Daniel Inc., Philippines (FDIP), a subsidiary of global engineering and construction leader Fluor Corporation, were distributing the trolley bags they donated to the students, they also asked for the school’s other needs. She immediately told them about a footbridge.

In the same year, (FDIP) approved the request to fund the construction of the Sapangdaku footbridge for the students of Sapangdaku Elementary School. Engineers from the company even worked on the structural design of the bridge to ensure its safety and durability. 

Last year, the footbridge was turned over to the school and community who were happy to finally have safe access to the main road, barangay hall and school. Since they do not need to cross the river by foot, the residents will no longer have to worry about contracting skin diseases and allergies that can be obtained from the water in the river.

Through this intervention, the students became more eager to go to school. The new school year generated a higher enrollment rate of 632 from 603 last year, with new students coming from neighboring barangays. So far, there had been no dropouts this school year compared to three percent last year. The tardiness of the students has also decreased.

“This intervention made us feel that we are not abandoned. Even if the situation of our school and community is like this, we know that people still care about Sapangdaku,” Palban said.

She considers the footbridge a big accomplishment that can be attributed to the partnership of PBSP, Fluor Philippines and the local government of Sapangdaku.

“The footbridge addressed the problems of safety and security of the children and the residents,” she added. Palban hopes that the footbridge will pave the way for bigger developments for Sapangdaku and its learners. She is confident that her dream to build a better and more conductive place for learning for the students of Sapangdaku will soon be realized.

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