Laguna universities band together to help build 10K classrooms

MANILA, Philippines - The University of Perpetual Help System Laguna and the University of the Philippines Los Baños have teamed up to intensify the social mobilization campaign The Entire Nation Moves (TEN Moves!) in Laguna.

TEN Moves! seeks to help build 10,000 classrooms for schoolchildren across the Philippines by encouraging at least two million Filipinos to donate P10 a day for 10 months, or P3,000 lump sum.

By end of 2012, more than 3,000 classrooms have been donated and pledged for Bayanihang Pampaaralan, the mother campaign of TEN Moves!, with over 1,000 classrooms having been built. TEN Moves! itself has generated about P49 million in cash and in-kind donations and pledges for the classrooms.

However, with the recent spate of flooding brought about by typhoon Pablo, over 569 schools and 2,000 classrooms in Region 10, 11, Caraga, and ARMM have been devastated, leaving 200,000 children without a place to study — creating a greater imperative for funds to be raised to address such shortages.

For Mark Lester Chico, the Student Organizations and Activities Division head of UP Los Baños, it is important for schools and universities to provide support to each other, especially at this time, to help these areas recover.

“For every ten peso coin that we contribute to TEN Moves!, we can help the schoolchildren, teachers, and schools affected by typhoon Pablo recover,” says Chico. “It is a good opportunity for schools and universities all over the country to pay it forward, and help build a brighter future for our fellow Filipinos.”

Since its launch in the university last June 2011, UPLB’s local campaign has raised over P70,000. Students from the university also joined groups of families and friends, and various companies and organizations during TEN Moves’ Run for 10 at Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati, last January.

One of UPLB’s partner universities, the University of Perpetual System Laguna, hopes to harness the power of the youth to boost the campaign and inch closer to its goal.

“Through the TEN Moves! campaign, we hope to encourage the youth of Laguna to make their move for classrooms,” says Dr. Ferdinand Somido, executive school director, University of Perpetual Help-Biñan. “We hope that their drive and energy would create awareness and excitement for the cause.”

For Dr. Lorna Dino, Department of Education regional director for Region IV-A, the TEN Moves! campaign is not only a testament to the power of public-private partnerships, but is also an important initiative which empowers schools and universities to take on the daunting task of reducing the classroom backlog.

“Building 10,000 classrooms is not an easy feat, but with the help of every Filipino, we will be well on our way to solving one of our country’s most crucial problems in education,” says Dino. “We hope that every student, teacher, and school in the region would contribute to this cause.”

Interested donors are encouraged to donate P300 a month for 10 months to help build the construction of 10,000 classrooms under TEN Moves. To learn more about TEN Moves, please visit www.tenmoves.org, like us on facebook.com/TENMoves, or email us at info@tenmoves.org.