SMFI's new building brings hope anew to school in Zamboanga

The SM Foundation and SM Prime recently turned over a newly built two-story school building to Sta. Barbara Central Elementary School in Zamboanga City, which was heavily ravaged during the Zamboanga siege in 2013.

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School principal Anna Liza Martin says that none of the three multi-story school buildings of the schools survived the attacks as all of them were rendered unusable after the siege.

As the campus fell under the control of the insurgents who barricaded themselves inside the classrooms, all school facilities were either completely demolished or considered dangerous to use for everyday classes.

Aside from the classrooms, Martin says that all their learners lost considerable school hours, added with the stress and pressure of having to relocate to neighboring schools just to catch up.

HINDERED FROM PROPER LEARNING

Head teacher Alice Yusop, who witnessed the attacks and their impact on children, says that even when neighboring campuses have hosted their learners, the deficiency of teachers and facilities in other schools in the surrounding communities hindered their learners from receiving quality education.

"Six of us teachers had to follow them there so that we can teach them because those schools can barely accommodate them and we did not want them to lose any more school days," Yusop says.

But the Zamboanga siege not only affected the learners' school days, but their mental well-being, as well, according to the teacher.