KALAHI Lights Up Mountain Village in Masbate

AROROY, Masbate, Sept. 24- After years of being hooked to nose-irritating kerosene lamps, households in a remote mountainous village of this gold-rich town have recently realized the dream of shifting to electricity for their lights.

The power comes from a generator provided by the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) project of the government being implemented through various agencies led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Connecting Barangay Pinanaan that lies deep in the mountain with the regular source of power that is run by the local electric cooperative is somewhat difficult due to its distance from the mainline rendering almost impossible the realization of that dream towards energization.

Besides, the town's power supply is scarce as it has to be reinforced by the mining firm conducting gold operations at the upper section of the municipality to keep the downtown and nearby villages lighted round-the-clock.

Fortunately, the KALAHI-CIDSS came around in the middle of this year and after thorough consultations with barangay officials and residents on the priority project they wanted realized, the idea of providing a power generator set for the village was finalized, Barangay Chairman Jose Bajar told the PNA.

During the implementation process of the project, "we in the entire village moved as one and formed a 'bayanihan' volunteer brigade that rendered labor and whatever contribution each one could share," Bajar said.

The male villagers cut and hauled wooden poles for the electric posts which they themselves erected under the supervision of KALAHI engineers. They cleared the way for the distribution lines while the females served drinking water, prepared snacks and helped in whatever initiative they could contribute, the village chieftain said.

Then early this month, the works were completed and the village now has electricity.

Josephine Capinig, an elementary school teacher assigned with the Pinanaan Elementary School, said "it was not our first time to see lighted fluorescent bulbs yet, the experience of seeing one at the downtown was totally different, if not life-changing from having one and turning it on with a flick of a switch right in the comforts of their own homes."

The generator set and distribution cables provided by the KALAHI-CIDSS deliver up to 50 kilowatts of electricity, just enough to light bulbs, power up transistor radios and even run televisions of the over a hundred households served by it.

To manage and sustain its operation, the community formed the Barangay Pinanaan Electric Consumers Association (BAPECA) headed by a chairman and employed two technical crewmen and a treasurer.

Each household consuming at least 120 watts is charged a monthly rate of P120 over and above the minimal membership fee collected from them.

The money goes to maintenance, fuel and compensation of the crewmen and treasurer, according to BAPECA chairman Ely Saut.

"With almost every household in the village properly lighted, one of its most significant contributions is to the kids who now could study and play more unlike the time when they have to plod on with the flickering light of kerosene lamps," Bajar said.

It also benefited teachers like Capinig who can now do lesson plans and other school-related work in relative comfort at night. "We are now able to experience improvements in our lives, no matter how small. I'm so happy, especially for my pupils," she said.

During barangay assemblies, Bajar said the village officials and villagers would no longer shout themselves to be heard as such affairs could already use a microphone hooked up to a sound system.

"Everybody now could be heard as they voice their concerns," he said.

And as the people enjoy the benefits of locally generated power supply, they realized that there is no better way to attain what they long dreamt of than by working hard for it, Bajar said.

"We are very thankful that the KALAHI-CIDSS program chose our barangay.

"Though we are still deprived of other basic social services, the electrification project is unequaled by anything else that we can think of," Bajar said. (PNA)