The Guintigian School is located roughly 45 minutes drive from Tacloban. It usually functions as a school but during typhoons it also serves as an emergency evacuation center for the community. The school provides a safe place during storms, but when the power goes down during typhoons the community is left in the dark for days. Being without power means not only being without light, but also without the ability to charge mobile phones and contact loved ones.
Typhoons are always a scary thing to have to endure, particularly for children. People are forced from their homes into evacuation centers and cut off from the outside world. The fear is made worse for everyone by being out of touch with loved ones and having to endure nights in the darkness. If community members are injured it can also be difficult to administer even basic first aid without light.
This project will provide Guintigian Elementary School with an emergency generator that will power the building during and after typhoons. This will provide light and the ability for evacuees to charge their phones to communicate with loved ones. This will make the practicalities of evacuation much easier. It will also provide comfort in difficult times, particularly for families with young children.
Making sure the Guintigian Elementary School is well equipped as an evacuation center will make the community more resilient and better able to survive disasters in the long term.
