Remote village gets electricity

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Dark nights are things of the past for a community living 50 kilometers away from downtown, whom for years never experienced what it is to live with electricity lighting their homes especially this holiday season.

Some thirty houses built for the same number of families in the area by Gawad Kalinga – Davao were lighted with LED bubls using electricity from 13-plate batteries. This development was made possible through a partnership with Gawad Kalinga and Davao Light & Power Co (DLPC).

“This is the  most  precious  gift  we ever received in so many Christmas seasons that came in our lifetime,” said one of the residents of the Gawad Kalinga Violet Hills Village in Kabalang, Marilog, this city.

The Aboitiz-owned electric utility installed a solar-powered battery charger in a strategic location right in the GK community. The  company  also  procured  the  initial 30 batteries to be given to each household  beneficiary  for  their  use. With each battery, Davao Light also donated 3 LED light bulbs.

A fully  charged  battery can last up to 20 days with the Three  LED bulbs switched on at night time and switched off during the day. It can also operate a small black and white television set, said Art Milan, DLPC executive vice president.

Germanico  Sayca, a 63-year old resident of Kibalang who has been there for the  past  30  years said that in the beginning they do not understand what was  Gawad  Kalinga  up to, except that there was a commitment to give them houses  that they can call their own. He waxed some kind of Greek mythology when  he sort of likened GK as the “rich low-lander bearing gifts” for them during the initial implementation of the housing construction.