Little Red Schoolhouses bring big changes in students' education

Since 1998, the Coca Cola Foundation has put up 82 Little Red Schoolhouses across the country

For thousands of students in remote areas in the country, having a decent classroom—one that actually allows them to study their every day lessons comfortably—could spell a world of difference when it comes to their education.

This is what the Coca Cola Foundation had in mind when it started putting up Little Red Schoolhouses around the country—to build classrooms that foster love for education among students in a safe and conducive environment.

There's about 50 students who share this classroom

That’s why when a Little Red Schoolhouse was put up in Bulahan Elementary School in Claveria, Cagayan de Oro, three years ago, it practically changed the education system in the school for the better.

One of the 82 schoolhouses in the country the foundation has built so far since 1998, the three-classroom building had given hundreds of students there a new reason to go to school—by building a well-ventilated, well-lit classroom they can use in place of the dilapidated ones they used to have.

Prescila Balaba, one of the only four teachers
in the Bulahan Elementary School

“Our students’ morale were uplifted. They had renewed interest in going to school. The number of enrolees had gone up more than 30% since the schoolhouse was built,” said Prescila Balaba, one of the only four teachers in the Bulahan Elementary School.

Before the schoolhouse was put up, she said, they were using classrooms that could collapse with any strong wind or earthquake. Lucky for them, out of 27 schools in the first and second districts of Claveria, it was their school that was chosen to be granted with a schoolhouse. The Bulahan Elementary School has 207 students.

The Coca Cola Foundation is targeting to build 12 more Little Red Schoolhouses across the country by the end of the year to bring the number of buildings to 100, in time for the company's 100^th year celebration in the country next year.

Aside from the structurally sound classroom buildings, the Coca Cola Foundation, together with the local chapter of the Department of Education, and other concerned groups and individuals, help facilitate trainings and seminars that invites participation from parents and local officials to keep the schoolhouse in good condition.

Aside from more classrooms, Balaba saif they'd
appreciate newer, more updated books

“As a teacher, I am also proud that I teach in this school,” Balaba said. “Children are not afraid anymore to go to class.”

She said students, most of whom had to walk several kilometres everyday to get to the school, take good care of the classrooms. She said: “Nobody vandalizes because I told them that if they do, they would have to pay a gallon of paint to have the walls repainted.”

She said: “We couldn’t thank the Coca Cola Foundation enough for helping us, and other schools in the country, make learning fun and safe for our students. What they gave us aren’t just walls in classrooms, what they gave us were blessings.”