MANILA — Close to 400 students in off-grid communities in Misamis Oriental need not spend their nights studying under the flickering light of their gas lamps, as the Department of Education (DepEd) provided them recently with solar-powered lamps.
The lamps were given to 368 students in remote communities in Misamis Oriental through the DepEd division’s “Ilaw ng Pangarap Mo, Sagot Ko” project.
Cherry Limbaco, DepEd Misamis Oriental schools division superintendent, said that the solar-powered lamps were bought through a fundraising campaign teachers and division personnel conducted from October to December last year. Among the activities they did were a garage sale and the sale of fruits and vegetables in various schools.
Limbaco said that through their campaign, 215 students in Claveria, 92 students in Lagonglong and 61 students in Balingasag were given solar lamps.
Education Undersecretary for Partnership and External Linkages Mario Deriquito lauded the division’s initiative, saying that the lamps would extend the students’ time for studying and help increase their chances “to improve their academic performance.” Apart from that, he added that by using the solar-powered lamps, students would no longer be exposed to harmful fumes emitted by kerosene lamps.
As of school year 2013-2014, DepEd said that more than 1.1 million students have limited access to technology because of the absence of electricity in their communities.
The DepEd Misamis Oriental division office’s initiative is part of the national office’s “One Child, One Lamp” campaign that aims to raise funds for solar lamps, which will be distributed to students in off-grid areas. The campaign is part of the DepEd’s umbrella campaign LightEd PH, which provides solutions through conventional and alternative sources of energy to schools that have no power. SFM