NEW CABALAN, Olongapo City – The students of Amelia Heights Elementary School here could not contain their joy after receiving what they consider as their best Christmas present. By the start of 2013, they will no longer hold classes in pest-infested and dilapidated makeshift classrooms.

The Amelia Heights Elementary School was chosen by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) as the beneficiary on the seventh day of its “Bayanihan: Pamaskong Handog ng PAGCOR 2012.” The state-owned gaming firm allotted over half million pesos for the renovation of the school’s six cramped classrooms, two comfort rooms and school gate. It will also be funding the construction of a new classroom for the school’s Grade 4 students who are currently holding classes in a termite-infested room.

Apart from these, PAGCOR donated a sound system to the school and distributed Christmas gift packs to some 140 students and school staff during a Christmas party spearheaded by the employees of PAGCOR’s Casino Filipino Olongapo branch.

Casino Filipino Olongapo Branch Manager Estrella Luz Cabebe said they recommended the Amelia Heights Elementary School as Pamaskong Handog beneficiary because they saw that the school needed help the most compared to other institutions around Olongapo City. “Sila yung pinaka-kawawa. Yung mga classroom nila dilapidated na. Yung ceiling ng classrooms nila bumabagsak na din dahil sa anay.”

Precila Nares, Teacher-in-Charge of Amelia Heights Elementary School, shared that the school was built in 2005 to bring education closer to children from the mountainous parts of Olongapo. “Most of our students come from impoverished families. Most of them are children of caretakers of wealthy individuals,” she narrated.

The Amelia Heights Elementary School is a big help to children residing in New Cabalan since it is the school nearest their place. Most of the children live five to ten kilometers away from the said school. However, due to lack of funds for building concrete classrooms, the students make do with undersized rooms made of plywood and lumber.

Nares added they only have six classrooms that serve as learning facilities for their 225 students from kindergarten to Grade 6. “Yung mga bata nagiging restless kapag mainit at masyadong siksikan. Since maliliit ang classrooms namin, nasa 30 lang ang capacity nito. Pero pinagkakasya namin hanggang 41.”

Nares expressed gratitude to PAGCOR for the concern and financial help extended to them. “Malaking bagay po sa amin ang ginawa ninyong renovation at construction ng classrooms. Delikado na kasi sa mga bata ang classrooms na gingamit nila. Sana sa susunod na taon, mapili ninyo ulit kami bilang beneficiary,” she said.

Twelve-year old Marion Jill Gutierrez, a grade six student at the Amelia Heights Elementary School shared her daily ordeal just to be able to attend her classes. The young girl’s family lives in the mountainside and she hikes for more than a kilometer daily to get to school. Malayo po yung tinitirhan ko dito. Pag umuulan, mahirap umakyat ng bundok kasi malubak at maputik. Minsan, nadudulas kami dahil sa lumot. Kapag naman po tag-init, napapawisan po kami kaya hindi maiwasan na hindi ubuhin o magkasakit,” she narrated.

The Amelia Heights Elementary School was also chosen as beneficiary of PAGCOR’s Feeding Program. Fifty malnourished students from kindergarten to Grade 6 will be fed with nutritious meals until March 2013 to achieve their ideal weight.

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