DAVAO CITY—The P10 monthly chip-in among the employees of General Santos City south of here paid off with the construction of a new classroom in blighted Barangay Calumpang. The new classroom was constructed in Calumpang High School, newly established in this slum community, and which started out with only two makeshift classrooms for the Grades 7 and 8 levels.
The two grade levels that have 180 students were crammed or took turns using the only two rooms. The new classroom was opened on October 3. “Calumpang High School just started this June and we only have two make-shift classrooms that catered to 130 Grade 7 and Grade 8 students. With the addition of this new classroom from the local government, I’m sure we can add more students,” said Fervi Tripoli, a teacher of the school.
The new classroom, also a makeshift structure, costs P110,000.
The money was raised through the “Sampung Piso Ko, Klasrum Mo” of the General Santos City Government Employees Association (GSCGEA) for the construction of make-shift classrooms. Mayor Ronnel Rivera appealed for the P10 donation that began in February this year.
From February to July, the GSCGEA raised P78,000, but the City Mayor’s Office gave P40,000 to complete it, according to a statement released by the city information office.
Mindanao Bureau Chief