Brigada Eskwela Kicks Off at Valenzuela City

2014-05-21

IN THIS PHOTO:

PAINT JOB
A volunteer applies a fresh coat of paint in a public school in Valenzuela.

Photo by: Christian Ervin Belandres

View Gallery

IN THIS PHOTO:

KICK OFF CEREMONIES
Regional kick off ceremonies of Brigada Eskwela 2014 at the Astrodome.

Photo by: Christian Ervin Belandres

View Gallery

IN THIS PHOTO:

SOLIDARITY
Leaders from different sectors, including City Mayor REX Gatchalian (6th from L), gather together for a solidarity photo op in Dalandanan Elementary School during the kick off ceremonies of Brigada Eskwela program.

Photo by: Christian Ervin Belandres

View Gallery

IN THIS PHOTO:

TEAM EFFORT
Now on its 12th year, the nationwide Brigada Eskwela program expects around 1 million volunteers who will collectively clean up and repair school facilities for the coming school year 2014-2015.

Photo by: Christian Ervin Belandres

View Gallery

IN THIS PHOTO:

1 MILLION VOLUNTEERS
Now on its 12th year, the nationwide Brigada Eskwela program expects around 1 million volunteers who will collectively clean up and repair school facilities for the coming school year 2014-2015.

Photo by: Christian Ervin Belandres

View Gallery

Caption

Tags: education , disaster preparedness ,

The Department of Education-NCR called forth volunteers to lend their hands in fixing up public schools in Metro Manila from May 19 through 23 for their annual Brigada Eskwela project, which kicked off at the Dalandanan National High School (DNHS) in Valenzuela City.

The DepEd NCR has tapped government offices and private companies to mount the 11^th year of the schools clean-up project in preparation for the opening of classes on June 2.

Brigada Eskwela Regional Director Crisanto Ecija said the education bureau will save around PhP 2 billion of school maintenance cost through the project, where volunteers not only help out but donate supplies as well.

Brigada Eskwela this year is focused on making schools ready for disasters.

DepEd Undersecretary Rizalino Rivera said it is the disasters that hit the country last year, which included a 7.2-magnitude earthquake and a super typhoon that both hit the Visayas, that compelled them to pick disaster-preparedness as this year’s Brigada Eskwela theme.

At the DNHS, an earthquake drill was held as part of the kick-off activities.

Teachers and students were taught to “duck, cover and hold” to keep themselves safe the moment an earthquake strikes: duck under their chairs, cover their heads with their hands, and hold on to the chairs.

Brigada Eskwela participants should also check schools particularly for faulty electrical wires and unstable structures, Ecija said.

Meanwhile, City Mayor REX Gatchalian said students in Valenzuela City will come back to not only neat but new classrooms as the construction of 100 new ones wraps up in time for the opening of classes.