Handover of 1st GDN Project

On September 11, AIDFI handed over the 1st of 2 GDN projects to the beneficiaries of Brgy. Tamac in Villaviciosa, Abra. The project was funded through the Global Development Network from which AIDFI was awarded as one of the two winners (1st placers) of the Most Innovative Development Project (MIDP) during the Global Development Network (GDN) Conference held at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, the capital of Fiji last November 26-28, 2024.

Barangay Tamac is an upper village located 34 kilometers from the municipality of Villaviciosa in the province of Abra. The community faced devastating landslides in 2015 during typhoon Ineng (Goni) where 144 homes were destroyed and over 100 acres of agricultural land was eroded. This prompted relocation of the community to a safer site which was called the new Tamac. Through bayanihan (communal unity) they rebuild their community and all the necessary infrastructure including a solar powered water system. But the water system was not able to reach the entire community especially those located higher up in Zone IV, which is were the barangay hall and elementary school is also located, prompting other households to rely on purchasing expensive water from refilling stations which costs them PhP 75.00 (1.31 USD) for a 20 liter container or having water delivered for PhP 100.00 (1.75 USD). The primary source from the solar powered water system was very challenging during rainy season and people had to walk for more than a kilometer to fetch from an unprotected spring.

With the prize money from the Global Development Network, AIDFI identified Tamac as one of the 2 beneficiary villages. The project was initiated on June 9 with the social preparation activities from which Zone IV Dugtong-Buhay Farmers Association (ZODUBUFA) was established who will take onwership and management of the water system after completion. On June 23, materials and AIDFI technical team arrived onsite and immediately started with clearing works on the next day. The tricky terrain was difficult especially for hauling of local materials but was no match for the community members and their spirit of volunteerism, local laborers from the community were engaged in the project and local technicians trained in all aspects of the water system. During the implementation training was provided on technical, organizational, and financial were conducted with the officers of the association. The project was completed on August 18, a 3" ram pump unit is delivering a daily output of 8,835 liters for 103 households to a 10 cu.m reservoir tank located 210 meters higher than the source and supplying 4 water kiosks throughout the community. After final inspection of the project, it was scheduled for handover to the project beneficiaries on September 11.

AIDFI was represented by Engr. Christopher Taclobos (BOT President), Auke Idzenga (Chief Executive Officer), Che Idzenga (Chief Operating Officer), Cherie Gomez (Operations Manager), and Sherwin Pillon (Technical Services Personnel). The municipal mayor Hon. Marjorie Lagen together with the municipal administrator Nixon Belines represented the municipality of Villaviciosa. The program started with the ribbon cutting at the water tank and kiosk which was followed by the handover ceremony, guests were welcomed by Hon. Ike Escobar the barangay captain (village head) of Tamac. He thanked AIDFI for the implementation of the project and also thanked the municipal mayor for the support of the project. He expressed the importance most especially during the dry season as reported by his continuents and that the water system will be very helpful in providing the water needs of the people. The municipal agriculture office head of Villaviciosa, Hermina Calina Bolaoit, although not present during the ceremony had a message prepared, sharing how the project came about to be implemented in Tamac and expressed the importance of taking good care of the project so all will continue to benefit for a long time. The municipal mayor Hon. Marjorie Lagen then expressed her overflowing gratitude for the project after seeing the water at the Tamac integrated elementary school and expressed that it was a constant concern not being able to address the water problem for the past couple of years. She thanked AIDFI and GDN again for solving the recurring problem since the village was relocated. The elementary school through Erlita Segundo, a teacher at the school expressed that the blessing serves as an inspiration to continue work hand in hand to nurture the dreams of their learners and build a brighter future for the community. They struggled for the longest time with insufficient supply of water and the holistic ram pump water project has finally resolved the long standing problem of the school. The BOT President of AIDFI, Engr. Christopher Taclobos, explained that the ram pump which does not use any fuel or electricity will be enjoyed by the community and will now make it easy from exertion for the seniors and children will be able to maintain their hygiene before heading to school. He thanked the community for hosting the team of AIDFI for almost 2 months and because of the bayanihan (communal unity) has made the job much easier. He also mentioned that the project was made possible through funding from the government of Japan, AIDFI has no money but has the heart and the technology and urged all to take care of the project as it is a gift from God and we should save it for the future generations. A special presentation through a composed song by officers of the association followed a native dance performance by the elementary school students and Chonabelle Dalligos. A testimony was then given by Demetria Gameling, who shared about the difficulty they had to face after transferring from the landslide affected area and it was only rainwater that they drank. The Chief Executive Officer, Auke Idzenga, shared that the importance of not only taking care of the water system but also the technicians who will maintain the system and the importance of being active members of the association. He also shared that out of 602 villages where ram pumps where implemented he was happy to see that this project had the most active participants engaged in bayanihan activities and the highest ever with 210 meters delivery height. The story of Tamac will be shared with other communities.

The turnover of the project was facilitated by our Operations Manager, Cherie Gomez, with as first the signing of the certificate of conveyance by Restituto Barreras (ZODUBUFA Chairperson) and Auke Idzenga (AIDFI CEO) followed by the turnover of project portfolio. The barangay captain and municipal mayor then presented the certificate of acceptance for ZODUBUFA from AIDFI. Certificate of completion of training was presented to the two (2) local technicians Jose Sillero and Nolie Begornia, who also received 1 set of toolkit for the ram pump. Certificate of appreciation was then given to barangay Tamac council, municipality of Villaviciosa, municipal agriculture office, and AIDFI. The barangay hall, health center, elementary school, and members of ZODUBUFA then received tabletop water filters that will ensure water is safe for drinking, the use of the water filter was demonstrated by the CEO of AIDFI.

The project discussed in this publication has been supported by the Global Development Network (GDN) and Ministry of Finance, Government of Japan under the Global Development Awards Competition. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of GDN or Ministry of Finance, Government of Japan.