Cagayan Valley, Philippines| According to a report published by the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd), the newest All-Lights Village in Cagayan Valley will serve the indigenous population in the Agta community. The project, says the report, falls in line with ongoing DepEd efforts to provide “better learning environments.”
The solar lamps and street lights aim to improve study conditions by providing longer and better lighting to remote areas that don’t have ready access to electricity.
Over sixty lamps and three street lights were donated to the community, including Pureg Primary School which services children from kindergarten to fourth grade and provides Alternative Learning Systems for non-traditional learners and adults who have not completed their basic education.
Elpidio Tiene, chieftain of the Agta community, thanked donors and described them as the “light of their community.”
Secretary of Education Armin Luistro, who attended the inauguration, drew on the importance of investing in the nation’s indigenous people. He said, “We would like to journey with indigenous people’s communities in building the foundations of culturally-rooted education.” He continued, “Our doors should not be the only ones which should be open for our indigenous brothers and sisters. Our hearts and minds must also stay open, because we will learn a lot from them.”
Asia Pacific Representative of the Global Peace Foundation, Jin Soo Kim said, “We hope that with these small lights, our children may dream and put into reality all our hopes and dreams.” All-Lights Village is a community development project that is based on the Global Peace Foundation vision that humanity, regardless of race, religious, socio-economic class, nationality or gender, are endowed with inalienable rights and freedoms as members of one family under God.
Visit here for the original article published by the Philippines Department of Education