Aboitiz-backed ‘Brigada Eskwela’ major awardee eyes 4th straight win this year
What does a multi-awarded elementary school do after winning a major award for exemplary school opening preparations three years in a row? Simple. Aim higher and aim for a fourth award.
Mabolo Elementary School, which sits on the corner of M.J. Cuenco and Juan Luna Avenues in Cebu City, showcases a simple and unassuming façade. Yet behind the school’s walls and gates is an engaged community of teachers, students, and volunteers who eagerly prepare the school well in time for the opening of classes every year.
Last year, the Department of Education recognized Mabolo Elementary School as the country’s best implementer of Brigada Eskwela Plus, a “national community involvement in education” initiative. The recognition is for initiatives such as disaster preparedness site development plans, anti-drug campaigns, financial literacy programs, and school beautification plans, among others.
“We are hoping to sustain that this year. In fact, we are now vying for the Hall of Fame award this year,” Teresita Manzanades, Mabolo Elementary School principal, shares proudly, referring to the activity’s national awarding this December.
The private sector plays a major part in the improvement of schools like Mabolo Elementary School. For instance, the Aboitiz Group has in recent years intensified its participation during Brigada Eskwela Plus on top of the annual school repainting and refurbishing drives undertaken by company volunteers.
Earlier this year, AboitizPower unit Visayan Electric Co., Inc. (VECO), the country’s second-largest private distribution utility, launched at Mabolo Elementary School its first-ever E-Learning Center. Formerly a dilapidated bus, the vehicle was transformed into a leaning space with equipment that set a different standard of learning to inspire students to stay in school and perform better.
“The VECO bus has been very beneficial to Mabolo Elementary School. There are not enough words to express our gratitude to Aboitiz for this. Without them, we would probably have difficulties accessing our ICT (information and communications technology) equipment. Now, it’s easy for us because they (Aboitiz) are here for us,” Manzanades explained.
Meanwhile, 1,484 Aboitiz Group team members from various business units as well as 948 external volunteers came together and painted desks, planted seedlings, and covered textbooks in public schools nationwide as part of the Aboitiz Group’s 10th annual Brigada Eskwela.
“Brigada Eskwela plays a central role in the Aboitiz Group’s brand promise of advancing business and communities through the work of AboitizFoundation in co-creating safe, empowered, and sustainable communities. We are guided by our desire to make even more significant impact on the lives of our beneficiaries through our projects in education, enterprise development, and the environment,” said Erramon I. Aboitiz, AboitizEquity Ventures, Inc. President & Chief Executive Officer.
The Aboitiz Group, recognized in 2015 by DepEd as the Philippine’s biggest contributor to public education, has long been an active supporter and participant of Brigada Eskwela as part of the Group’s team member engagement programs since 2008.
