Education within reach: New APC school completed in Mindagulos

The new APC school in Sitio Mindagulos, a community by the forests of the Pantaron Range, was completed on 15 October 2023 with workers coming from Sitio Bendum and the community in Sitio Mindagulos. Supported by a four-month project grant from Irish Jesuits International (IJI), the team is currently working on building a water tank with roofing and three toilet units for the school.

The nearest village school is seven kilometers away through an old logging road and in 2014, APC set up a “connecting school” in Sitio Mindagulos with the Tribal Council and with the women. The community has a village hall made of light materials that was allocated for APC teachers to run classes. The 36 sqm facility was divided into three classrooms accommodating five grade levels – Kinder 1, Kinder 2, Grades 1, 2, and 3. Eight years after the program began, the current facility was falling apart and it was decided to establish a larger, sturdier, climate-smart school building.

The newly-constructed school offers Kindergarten to Grade 3 classes to students from the Mindagulos community. The cement bamboo frame technology was applied in the school’s construction, a technology learned from implementing a social housing project with the Environmental Science for Social Change (ESSC). This technology has been tested against strong typhoons. Using local bamboo, this same technology was used to construct Balay Magnanau (Teachers’ building) in Sitio Bendum, also with support from IJI. The new school building has three classrooms, one teachers’ room, and a multipurpose space.

The construction of a sturdier APC School in Sitio Mindagulos ensures that education is within reach for the community’s children.