Building Walls, Opening Doors: How Hoperation Fund Helps Libuton Elementary

If you go around and ask any random kid on the streets what they think about school, you’ll get around the same answers: “School is boring, school is no fun, school is just okay, et cetera” but most importantly, “school is always there.” Everyone goes to school. It’s an established fact, right? Or is it? What if there was a place where not everyone goes to school, where only 7 in 10 children are able to complete elementary school at all? That place would be the Philippines.

Libuton Elementary is located in Manukan, Zamboanga del Norte, an impoverished rural area in the Philippines. Many of the citizens in Manukan and surrounding regions lack access to basic education. The education situation is especially critical. Only 7 in 10 children in the Philippines are able to complete elementary school, and this number is even less in rural areas such as Manukan. Additionally, even if students do manage to finish elementary school, it is not a guarantee that they have achieved basic literacy skills. A study by the World Bank found that 90% of students could not understand a simple age-appropriate text at the end of primary school. This shows that a vast majority of schools struggle to give their students a sufficient education, likely because of lack of funding and necessary resources. That is where the Hoperation Fund comes in.

Figure 1 The old, wooden fence of the school.

Figure 2 Workers started to rebuild the school wall.

Around the beginning of summer, the Hoperation Fund contacted Libuton Elementary through ambassador and adult advisor Doug Huntley. We wanted to help fund Libuton Elementary and provide them with essential educational resources. After discussing with the principal, we realized the immediate priority was to replace the old, wooden fence around the school (see Figure 1). We decided to first fund their efforts in building a concrete wall around the school. This wall would ensure student safety by both keeping out wild animals and potential criminals as well as preventing students from wandering out of the school and getting lost. Our contribution of 900 dollars (equal to about 50,500 Philippine pesos) was enough to buy the construction materials and pay for the labor fees for building the wall.

Figure 3 Workers were building a new school wall.

A few weeks before construction of the concrete wall, a huge flood suddenly washed away many of the buildings in the area and even a few children, who were fortunately rescued. In the flood, part of the school’s old fence was destroyed, further highlighting the need to build a new one. After the flood, the school quickly started construction efforts for the wall. Our ambassador, Mr. Doug Huntley, oversaw the construction of the concrete wall, helping make sure the funds were utilized properly and taking numerous photos (Figure 2-4). Soon, construction was finished. The school head from Libuton Elementary made a public post on Facebook, thanking Hoperation Fund and Mr. Doug Huntley (Figure 5). This new, sturdier wall will definitely keep the students safe.

Figure 4 A new concrete wall is built around the school.

In the future, the Hoperation Fund will focus on raising funds to donate books and essential learning materials to the school, now that the safety of the students is increased. We hope to fulfill our mission by bringing education for all and serving the underserved!

Figure 5 Social media post from Libuton Elementary's school head expressing gratitude to Hoperation Fund and our advisor Mr. Huntley.