Two new classrooms for the Lipayran School

categories: Corporate  Sustainability 

Donation by Asean plants for post-Typhoon rebuilding.

Milan, Italy   -   13/06/2014 - 02:00 AM

Donation by Asean plants for post-Typhoon rebuilding

 

In May, Prysmian Group Philippines formally handed over two classrooms to the Lipayran Elementary School as part of the company’s program to assist in rebuilding areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan.

Lipayran is a small island located in the northern part of Cebu, and southwest of the Island of Bantayan. It has a population of 3,000 in an area of 1.5 sq. km. Visitors to the island have to travel 3 hours overland to the north of Cebu and then take a banca (small boat) for another 3 hours. Electricity came to the island only 3 years ago thanks to a connection to a neighbouring island’s power generator with overhead cross-sea electrical cables. Unfortunately, these electrical pylons were all washed away with the typhoon and it will take years to reinstate the connection.

The classrooms are to be used by Grades 7 & 8. The previous classrooms were built with light materials and were destroyed when the typhoon hit the island. Without the classrooms, students would be forced to go to school on a neighbouring island at a cost of € 0.30 per trip. Although this does not seem to be a large amount, it is for the islanders whose main source of income is fishing.

Prysmian Group will also donate 80 chairs for the new classrooms thanks to a used battery recycling campaign promoted by a national business organisation that the company has joined. In return for collecting and contributing the used batteries, the organisation will donate school chairs and books to a school nominated by the contributing company.

The classroom has been donated thanks to donations from employees at the following Prysmian plants: Draka Philippines, Inc., Draka Durango, Singapore Cables Manufacturers Pte Ltd, Sindutch Cable Malaysia, Power Cables Malaysia, Draka Cables (Hong Kong)Limited, MCI-Draka Cable Co. Ltd (Thailand) and P.T. Prysmian Cables Indonesia.