Opao Elementary School is a medium-sized school located in Dapitan City, Zamboanga Del Norte. It houses 200 students and 8 faculty members, who struggle with the lack of potable water within their school facility on a day-to-day basis. Currently, they rely on harvesting rainwater to fill up two storage tanks for use. On days where there is no rain, they are forced to source water from pumps within neighboring communities, delaying their classes and other school activities.

Because their facility does not have a functioning water system, students and faculty members either have to endure having no water or excuse themselves from school activities to fetch water. Some children try to bring water from their homes, but others live in far-flung areas where they either have no access to potable water as well or if they do, they’ll have to sacrifice carrying heavy bottles of water to school.

While most of our educational system is engaged in modular learning because of the ongoing pandemic, the members of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) are hoping to be able to address this problem before children go back to attending face-to-face classes again. This problem of the lack of potable water in school facilities seems to be common, especially in smaller and farther barangays. Through this project, we hope to be able to raise PHP 141,441.88 thousand to build a functioning water system and improve the learning conditions of the 200 children in Opao Elementary School.