‘Bayanihan’ helps rebuild old school

INFANTA, Quezon – IN 1995, US-based Mila Glodava visited the Philippines, and entertained the idea of rebuilding the nearly century-old Gabaldon-type school building where most of the residents here learned their ABCs.

Why has no one rebuilt the structure? she asked around. The reply: “No money.”

A resident of the United States since 1972 and active member of the St. Thomas More parish church in Centennial, Colorado, Glodava was also the pioneering spirit behind the establishment of the Metro Infanta Foundation (MIF) in 1996.

The Filipino-run non-profit organization, also based in Colorado, aimed to unite online Filipino expatriates living in different parts of the globe through a website https://infanta.org/home/. It provides education to students, and initiates fund raising activities to support worthy causes back home, especially in northern Quezon.

Even then, Glodava knew that soliciting P15 million for the reconstruction of the school building would be a daunting task. But the nagging feeling to see it burst back to life never left her.

When she returned to Infanta in 2000, she made her wishes known, and began meeting with school and government officials. By July 2008, it was possible to officially launch the project.

It was evident that much was needed to be done. What remained of the old school were mossy, concrete stairs with a few fractured pillars standing in front of the façade.

Pupils of Infanta Central Elementary School had to be content with dilapidated, makeshift and crowded classrooms.

In a corner of the compound were remnants of the old structure—cracked walls and thin columns with protruding steel bars.

Inspiration

Amid this abysmal state, Glodava gained inspiration from the “bayanihan” spirit of the residents. She knocked on their doors, sponsored fundraising activities abroad, and flooded the Internet with appeals to Infanta natives for help.

Two months before school year 2011-12 opens, Glodava has enough good news in her most recent email. “The Gabaldon construction committee reports that construction is now 80 percent complete and landscaping has begun,” she said.

A U-shaped concrete building in the image of the original design stands in place of the ruins. Masons were finishing up the concrete walls, while electricians were laying down cables for the power fixtures.

A small stage for school programs was also being built at the back, in time for the inauguration scheduled for July 21, coinciding with the centennial celebration of the original building.

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts said the structure was named after assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon, author of Act 1801 of the National Assembly, who provided an appropriation of P1 million for the building of elementary schools throughout the country.

Concrete posts, wooden floors and walls, capiz shell windows and doors made from hardwood species from the Sierra Madre mountain range were part of the original design of the structure built from 1911 to 1916. The building was destroyed during World War II, and rehabilitated after Liberation when it was used again as an elementary school.

At the height of Typhoon “Yoling” in 1972, the building was heavily damaged, but plans to reconstruct it were again derailed. Another typhoon hit northern Quezon in 2004 and the entire community focused on reviving the town, and putting the people back on their feet.

Nonetheless, Glodava said Americans sympathetic to the cause of rebuilding the school had shown “incredible financial support” for the project. The MIF was able to collect thousands of dollars through donations, parties, dinners, and ingenious fund campaigns.

Even young American students at Denver’s St. Rose of Lima School contributed more than $100 in pennies through their “Pennies from Heaven” campaign.

Counterpart

The MIF’s local counterpart in Infanta initiated its own campaign billed as “Share, Build and Be Counted.” Bishop Rolando Tria Tirona, head of the Prelature of Infanta, serves as the MIF channel of funds.

Glodava said some $180,000 in pledges and payments had been raised, just short of $20,000 to meet their target of $200,000.

The Infanta Central Elementary School’s Parents-Teachers Association (PTA), which shouldered the landscaping costs, has collected nearly half a million pesos.

Mayor Grace America, another alumna, said the local government would provide chairs, tables and blackboards for the 13 classrooms of the new building.

Glodava said her townmates abroad would be proud to go back home, basking in the knowledge that they had made contributions to the school.

“It was a school that for most of us was instrumental in our educational foundation, and for many more, our professional success,” she added.