On November 2013, the 250 kilometre per hour Typhoon Haiyan destroyed six million homes and thousands of schools in the Philippines. One of the severely damaged schools included Daniel Bulante Elementary, a 3-room school that held 333 students from kindergarten to grade four. The school is situated twelve kilometres from Tacloban City, on land that was donated by the grandfather of a Richmond Sunrise Rotary Club member.
BWB Response
In 2014, a team including Builders Without Borders (BWB), the Rotary Club of Vancouver Fraserview, the Rotary Club of Tacloban and the Rotary Club of San Juanico in the Philippines undertook an assessment of the damage, and created a plan for repairs.
During a 2016 visit to Tacloban, a Vancouver-area Rotary Club member met with the School Principal, Alma Macanip. Ms. Macanip indicated all the buildings had been repaired by local efforts except for the destroyed outdoor multipurpose Music, Cultural and Dance Centre. Builders Without Borders agreed to help with the schematic planning and funding for the construction of the centre and to work with the Rotary Club of Kankabato in Tacloban, who managed the construction.
The Result
The completed project adds the final structure to complete the school to its pre-typhoon condition for the 300+ students and staff.
